Whenever you visit a website, it frequently leaves a tiny text file on your computer called a “cookie.” These files are primarily used for convenience: they remember your login details so you don’t have to type your password every day, and they remember your preferences, like the items you left in a digital shopping cart.
However, cookies are also heavily used by advertisers to track your behavior across the internet. If you are concerned about privacy, or if a specific website is loading incorrectly due to a corrupted cookie, you should clear them from your Google Chrome browser.
How to Clear All Cookies in Chrome
If you want a completely clean slate—which will log you out of every single website you are currently signed into—you can wipe the entire cookie database at once.
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the window.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
- In the main window, click on Clear browsing data.
- A pop-up window will appear. Look at the Time range drop-down menu at the top. To delete everything, select All time.
- Ensure the box next to Cookies and other site data is checked. (You can uncheck “Browsing history” and “Cached images” if you only want to delete the cookies).
- Click the blue Clear data button.
The process will take a few seconds. Once complete, you will be entirely logged out of Amazon, Netflix, your webmail, and every other site on the internet.
How to Clear Cookies for One Specific Website
Wiping your entire browser clean is often extreme. If you are only having trouble logging into your bank, you don’t want to accidentally sign yourself out of Netflix in the process. You can surgically delete the cookies for one specific website.
- Open Chrome and navigate directly to the website that is causing you problems (e.g.,
www.chase.com). - Look at the URL address bar at the top of the screen. Directly to the left of the URL, you will see an icon (usually a padlock or a sliders icon). Click that icon.
- A drop-down menu will appear. Click on Cookies and site data.
- Click on Manage on-device site data.
- You will see a list of the specific cookies that this exact website has saved on your machine. Click the small Trash Can icon next to each one to delete them.
- Click Done.
- Reload the webpage (press the circular arrow button or hit F5).
The website will now treat you like a brand new visitor, completely resolving any login errors caused by corrupted data.
How to Block Third-Party Cookies (The Privacy Fix)
If you are clearing your cookies because you are tired of being tracked by advertisers, you can tell Chrome to preemptively block “third-party” cookies. This stops tracking companies from following you, but still allows the actual website you are visiting to remember your login.
- Go back to Settings > Privacy and security.
- Click on Third-party cookies.
- Select the radial button next to Block third-party cookies.
With this setting enabled, you will experience significantly less targeted advertising as you browse the web.