Internet Explorer Clear cache and cookies instructions

Cookies are files created by websites you have visited, and are stored in your browser’s cache. Cookies are intended to help web pages load faster, and make it easier for you to browse the web.

By clearing your browser’s cache and cookies, this also means clearing website settings such as usernames and passwords. After deleting your browser’s stored cookies and cache files some sites might appear to load a little slower because all of the images have to be loaded again. However, clearing your browser cache can sometimes resolve issues with a website error should outdated cache files be stored in your browser.

Your browsing history is the info that Internet Explorer stores on a PC as you surf the web. To help improve your experience, this includes info you’ve entered into forms, passwords, and sites you’ve visited. However, if you’re using a shared or public PC, you may not want Internet Explorer to save your history.

View your browsing history and delete specific sites

By viewing your browsing history, you can choose to delete specific sites, or return to a webpage that you’ve already visited.

  1. In Internet Explorer, select the Favorites  button.
  2. Select the History tab, and choose how you want to view your history by selecting a filter from the menu. To delete specific sites, right-select a site from any of these lists and then select Delete. Or, return to a page by selecting any site in the list.

Delete your browsing history

Regularly deleting your browsing history helps protect your privacy, especially if you’re using a shared or public PC.

  1. In Internet Explorer, select the Tools  button, point to Safety, and then select Delete browsing history.
  2. Choose the types of data or files you want to remove from your PC, and then select Delete.
Types of info What gets deleted Internet Explorer version
Browsing history The list of sites you’ve visited. All
Cached images temporary Internet files Copies of pages, images, and other media content stored on your PC. The browser uses these copies to load content faster the next time you visit those sites. All
Cookies Info that sites store on your PC to remember your preferences, such as sing-in or your location. All
Download history The list of files you’ve downloaded form the web. This only deletes the lest, not the actual files you’ve downloaded. Only Internet Explorer 11 and Internet Explorer 10
Form data Info that you’ve entered into forms, such as your email or a shipping address. All
Passwords Passwords that you’ve saved for sites. All
Tracking Protection, ActiveX Filtering, and Do Not Track data Websites you’ve excluded from ActiveX Filtering, and data that the browser uses to detect tracking activity. All
Favorites The list of sites that you’ve saved as favorites. Don’t delete favorites if you only want to remove individual sites—this will delete all of your saved sites. All
InPrivate filtering data Saved data used by InPrivate Filtering to detect where sites might be automatically sharing details about your visit. Only for Internet Explorer 9 and Internet Explorer 8