How do I clear my web-browser history/cookies/data in Google Chrome?

Login issues and browsing errors can sometimes be addressed by clearing the local browser cache. This information is normally used for things like helping web pages load more quickly or streamlining forms or account logins. If that information becomes out-of-date or creates a conflict with how a site normally works, clearing it will give you a fresh start, and is often a good first step when troubleshooting.

  1. Open the Chrome web browser, making sure all your other tabs are closed.

  2. Click the vertical three dot icon in the top-right of a Chrome window. Clear Browsing Data should appear as an option in the panel that appears. Alternatively, you can bring up this same page by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Delete on a Windows PC from anywhere in Chrome.

  3. Choose All Time from the Time Range option, and make sure all three boxes are checked. None of these will erase anything important from your computer, this is just info used by Chrome itself, and there are descriptions alongside each if you're curious.

  4. Clicking Clear Data will complete the process, which can take a minute or so.

  5. You can now close this tab and open any pages as usual. You'll need to log back into most sites that previously stored your credentials, but otherwise you should be all set.

 

Animated image showing the "Clear browsing data" panel within Google Chrome