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Web browsing tip – how to remove cookies from your device

“Cookies” are the small files stored on your device when you visit websites, which remember some of your details to improve the experience when you visit again. They’re usually pretty helpful – for example, cookies might save your username or remember what’s in your shopping cart. But what if you don’t want a website to know who you are or store your details?

Generally, they’re harmless – but you should be mindful of which sites you allow to store cookies. Most websites show a pop-up asking your permission to use cookies, but the default response is usually ‘yes’ and these things can easily pass you by. Thus, sometimes it’s appropriate to cleanse the whole lot from your device.

To remove all stored cookies, you’ll have to clear out all your history and website data from Safari. This clears out everything – though bookmarks and favorites will remain – so only do it if you really need to. To do this, open the Settings app and select Safari. Scroll down and press Clear History and Website Data, then again to confirm.

If you’d rather stop unwanted cookies being stored in the first place, you can tweak the filters under the Block Cookies section of settings, which is just above the previous option.

If it’s just one or two websites you have a beef with, you can also manually remove individual pieces of stored data from Advanced > Website Data.

Related reading: what is Intelligent Tracking Prevention and how does it work?