Clearing Cache and Cookies

Cache and Cookies refers to how your Chromebook stores browsing and usage data. This can be data such as images and videos on websites you have visited, user preferences and “Remember Me” logins, browsing history, and browser tracking (usually for the purpose of targeted advertisements). 

The purpose of tracking and saving this data is to streamline your browsing experience by helping load website assets quicker or letting you pick up on your last Google search by adding it to the suggested searches on the search bar. However, this feature can become a double-edged sword for your Chromebook. 

The amount of data stored on your Chromebook will continue to build over time and may eventually overwhelm your device. This can cause it to slow down or begin to “act weird,” as some students say. This makes clearing out your cache and cookies an important task that you should get into the habit of doing regularly. 

The good news is that clearing your cache and cookies is a simple process. There are only three steps to it: going into your browsing history, selecting “Delete Browsing Data,” and clicking the “Delete” button to confirm the action. The process should take less than five minutes. 

Keep in mind that deleting your cache and cookies will log you out of any websites you had previously logged into with “Remember Me.” You will need to log into these websites again the next time you visit them. The process will not delete any work that has been autosaved to Google Workspace. 

 Please follow the steps for clearing your cache and cookies below.

This method works by clearing out old data that conflicts with current versions of a website and clearing large amounts of data that puts stress on your Chromebook’s operating system. 

Websites are constantly being updated, which means the website data stored in your Chromebook’s cache may one day not match the version of the website that is currently available. This can cause the two versions to conflict and give rise to the issues that keep you from logging in or cause Securely to wrongfully block you from the website and flag your activity. Stored browsing data can also quickly take up storage space on your Chromebook as you perform research for your English papers and look up math guides. All of this data can put stress on your Chromebook's operating system. 

Clearing out the cache and cookies allows your Chromebook to begin storing data on a fresh slate, much like how cleaning out your backpack will let you store your textbooks and folders as though it were the first day of school again. So, just like how you clean out your backpack every once in a while, you should also clear out your cache and cookies regularly to prevent browser-based issues from happening.

If you find that clearing out your Chromebook’s cache and cookies did not resolve the issue you are experiencing, please bring your device to the library to have me or Mr. Mendez take a look at it. The issue you’re having may require a different solution than one you can DIY.