Cookies
Also known as: browser cookies, clear cookies, http cookies
Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser to remember you between visits — keeping you signed in, holding cart items, and saving preferences. Clearing them frees a little space but signs you out of most sites and resets settings.
- Small files that remember you between visits
- Clearing them signs you out and resets preferences
- Take little space — privacy matters more than size
What cookies do
A cookie is a tiny piece of data tied to a specific site. It lets a server recognize your browser on the next request, which is how you stay logged in, keep a shopping cart, or land on a site in your chosen language. Third-party cookies set by ad and analytics networks also track activity across sites.
Cookies are text, so they take very little space — clearing them is more about privacy and sign-in state than reclaiming storage. The cache, not cookies, is what actually grows large.
What clearing cookies does
Removing cookies logs you out of nearly every site and discards saved preferences, so you sign in again on your next visit. In Chrome it lives under Settings > Privacy and security > Delete browsing data > Cookies and other site data; in Safari on iOS, clearing happens through Settings > Apps > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.
Clear cookies when you want a clean sign-in state or to stop cross-site tracking, not when you simply need free space.