How to Clear Cache in Chrome (Desktop, Android & iPhone)

Clearing your Chrome cache fixes a range of problems: pages not updating after a site redesign, stale content appearing, login issues on some sites, and Chrome running slowly due to accumulated temporary files. The exact steps differ by platform, and there is one important thing to confirm before you start: clearing your cache does not delete your bookmarks. That concern comes up often enough that it’s worth addressing directly at the top.

What Is the Chrome Cache and What Does Clearing It Do?

When you visit a website, Chrome saves copies of images, scripts, stylesheets, fonts, and other static assets to your device’s cache. The next time you visit that site, Chrome loads these locally saved copies instead of downloading them again — making the page load faster.

The cache is a performance layer only. It has no relationship to your bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, or any data you’ve intentionally saved. Clearing it removes temporary files from past browsing sessions — nothing else, unless you explicitly check the other options in the dialog.

Clearing cache removes:

• Cached images and files from websites you’ve visited
• Cached versions of web application assets

Clearing cache does NOT remove:

• Bookmarks (stored in a separate profile file, never affected by cache clearing)
• Saved passwords (separate setting — only removed if you explicitly check that box)
• Browsing history (separate setting — only removed if you explicitly check that box)
• Cookies and site data (separate setting — clearing cookies logs you out of most websites)
• Chrome extensions or their stored data
• Your Google account sign-in to Chrome
• Chrome’s own settings and preferences

Chrome’s clear browsing data dialog has separate checkboxes for each category. You can clear cache only and leave everything else completely untouched.

How to Clear Cache in Chrome on Windows

Method 1: Through Settings (Recommended)

1. Open Chrome on Windows
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right corner of the browser window
3. Click Settings
4. In the left sidebar, click Privacy and security
5. Click Clear browsing data
6. A dialog opens with two tabs: Basic and Advanced. Either tab works for cache clearing
7. Set the Time range dropdown to the period you want. “All time” clears everything; “Last 4 weeks” or “Last 7 days” clears only recent cache
8. Check Cached images and files
9. Uncheck Browsing history and Cookies and other site data if you only want to clear cache and nothing else
10. Click Clear data

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut (Fastest)

Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows. This opens the Clear browsing data dialog directly, bypassing the Settings menu navigation. Set your time range, check Cached images and files, and click Clear data.

Method 3: Hard Reload — Clear Cache for One Page Only

If only one specific page isn’t loading correctly, you can force Chrome to reload just that page without using the cached version:

• Hold Ctrl and click the reload button in the address bar, or
• Press Ctrl+Shift+R

This forces a fresh download of that page’s assets only. It does not clear your broader cache or affect anything else.

Method 4: Developer Tools Cache Disable (For Troubleshooting)

If you’re troubleshooting a web page and want to consistently load without cache while you work:

1. Press F12 to open Chrome Developer Tools
2. Click the Network tab
3. Check the box labeled Disable cache

This disables cache loading only while the Developer Tools panel is open. Close DevTools and caching returns to normal. This is useful for web developers or for diagnosing whether a specific caching issue is causing the problem you’re seeing.

How to Clear Cache in Chrome on Mac

The process on Mac mirrors Windows exactly, with one keyboard shortcut difference:

1. Open Chrome on Mac
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right
3. Click Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data
4. Set the Time range, check Cached images and files, uncheck anything you want to keep
5. Click Clear data

Keyboard shortcut on Mac: Cmd+Shift+Delete opens the Clear browsing data dialog directly.

Hard reload on Mac: Hold Cmd and click the reload button, or press Cmd+Shift+R.

How to Clear Cache in Chrome on Android

1. Open the Chrome app on your Android device
2. Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right corner
3. Tap History
4. Tap Clear browsing data
5. Set the Time range (tap the dropdown at the top)
6. Make sure Cached images and files is checked
7. Uncheck other items if you don’t want them cleared
8. Tap Clear data
9. Confirm in the pop-up if one appears

On Android, clearing cache does not affect bookmarks. Bookmarks in Chrome for Android are stored as profile data tied to your Google account (if sync is enabled) or to the app’s local storage — neither is the cache.

Alternative: Clear Chrome’s Cache via Android System Settings

If Chrome is running slowly but you can’t open it normally, you can clear its cache through Android’s system settings:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings
2. Tap Apps (may also be labeled “Applications” or “App Manager”)
3. Find and tap Chrome
4. Tap Storage & cache or Storage
5. Tap Clear cache

This method only clears the cache, not Chrome’s data. It’s equivalent to using Chrome’s in-app cache clearing but accessible even if Chrome isn’t opening properly.

How to Clear Cache in Chrome on iPhone and iPad

The steps on iPhone and iPad differ slightly from Android and have changed in recent Chrome versions:

1. Open the Chrome app on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) — in current versions of Chrome for iOS, the menu is at the bottom right of the screen
3. Tap Delete Browsing Data (this option takes you directly to the clearing dialog; on some versions it may appear under Settings → Privacy and Security → Clear Browsing Data)
4. Set the Time Range using the dropdown
5. Make sure Cached Images and Files is selected
6. Tap Clear Browsing Data (the confirmation button)
7. Confirm when prompted

On iPhone, Chrome bookmarks are tied to your Google account sync — not to cached files. Clearing cache has zero effect on your bookmarks.

Note on iOS Chrome menu location: The three-dot menu position has varied across Chrome for iOS versions — it has appeared at both the top right and the bottom right of the screen depending on version and iOS settings. If you don’t see it in one location, check the other.

The Difference Between Cache, Cookies, and Browsing History

People often clear these together without understanding what each one does. Knowing the difference helps you avoid clearing things you don’t want to lose.

If you’ve accidentally cleared cookies along with cache, you’ll need to log back in to your accounts on most websites. Your passwords remain saved in Chrome’s password manager (if you use it) to make re-logging in easier.

When Clearing Cache Actually Fixes Things (and When It Doesn’t)

Clearing cache is the right fix when:

• A website shows old content after a known site update (cached version is stale)
• A site loads broken or shows styling that doesn’t match what others see
• You’re troubleshooting a site and want to rule out caching as the cause
• Chrome is consuming large amounts of storage and you want to free up space
• You’re getting strange errors on a site that was working fine previously

Clearing cache will NOT fix:

• A bookmarked page that returns a 404 error — the page has gone offline, and clearing cache doesn’t help because the problem is on the server side, not in your local files
• Slow loading of a page on a slow connection — cache clearing won’t make your network faster
• Missing bookmarks — bookmarks are stored separately from cache and are never affected
• Chrome extension problems — extensions have their own storage separate from the browser cache

That last point about 404 bookmarks comes up often. When someone notices a bookmark isn’t working, clearing cache is usually the first thing they try. It rarely helps, because the actual problem is link rot — the linked page has gone offline, moved to a new URL, or been deleted from the original server. The fix for that is checking whether an archived version exists, not clearing local files.

How Much Storage Does Chrome’s Cache Use?

Chrome’s cache size varies based on how much you browse and your device’s storage. On desktop, it commonly grows to several hundred megabytes over a few months of regular browsing. On mobile, Chrome typically imposes its own cache size limits and manages the cache more aggressively.

To see how much cache Chrome is currently storing before you clear it:

1. Go to the Clear browsing data dialog (Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac)
2. Look at the description line under “Cached images and files” — Chrome shows an approximate size (e.g., “128 MB”)

If the number is large (several hundred MB to over 1 GB), clearing it can noticeably free up disk space. If it’s small, the storage benefit is minimal.

Clearing Cache for a Specific Website (Without Clearing All)

If you want to clear cache only for one domain rather than all your browsing history:

1. Go to chrome://settings/content/all in Chrome’s address bar (or Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → View permissions and data stored across sites)
2. Search for the site’s domain in the search box
3. Click on the site and choose Clear data — this removes only that site’s cached files and storage

This is useful when one specific website has caching issues and you don’t want to clear your entire cache and slow down all other sites temporarily.

What Happens to Your Bookmarks During a Chrome Reset

A different scenario people sometimes confuse with cache clearing: the Chrome “Reset settings” option. This is much more drastic than clearing cache.

Cache clearing: Removes temporary browsing files only. Bookmarks, passwords, history, and extensions are unaffected.

Reset settings (Settings → Reset settings → Restore settings to their original defaults): Disables extensions, clears startup page settings, removes pinned tabs, and resets site permissions. It does not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Uninstalling Chrome and reinstalling: Deletes your Chrome profile, including bookmarks, if you don’t export them or have sync enabled first. Before uninstalling Chrome, always export your bookmarks to an HTML file as a precaution.

If you’re concerned about losing bookmarks, the safest approach is to export them before any major Chrome change. See how to export Chrome bookmarks for the exact steps.

If you’re doing a Chrome cleanup and want to check which of your bookmarks are still live while you’re at it, Bookmend monitors your bookmarks for dead links automatically — free, no account required, nothing uploaded to any server.