How To Clear Cache And Cookies On Firefox

Even though it is less of a resource hog compared to its peers, Firefox can still experience slowdowns on occasion. This happens when the browser's cache becomes filled with files, and it is not limited to Firefox alone.

How To Clear Cache and Cookies in Firefox [All Devices]

In this article, we will show you how to clear the cache and cookies in Firefox.

What's a Cache and What Are Cookies?

The browser's cache is a folder that stores temporary files from the websites that you visit. You may notice that during the first time that you open up a website it loads rather slowly. When you return to a website you have already visited, however, it takes considerably less time to open. This is because the various images, text data, and other webpage information, are already saved on your device.

Cookies, or an HTTP cookie as it is formally known, are bits of data that you enter on particular sites. It contains passwords, various inputs to text fields, mouse clicks, and other site activity information. This means that if a website records cookie information, you won't have to enter passwords every time you visit the site. You will also notice that when you return to an online shop that you have previously visited, items put in the cart stay there. Those are cookies as well.

Why Do They Need to Be Cleared?

In general, cookies and the cache are convenient because they speed up the loading times of sites you visit often. The problem is that all that extra data in your drives slow down your device's performance. Eventually, the time you save when you open frequently visited sites is negated by slower device loading times. Occasional cleaning of the cache is recommended to avoid this. You can either clear everything, or clear single files so that you free up space, but still, get to keep the data on specific sites that you open.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for a Single URL in Firefox on an iPhone

To clear a single cache file or cookie when you are using an iPhone, you can follow these steps:

With Firefox open, tap on the menu icon at the bottom of the screen.
Choose Settings and tap on it. This will open the Firefox Settings Menu.
Scroll to the Privacy Section, look for Data Management then tap on it.
Tap on Website Data.
You will be shown a list of recently visited websites. If you want to clear the data on a particular site, tap on the red button beside it.
If you decide to delete everything, just scroll to the bottom and tap on Clear All Website Data.
Exit this menu or return to Home.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for All URLs in Firefox on an iPhone

If you want to clear all the existing cache data and cookies on your iPhone, you can choose the Clear All Website Data as instructed above. You can also do the same without entering the Website Data Menu by doing the following:

Tap on the Menu icon on Firefox's bottom screen.
Tap on Settings to open the Firefox Settings Menu.
Scroll to find the Privacy Section, then Data Management option by tapping on it.
There will be toggles for each type of data that you can remove. These are your Browsing History, the Cache, Cookies, Offline Website Data, and Saved Logins. Toggle the switches for the content you'd like to delete. You can choose more than one option.
Tap on Clear Private Data.
All active tabs will close when you do this. Once done, close this menu or return to Home.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for a Single URL in Firefox on an Android Device

Clearing cache and cookies on an Android device are rather similar to doing it on the iPhone, as Firefox tries to maintain synchronicity in its mobile versions.

With Firefox open tap on the Menu button. This can either be on the top or the bottom of your screen depending on your device and Android version. You may also have to click More on the menu to proceed to the next step.
Choose Settings from the menu.
Tap on Delete browsing data.
A list of the items that you can delete will appear. Tap the checkbox on those that you want to delete.
Tap Delete browsing data.
Exit this menu or proceed to Home.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for All URLs in Firefox on an Android Device

You can also clear all of the website information data at once by doing the following:

While Firefox is open, choose the History option on your Home screen menu.
Tap Delete History in the History panel.
When a prompt appears, tap Delete.
Exit the menu, or proceed to your home screen.

If nothing happens, close the Firefox App, restart it, and then follow the steps again.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for a Single URL in Firefox on a Windows PC

As Firefox was originally created with desktop computers in mind, the number of options to manage temporary internet file settings are quite extensive for the PC. In regards to single websites, you can either deal with cookies and data for a currently open site or delete specific sites that you have visited before. Here's how it is done:

Delete cache Information and cookies for the current website

Go to the Address bar at the top of the currently open site. Click on the Padlock icon to the left of the web address.
On the menu that appears, click on Clear Cookies and Site Data.

Delete cache and cookies on websites that you have visited

Click on the Menu button on the top rightmost part of the browser.
Click on Options on the menu that appears.
Navigate to the Privacy & Security panel, then click on Cookies and Site Data. Click on Manage Data.
On the Manage Cookies and Site Data Dialog, you can type the name of the specific website data that you want to be deleted. From here, you can select individual files or select them all.
Click on Remove Selected to clear all highlighted items. Click on Remove All Shown to remove everything in the window.
Click on Save Changes.
The Removing Cookies and Site Data confirmation window will appear. Click on OK.
Close the page, or navigate back to Home.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for All URLs in Firefox on a Windows PC

You can also clear all of the cache data and cookies for all websites you have visited, or alternatively clear only the cookie information, but keep all the others like images and website scripts. This is useful if you just want to remove personal info from the website, but will still allow it to load quickly when you next visit it. Here are the steps for each option:

Clear all cookies and cache Information

Click on the Menu button, on the choices that appear, select Options.
Click on Privacy & Security on the left side of the menu, then click on Cookies and Site Data.
Click on Clear Data.
Click on the checkbox for either 'Cookies,' the Cache, or both.
Click on Clear Now.
Exit this window or return to the Home screen.

To choose which Temporary Internet File to delete:

Click on the Menu button, then choose Library.
Choose History, then click on Clear Recent History.
On the dropdown menu choose 'Everything.'
Tick the checkbox of any particular Temporary Internet File you want to delete. Click on OK.
Exit the window or return to the Home screen.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for a Single URL in Firefox on a Mac

The Mac version of Firefox is similar to the Windows version. As such, the steps to delete individual URLs on the PC are similar to that on the Mac. Follow the steps for Windows PC as given above.

How to Clear the Cache and Cookies for All URLs in Firefox on a Mac

Similarly, the steps to clear all of the cookies and cache information at once is the same. Refer to the previous instructions on clearing cache and cookies for all URLs as outlined on the Windows PC above.

Additional FAQ

Below are some of the more frequently asked questions in regards to cookies and cache on Firefox that come up during discussions on the topic.

Is there a way to automatically delete this information whenever I close Firefox?

Yes. Firefox actually offers the option to clear all cache and cookie Information every time you close the browser. To do so, follow these steps:

On Mobile

1. Tap on the Menu on the Home Screen.

2. Tap on Settings.

3. Tap on Privacy.

4. On the menu that appears, toggle the checkbox beside the option to Clear private data on exit.

5. On the popup window, choose which files you want to delete every time you close Firefox. Tap on Set.

6. Close this Menu, or Navigate to Home.

On PC or Mac

1. Click on Menu on the top toolbar, then choose Options.

2. Choose Privacy & Security and go to History.

3. Click on the dropdown menu beside Firefox will. Select Use custom settings for history.

4. Toggle checkbox for Clear history when Firefox closes.

5. Click on Settings.

6. Choose which Temporary Internet Files you want to erase every time you close the browser.

7. Click on OK.

Is the Firefox cache and cookie data deleted permanently? Can it be recovered?

Technically, any file that has been deleted from your computer or phone is still there, just hidden. They will eventually be overwritten by new data as time goes by. Recovering these files is usually a hit or miss process. You can use recovery programs, or try to locate the files yourselves by opening the Mozilla Firefox folder on your device, but these are never guaranteed.

If you want to prevent accidental deletion of cache and cookie files, consider backing up your data every so often, Otherwise, just open the websites again to recover website data.

Keeping Firefox Fast and Resource Friendly

Firefox is a very fast and resource-friendly browser, but it may still experience stutters if you don't routinely remove unneeded data. Clearing the cache, and removing useless cookies every now and then, ensures that Firefox keeps running at an optimal rate.

Do you know of any other ways to clear the cache and cookies in Firefox? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.