To clear your browser cache, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Cmd+Shift+Delete on a Mac in Chrome and Firefox), set the time range to "All time", tick only "Cached images and files" and confirm. Passwords, bookmarks and logins stay intact. If a single page looks stale, a hard reload — Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R — is usually enough.
What the browser cache is and when it gets in the way
The cache is a folder inside your browser profile that holds copies of files a site has already sent you: images, stylesheets, JavaScript, fonts and sometimes whole HTML pages. On the next visit the browser reads them from disk instead of downloading them again. How long each copy may be reused is decided by the server through Cache-Control, Expires and ETag headers, as defined in RFC 9111 (HTTP Caching).
Trouble starts when the site has changed but your browser keeps serving its saved copy. New HTML runs against an old script and a button stops working, the layout breaks after a redesign, or a logo refuses to update. Browsers also remember permanent 301 redirects, so a redirect removed from the server weeks ago can still send you to the wrong URL.
"Clear the cache" often gets used loosely for three separate stores, and they are cleared in different places:
- HTTP cache — copies of site files. Safe to delete; everything downloads again on the next visit.
- Cookies and site data — login sessions, shopping carts, preferences, plus localStorage, IndexedDB and service workers. Deleting these signs you out.
- DNS cache — the mapping of domain names to IP addresses, held by both the browser and the operating system.
Keyboard shortcuts: hard reload vs. full clear
A normal refresh (F5) lets the browser reuse cached files the server says are unchanged. A hard reload asks for the page and its resources again, bypassing the cache for that tab. It does not delete cookies or touch other sites.
| Browser | Hard reload | Open the clear-data dialog |
|---|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R; Mac: Cmd+Shift+R | Ctrl+Shift+Delete; Mac: Cmd+Shift+Delete |
| Microsoft Edge | Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R; Mac: Cmd+Shift+R | Ctrl+Shift+Delete |
| Mozilla Firefox | Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R; Mac: Cmd+Shift+R | Ctrl+Shift+Delete; Mac: Cmd+Shift+Delete |
| Safari (macOS) | Option+Cmd+R (reload from origin) | Develop → Empty Caches (Option+Cmd+E) |
| Yandex Browser | Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R; Mac: Cmd+Shift+R | Ctrl+Shift+Delete; Mac: Shift+Cmd+Backspace |
Chromium browsers have a stronger option. Open DevTools (F12), then right-click the reload button next to the address bar and choose "Empty Cache and Hard Reload". The menu only appears while DevTools is open, and it wipes the cache for the whole site, not just the files of the current page.
How to clear the cache in each desktop browser
Google Chrome
Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete or paste chrome://settings/clearBrowserData into the address bar. Choose "All time", keep "Cached images and files" checked, uncheck cookies and history if you want to keep them, and click "Delete data". From the menu the path is ⋮ → "Delete browsing data".
Mozilla Firefox
Ctrl+Shift+Delete opens the clear-history dialog: pick "Everything" as the range, tick the temporary cached files option and confirm. The alternative is about:preferences#privacy → "Cookies and Site Data" → "Clear Data…" with only "Cached Web Content" selected.
Microsoft Edge
Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete or open edge://settings/clearbrowserdata, tick "Cached images and files", choose a time range and click "Clear now".
Safari on macOS
Safari has no cache-only option in its default menus. Turn on the developer menu first: Safari → Settings → Advanced → "Show features for web developers" (older versions: "Show Develop menu in menu bar"). Develop → Empty Caches then appears. Safari → Clear History also removes cookies and history, which is more than you usually need.
Clear data for one site only
Deleting data for every site to fix one is overkill and signs you out everywhere. Targeted options:
- DevTools (Chrome, Edge, Yandex Browser). Open the site, press F12, go to Application → Storage and click "Clear site data". Cache, cookies and local storage for that origin only are removed.
- Site settings. Click the icon to the left of the URL and open the site's settings or permissions; there is a button to delete stored data.
- Firefox. Click the padlock in the address bar → "Clear cookies and site data…".
This is the right fix when one site keeps bouncing you to its login page or shows ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS after a configuration change — stale cookies are the usual culprit. The full diagnosis is in how to fix ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS.
Phones: Android and iPhone
Android
In Chrome: ⋮ → "Delete browsing data" (older versions: History → "Clear browsing data"), select "Cached images and files" and confirm. Android also lets you clear any app's cache from system settings: Settings → Apps → the browser → Storage → "Clear cache". Avoid "Clear storage" or "Clear data" there — that resets the browser completely, settings and sign-ins included.
iPhone and iPad
For Safari: Settings → Apps → Safari (on older iOS just Settings → Safari) → "Clear History and Website Data". Data for a single site is under Safari → Advanced → Website Data. For Chrome on iOS: ⋯ → "Delete browsing data". iOS has no system-wide "clear app cache" button; reinstalling the app is the only reset.
The "SSL cache": why a fixed certificate still shows an error
You replaced an expired or broken certificate, the server looks fine, but your browser still says "Your connection is not private". Chrome and other Chromium browsers keep TLS sessions in the memory of the running process, so there is no "clear SSL cache" button to press. What does work:
- Quit the browser completely, not just its windows. Some browsers keep running in the background; check the system tray on Windows.
- Flush open connections at
chrome://net-internals/#sockets→ "Flush socket pools". Existing TLS connections that were negotiated with the old certificate get closed. - Re-pick a client certificate. If a site asks for a client certificate and you chose the wrong one, Chrome remembers the choice until restart.
- Windows "Clear SSL state" (Win+R →
inetcpl.cpl→ Content → "Clear SSL state") resets SChannel, the TLS library built into Windows. Apps that use the system stack rely on it; Chrome, Edge's Chromium engine and Firefox bring their own TLS code, so it rarely changes anything for them.
HSTS is a separate trap: once a site has sent Strict-Transport-Security, the browser insists on HTTPS even after you clear the cache. You can delete a dynamically learned entry at chrome://net-internals/#hsts under "Delete domain security policies"; domains on the built-in preload list cannot be removed that way. If the error survives all of this, the problem is on the server — see "Your connection is not private": what to do.
The browser DNS cache
After moving a site to a new host, you may keep landing on the old server because the browser and the OS remember the previous IP address. Clearing the HTTP cache does nothing for this. In Chrome and Edge open chrome://net-internals/#dns (or edge://net-internals/#dns) and click "Clear host cache". Then flush the operating system: ipconfig /flushdns on Windows, sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder on macOS. Linux commands depend on the resolver in use; they are covered in how to flush the DNS cache.
When clearing the cache fixes things — and when it cannot
| Symptom | Will clearing the cache help? | What actually fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Broken layout or dead buttons after a site update | Yes | Hard reload; if needed, clear that site's data |
| An old 301 redirect still fires | Yes | Clear the cache — permanent redirects are stored with cached files |
Login loop or ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS | Partly | Delete that site's cookies; if it persists, the redirect rules on the server are wrong |
| HTTP 500, 502, 503 or 504 | No | The server or a proxy failed. Check availability from outside and wait for a fix |
Old site or ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED after a DNS change | No | Flush browser and OS DNS caches, check propagation |
| Certificate error right after replacing the certificate | No | Restart the browser and flush sockets; if it persists, inspect the server certificate |
| Certificate errors on every site at once | No | Check the system clock and any antivirus that intercepts HTTPS |
A quick way to tell: open the page in a private window (Ctrl+Shift+N in Chrome and Edge, Ctrl+Shift+P in Firefox, Cmd+Shift+N in Safari). Private windows start with an empty cache and no cookies. If the page works there, your stored data is at fault; if it fails the same way, the cache is innocent.
For site owners: stop asking users to press Ctrl+F5
- Revalidate HTML. Serve pages with
Cache-Control: no-cacheso the browser keeps a copy but checks it with the server viaETagorLast-Modifiedbefore showing it. - Fingerprint static assets. Files named like
app.3f9a1c.jscan be cached for a year withmax-age=31536000, immutable; when the content changes, the URL changes and browsers fetch the new file on their own. - Emergency reset. A
Clear-Site-Data: "cache"response header asks the browser to drop cached data for your origin. Support differs between browsers — check the compatibility table in the MDN reference for Clear-Site-Data. - Purge the CDN too. If a CDN sits in front of the site, the stale copy may come from its edge cache rather than from browsers.
Recommended values per file type are in the guide to Cache-Control headers.
How to check whether the cache is really the problem
- HTTP header check shows the status code,
Cache-Control,Expires,ETagand any redirects, so you can see how long the server lets browsers keep a page and whether it responds at all. - SSL check shows the certificate the server is serving right now, whether the chain is complete and when it expires. If it is clean while your browser complains, look at local state or HSTS.
- DNS propagation check shows which IP resolvers around the world return. If they already see the new address and your machine does not, flush your DNS cache.
Frequently asked questions
What gets deleted when I clear the cache?
Only stored copies of site files — images, stylesheets, scripts, fonts. Passwords, bookmarks, history and logins remain unless you tick those boxes too. Pages will load a little slower the first time afterwards.
How often should I clear my browser cache?
There is no need to do it on a schedule. Browsers cap the cache size and evict old entries themselves. Clear it when a site misbehaves, when changes you made do not show up, or when you need the disk space.
What is the difference between cache and cookies?
The cache stores files to make pages load faster. Cookies are small records a site uses to recognise you — your session, cart, language. Deleting cookies signs you out; deleting the cache does not.
Why does the site still look old after I cleared the cache?
A CDN or proxy may still be serving the old version, the browser may still be running in the background, or a cached DNS entry may be sending you to the old server. Try a private window and another device: if the page is stale there too, the issue is on the site's side.
Does a hard reload clear the whole cache?
No. Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R refetches the current page and the resources it loads, and leaves everything else in place. To remove the cache for the whole site, use "Empty Cache and Hard Reload" in DevTools or "Clear site data".
