How To Clear Cache in Chrome
Clearing your browser cache in Google Chrome fixes slow page loading, display errors, and outdated content issues. Whether you are on a Windows PC, a Mac, a Chromebook, an Android phone or an iPhone, this guide covers every way to clear your Chrome cache — including the one-keystroke fix for a single stale page, and how to clear the cache without being signed out of your accounts.
How To Clear Cache in Chrome on Desktop (Windows, Mac, Chromebook)
Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut (Fastest)
- Open Google Chrome on your computer
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows/Chromebook) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac)
- The "Clear browsing data" window opens immediately
- Set the Time range to "All time" to clear everything
- Check "Cached images and files" (uncheck others if you only want cache)
- Click Clear data
Chrome removes the cached files straight away. You do not have to guess how much space you are getting back, either: the dialog prints the actual size next to Cached images and files before you delete anything. One catch — that figure only reflects your whole cache when Time range is set to All time. On any shorter range it reports just that slice, which is why the number is sometimes surprisingly small.
Method 2: Through Chrome Settings
- Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of Chrome
- Go to Settings → Privacy and security
- Click "Delete browsing data"
- Select the Advanced tab for more control
- Check "Cached images and files"
- Optionally check "Cookies and other site data" (note: this logs you out of websites)
- Set your preferred time range
- Click Delete data
Method 3: Clear Cache for a Single Website
If you only need to refresh one specific website:
- Navigate to the website in Chrome
- Press Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows) or Cmd + Option + I (Mac) to open Developer Tools
- Right-click the refresh button (↻) in the address bar
- Select "Empty Cache and Hard Reload"
This clears cached data only for that specific site without affecting your other browsing data.
Method 4: Hard Reload a Single Page (One Keystroke, No Menus)
Most people searching for how to clear the cache do not actually want to empty it. They want one page to stop serving a stale version. There is a single shortcut for exactly that:
- Windows and Chromebook: Ctrl + Shift + R (or Shift + F5)
- Mac: Cmd + Shift + R
This reloads the page while ignoring everything Chrome had cached for it. Your cache for every other site, your cookies and your logins are all left alone, so there is nothing to undo afterwards. Try this before anything else — if the page comes back correct, you are done, and if it is still wrong, then clear the cache properly with Method 1.
How To Clear Cache in Chrome on a Mac
Chrome on macOS uses the same dialog as Chrome on Windows. Only the keys change, and that is where most Mac instructions go wrong:
- Press Cmd + Shift + Delete. On a Mac keyboard, Delete is the key just above Return, usually marked ⌫ — it is not a separate key labelled "Del".
- Set Time range to All time
- Check Cached images and files
- Click Delete data
If the shortcut appears to do nothing, keyboard focus is usually inside the web page rather than in Chrome itself. Click once on an empty part of the tab strip and press it again. You can also open the same dialog from ⋮ → Delete browsing data inside the Chrome window.
One thing worth saying plainly: you never need to go into Finder and delete Chrome’s cache folder by hand. It achieves nothing the dialog does not, and removing the wrong folder inside your Chrome profile can take your bookmarks and saved passwords with it.
How To Clear Cache in Chrome on Android
- Open the Chrome app on your Android phone or tablet
- Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner
- Tap "Delete browsing data"
- Select "Cached images and files"
- Set the Time range to "All time"
- Tap Delete data
- Confirm by tapping Delete when prompted
Quickest route of all on Android: type delete browsing data into the address bar and tap the action chip Chrome offers underneath it. That opens the same dialog without going through any menus.
On most Android phones and tablets — Pixel, Samsung Galaxy and the rest — you can also clear Chrome’s cache from the system settings instead: Settings → Apps → Chrome → Storage → Clear Cache. The wording of those menus varies between manufacturers and Android versions; on Samsung devices Storage is often listed as Storage usage. This route clears the app cache without removing your browsing history. Be careful to tap Clear cache and not Clear storage or Clear data next to it, which resets the whole app and signs you out.
How To Clear Cache in Chrome on iPhone and iPad
- Open the Chrome app on your iPhone or iPad
- Tap the three-dot menu (···) at the bottom
- Tap "Delete Browsing Data"
- Select "Cached Images and Files"
- Tap "Delete Browsing Data" again to confirm
There is no Chrome cache button in the iPhone’s own Settings app — that exists for Safari, not for Chrome. On iOS and iPadOS, Chrome’s cache can only be cleared from inside the Chrome app, either with the steps above or through ··· → Settings → Privacy and Security → Delete Browsing Data.
Why it often looks like nothing happened: on iPhone and iPad, Chrome’s Time Range is preset to Last 15 minutes. Leave it there and almost nothing is deleted, which is the single most common reason people think clearing the cache failed on an iPhone. Change it to All time before you confirm.
What Does Clearing Chrome Cache Do?
Your Chrome cache stores copies of images, scripts, and website files locally so pages load faster on repeat visits. Over time, this cache can:
- Grow to several gigabytes, slowing down your device
- Store outdated versions of websites, causing display errors
- Cause login issues when cached tokens expire
- Create conflicts after website updates
Clearing the cache forces Chrome to download fresh copies of everything. Pages may load slightly slower on your first visit after clearing, but you’ll see the most current versions of all websites.
Will Clearing the Cache Log You Out? Cache vs Cookies vs History
This is the part Chrome’s dialog explains poorly, and it is why a lot of people never clear anything. The checkboxes sitting next to each other do very different things:
- Cached images and files — the stored copies of images, scripts and stylesheets. Deleting this does not sign you out of anything and does not touch your saved passwords. This is the safe one.
- Cookies and other site data — the small files that keep you signed in. Deleting this does sign you out of most websites, and it also wipes per-site choices such as the cookie banners you have already dismissed.
- Browsing history — the list of pages you have visited, and the address bar suggestions built from it. Deleting this signs you out of nothing.
So if your goal is to fix a page that is rendering wrong, check Cached images and files, leave the other two boxes unticked, and you will stay logged in everywhere. Saved passwords sit behind a separate control again and are never removed by clearing the cache.
The reverse is worth knowing too: if a site is refusing your login, showing you someone else’s account, or looping back to the sign-in page, the cache is not the problem — that is cookie behaviour, and Cookies and other site data is the box you need, accepting that you will be signed out everywhere and will have to log back in.
How Often Should You Clear Chrome Cache?
For most users, clearing Chrome cache once every 2–4 weeks is sufficient. Clear it immediately if you notice websites not displaying correctly, persistent loading errors, or if Chrome is using excessive storage space.
Troubleshooting: Chrome Cache Won’t Clear
If the standard methods don’t work:
- Force quit Chrome completely and reopen it before trying again
- Disable extensions temporarily — some extensions interfere with cache clearing
- Check available storage — Chrome needs free disk space to process cache deletion
- Update Chrome — paste chrome://settings/help into the address bar. Chrome checks for an update as soon as the page opens, installs anything it finds, and shows a Relaunch button if a restart is needed. Cache deletion is occasionally blocked by a bug in an older build, and this is faster than looking up which version is current.
- Reset Chrome settings as a last resort: Settings → Reset settings → "Restore settings to their original defaults"
Originally tested on Chrome 134 for Windows 11, macOS Sequoia, Chrome OS, Android 15 (Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S25) and iOS 18 (iPhone 16), and last updated March 2026 by the DevX editorial team — our writers have over 15 years of combined experience covering browser troubleshooting and web performance optimization.
Reviewed again in October 2026: every menu path, keyboard shortcut and time-range default on this page was re-checked against Google’s current Chrome documentation. The desktop and Android steps were unchanged. One correction was made — earlier versions of this guide described clearing Chrome’s cache from the iPhone’s own Settings app, which is not possible. On iOS, Chrome’s cache can only be cleared from inside the Chrome app.
