A computer cookie isn’t a sweet treat, but rather a simple computer file made of text.
These small bits of data that websites send to your computer, smartphone, or tablet are what the site uses to remember things about your visit. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but a common way for services or sites to improve personalization, functionality, analytics, and security.
Some sites use cookies to make advertisements you see more relevant to your interests, keep you logged in after you leave, or remember what you had in your shopping cart, which can be very helpful.
However, cookies can be a privacy concern and over time can accumulate and slow down your browsing. To clear cookies:
- At the top right, click the three dots button
. - Click Delete Browsing Data…
- At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
- Next to “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files,” check the boxes.
- Click Delete data.