To clear cookies on a Mac without losing every login, remove them one site at a time instead of all at once.
In Safari, choose Safari › Settings, click Privacy, then Manage Website Data, select the sites you want to forget and click Remove. Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave have the same kind of list in their privacy settings.
Every site you remove signs you out of that site, and only that one. The sites you leave alone keep you signed in, remember your settings and keep their offline data.
Your passwords and passkeys aren't cookies, so they survive either way. Safari's live in the Passwords app, and other browsers keep theirs in their own password managers. Clearing cookies costs you the sign-in itself, plus the "trust this device" step some sites ask for, not the password you sign in with.
Cookies also take very little space. If you're clearing them to free up storage, the gigabytes are in the other data sites store and in the browser's cache, both covered below. And none of it makes a Mac faster.
What cookies and website data are
Browsers keep several kinds of data for each website. They're cleared by the same controls, so it helps to know which one holds what before you remove any of them.
What is a cookie?
A small record a website asks your browser to keep and send back on later visits. Mozilla describes cookies as holding things such as site preferences and login status. When you tick "Remember me" on a sign-in page, it's usually a cookie that remembers you.
Some cookies belong to the site you're visiting; others, called third-party cookies, are set by other sites embedded in the page, such as ads. Google's help describes the difference, and every browser lets you block third-party ones.
What other data do websites store?
Much more than cookies. MDN, the web's reference documentation, lists what counts toward a site's storage: cookies, Web Storage such as local storage, IndexedDB databases, the Cache API that service workers use for offline files, and the Origin Private File System.
| Kind of data | What sites use it for | How big it can get |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies | Sign-ins, preferences, tracking | Tiny: browsers should support at least 4,096 bytes each |
| Local storage | Settings and small saved state | About 5 MiB per site, MDN says |
| IndexedDB | Web apps' databases, such as mail kept offline | Part of the site's quota |
| Cache API and service workers | Offline copies of a site's files | Part of the site's quota |
| The browser's cache | Copies of pages, images and scripts | Managed by the browser, cleared separately |
The last row isn't website data at all. It's the browser's own copy of what it downloaded, and every browser clears it with a separate checkbox or command.
How do browsers name all this?
Each uses its own words for the same thing. Safari says cookies and website data, Chrome and Edge say cookies and other site data, Firefox says cookies and site data, and Brave says cookies and site data too. In every case, clearing it removes the cookies and the other stored data together.
How much space cookies really take
Not much. Cookies are measured in kilobytes, and a browser's whole collection usually fits in a few megabytes. What can grow large is everything else sites store.
How big are cookies?
RFC 6265, the standard for cookies, asks browsers to support at least 4,096 bytes per cookie, 50 cookies per domain and 3,000 cookies in total. Even if every one of those 3,000 were full size, that's about 12 MB.
On one Mac, measured in October 2026, Chrome's cookie database for its main profile was 2.3 MB, and Safari's cookie file was under 0.1 MB. Neither is worth clearing for space.
- Chrome's cookie database, one Mac2.3 MB · Usually safe
- Safari's cookie file, one Mac0 MB · Usually safe
- 3,000 cookies of 4,096 bytes12.3 MB
The first two were measured in October 2026 on one Mac. The third is what RFC 6265 asks a browser to hold at least, if every cookie were full size.
Where does the real space go, then?
Into site data. MDN describes how much one site may store: in Chrome and other Chromium browsers, up to 60 percent of the disk; in Safari, up to around 60 percent in the browser app; in Firefox, the smaller of 10 percent of the disk or 10 GiB by default. Those are ceilings, and few sites come near them.
The app's catalog puts it more practically: most sites store little, but web apps and media sites can store a lot, and a single site can store several gigabytes. A mail web app that works offline, a music service and a design tool are the usual candidates.
Does any browser show how much each site stores?
Firefox does. Mozilla says its Manage Cookies and Site Data dialog shows a list of sites and how much each is storing. Apple describes Safari's Manage Website Data as listing the sites that stored cookies and data, without mentioning a size. Use each list to find sites you don't recognize or no longer use.
Does clearing cookies reduce System Data?
Only a little. Storage settings has no browser category, so Safari's cache and website data count toward System Data, as the post on what System Data on a Mac is made of explains. Clearing cookies alone barely moves it; removing large sites' data and clearing the cache can.
Apple also says macOS clears Safari's website data by itself when storage space is needed, so you rarely have to do it for space.
How to clear cookies on a Mac in Safari
Safari keeps cookies and website data in one list, by site. The same list does both jobs: removing one site, or removing everything.
How do you remove one site's cookies in Safari?
- In Safari, choose Safari › Settings, then click Privacy.
- Click Manage Website Data.
- Select one or more websites, then click Remove.
Apple warns that removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also sign you out of websites or change how they behave. That applies only to the sites you selected.
How do you remove everything in Safari?
Follow the same steps and click Remove All. Every site loses its cookies and stored data: you're signed out of all of them, their preferences reset, and web apps download their offline data again.
It's the right choice when you're handing the Mac to someone else or starting over, and rarely otherwise. To free space or fix one site, removing a few sites does the job without the sign-ins.
Does removing Safari's data affect other apps?
It can. Apple notes that removing cookies and website data in Safari may change or remove them in other apps. It doesn't list which apps, but apps that show web pages inside them use the same engine as Safari, as the section on built-in web views explains.
Can you stop Safari storing cookies at all?
Yes, but it's rarely wise. In Safari › Settings › Advanced, select Block all cookies. Apple says this may prevent some websites from working properly, and you'd be signing in to sites over and over. It's a privacy setting, not a storage one, since cookies take almost no space.
Doesn't Clear History remove cookies?
Apple's list for History › Clear History covers the pages you visited, recent searches, page icons and snapshots, and sites that asked for your location or notifications. It doesn't list cookies or website data; those are in Manage Website Data. Clearing history to sign out of a site doesn't do what you want, and costs you your history.
The post on Safari's cache and website data covers the cache, Develop › Empty Caches and the rest of Safari's storage.
Clearing cookies in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave
The other browsers work the same way in principle: one list of sites to remove from, one dialog to clear everything. Their menus differ, and so do their extras.
How do you clear cookies in Chrome?
To remove one site, Google's steps are:
- Choose More › Settings › Privacy and security › Third-party cookies.
- Click See all site data and permissions.
- Search for the site, click its Delete icon, then confirm with Delete.
To remove everything, choose More › Delete browsing data, pick a time range, select Cookies and other site data, and click Delete data. Google warns that deleting cookies may sign you out of sites that remember you, and that saved preferences can go too.
What does Chrome keep when you clear cookies?
Google says deleting browsing data doesn't delete saved passwords and passkeys; those are managed in Google Password Manager. Cards and addresses saved in your Google Account stay too. To sign out of your Google Account on every site, Google's advice is to sign out of Chrome itself.
One caution: Google says that if you delete browsing data while signed in to Chrome, Chrome removes it from your other devices and your Google Account as well. Check what's selected before you click Delete data, especially browsing history. The post on where Chrome's space goes covers its cache and profiles.
How do you clear cookies in Firefox?
For one site, Mozilla's steps are:
- Choose Firefox › Settings, select Privacy and security, and go to the Browsing data section.
- Click Clear data for specific sites to open Manage Cookies and Site Data.
- Search for the site, then click Remove All Shown, or select entries and click Remove Selected.
- Click Save Changes, then OK.
For everything, click Clear browsing data, set When to Everything, make sure Cookies and site data is checked, and click Clear. To clear only cookies and keep the cache, untick Temporary cached files and pages.
How do you clear cookies in Edge?
Microsoft's steps for one site: choose Settings and more › Settings › Privacy, search, and services, select Cookies, then See all cookies and site data. Search for the site, click the arrow beside it and choose Delete.
For everything, in the same Privacy, search, and services page, select Clear browsing data, then Choose what to clear. Pick a time range, select Cookies and other site data, and click Clear now. Microsoft warns that this signs you out of most sites.
How do you clear cookies in Brave?
Brave's help gives the route for one site: Settings › Privacy and security › Site and Shields Settings › Cookies and site data › View permissions and data stored across sites, under Additional settings in current versions. Search for the site and use its trash icon, or Remove all shown.
For everything, go to Privacy and security › Delete browsing data, untick Browsing history and Cached files if you only want cookies gone, and click Clear data. The post on Firefox, Edge, Brave and Arc's caches and profiles covers what else these browsers keep.
| Browser | One site | Everything | Clears on quit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safari | Privacy › Manage Website Data › Remove | Remove All | No documented setting |
| Chrome | Third-party cookies › See all site data and permissions | Delete browsing data | Delete on-device data when all windows close |
| Firefox | Browsing data › Clear data for specific sites | Clear browsing data | Per site, with Allow for Session |
| Edge | Cookies › See all cookies and site data | Clear browsing data › Choose what to clear | Choose what to clear every time you close |
| Brave | Cookies and site data › View permissions and data | Delete browsing data | The On exit tab |
How do you clear cookies in Arc?
Arc is built on Chromium and keeps site data for each profile. The catalog's entry for Arc's site data gives the steps. Choose Arc › Settings, click Profiles, select a profile and click Clear Browsing Data.
Then click Delete Browsing Data, choose a time range, select Cookies and other site data, and click Delete Data.
Is there a faster way for the site you're on?
Yes, in most browsers. In Firefox, click the shield icon to the left of the address bar and choose Clear cookies and site data.
In Brave, click the lock icon, select Cookies and site data, then Manage on-device site data. In Chrome, Google's route starts from the View site information icon at the left of the address bar.
These are the quickest fix for a site that's stuck, such as a sign-in loop or a page that won't load properly. Only the site you're on is affected.
How to clear cookies and keep your logins
The aim is simple: lose the cookies you don't want and none of the sign-ins you'd miss. A little preparation makes even a full clear painless.
Where are your passwords, if not in cookies?
On a Mac, Apple says passwords and passkeys are saved in the Passwords app, and iCloud Keychain fills them in when you sign in to websites and apps. With Passwords turned on in iCloud settings, they're on every device signed in to your Apple Account.
Other browsers have their own managers: Google Password Manager for Chrome, and Firefox's own password management. Mozilla explains the difference well: a saved password fills in the sign-in form for you, while a login cookie skips the form until it's cleared.
What should you check before clearing everything?
- Open the Passwords app, or your browser's password manager, and check that the sites you use most are in it.
- Make sure you can receive two-factor codes: your phone, an authenticator app or backup codes.
- Note any site where you sign in with a link sent by email, so you're not surprised.
- Finish anything a web app is holding offline, such as an unsent draft.
The last step matters more than it looks. The app's catalog warns that anything a web app saved only on your Mac, such as unsynced drafts, is lost when its data goes.
Why do sites ask for two-factor codes again?
Because the cookie that marked your browser as trusted is gone. Google's help on trusted computers says the prompt usually returns when a browser deletes cookies, and suggests allowing Google's cookies, or adding an exception for its domain, to stay trusted. Banks and work accounts tend to behave the same way.
It isn't a sign something's wrong. Enter the code, tick the "don't ask again" box if the site offers one, and you're back to normal.
Do passkeys still work after clearing cookies?
Yes. A passkey is saved in the Passwords app or your browser's password manager, not in a cookie. Google says clearing Chrome's browsing data doesn't delete saved passkeys. After clearing, you sign in with the passkey as usual and the site sets a new cookie.
Which sites should you remove first?
Sites you don't recognize, sites you visited once, services you've cancelled and web apps you stopped using. They're the ones most likely to hold tracking cookies or stale data, and the ones whose sign-ins you won't miss.
Leave your mail, bank, work tools and anything you use daily. Removing them only means signing in again tomorrow.
Clearing cookies automatically
If you'd rather never think about it, some browsers can clear cookies for you when you quit. Each does it a little differently, and one of them lets you keep chosen sites.
Which browsers clear cookies when you quit?
- Edge: in Clear browsing data, choose Choose what to clear every time you close the browser and turn on Cookies and other site data.
- Brave: in Clear browsing data, open the On exit tab, tick what to clear and click Save.
- Chrome: in Site settings › Additional content settings › On-device site data, choose Delete data sites have saved to your device when you close all windows.
- Firefox: in Browsing data › Manage exceptions, set chosen sites to Allow for Session, so their data goes when the session ends.
How do you keep some sites while clearing the rest?
Firefox's exceptions are the clearest way. Mozilla says you can always allow, block or allow for the session only, site by site, in the Exceptions - Cookies and Site Data dialog. Set the sites you don't care about to Allow for Session, and leave the ones you sign in to on Allow.
Google's help describes how Chrome's clear-on-close option behaves: sites will probably work as you expect, but are less likely to remember you from one visit to the next. Neither Edge's nor Brave's help describes keeping chosen sites while clearing on quit.
Should you block third-party cookies instead?
For privacy, it's often the better tool, because it stops the cookies you'd otherwise keep clearing. Google says Chrome lets you allow or block third-party cookies by default, with exceptions for sites that need them, and that Incognito blocks them by default.
In Firefox, Mozilla's steps are in Privacy and security: under Enhanced Tracking Protection, choose Custom, tick Cookies and pick which kind to block. Mozilla warns that some sites won't work properly with all cookies blocked. Safari has its own Prevent cross-site tracking setting in the Privacy pane.
Why didn't Brave clear anything when you closed it?
Brave's help has a note for Mac users: closing the window with its close button doesn't erase browsing data. Quit the browser completely, with Brave › Quit Brave or from its Dock icon, for the deletion to happen. Most Mac apps keep running with no windows open, and that's what trips this up.
What about Safari?
Apple doesn't document a setting that clears Safari's cookies when you quit. The closest is Private Browsing: Apple says that in a private window, changes to your cookies and website data aren't saved. Profiles help too, by keeping some browsing apart, as the next section explains.
Profiles, Private Browsing and iCloud
Safari and the other browsers offer ways to keep cookies apart, so that you rarely have to clear them at all. And iCloud syncs some of Safari's data, but not all of it.
How do Safari profiles keep cookies apart?
Apple says browsing history, cookies and other website data aren't shared between Safari profiles, and sites may ask you to sign in again in a new profile. A Work profile and a Personal profile each keep their own sign-ins, so clearing one leaves the other alone.
Passwords, AutoFill and privacy settings are shared between profiles. Deleting a profile erases its history, cookies and other website data, and keeps your bookmarks. The default profile can't be deleted.
Does Private Browsing keep cookies?
Not after you close the window. Apple says that in a private window, pages you visit and AutoFill information aren't saved, and changes to your cookies and website data aren't saved either. Websites can't modify information stored on your Mac, so some sites may behave differently until you use a normal window.
A private window starts without your normal cookies, so you'll be signed out of everything in it. That makes it a handy way to check a site without clearing anything.
Does iCloud sync Safari's cookies?
Apple doesn't describe it doing so. In macOS 27's iCloud settings, Apple says Safari stores open tabs, the Reading List and bookmarks in iCloud, and Clear History removes your history from every device that syncs Safari. Cookies and website data aren't on those lists, and Manage Website Data covers what's stored on your Mac.
Passwords are different: with Passwords on in iCloud settings, they sync to all your devices. If syncing stops between your devices, a full iCloud is one reason, since iCloud apps stop updating when storage runs out.
Should you clear history too?
Only if you want your history gone. Clear History removes it from the Mac and, with Safari in iCloud, from your other devices. It doesn't remove cookies, and Apple notes that it doesn't clear any history websites keep about you on their own servers.
Apps with built-in web views
Plenty of Mac apps show web pages inside their own windows: help screens, sign-in pages, chat apps, whole apps built around a web page. Each keeps its own cookies and site data, out of reach of your browser's settings.
Do apps keep their own cookies?
Yes. Apple's developer documentation says a web view in a Mac app uses a data store that manages cookies, caches and other website data, and by default saves it persistently to disk. Each app has its own store.
So clearing Safari doesn't sign you out of most apps, with the exception Apple mentions: Safari's removal may change or remove data in other apps.
Apps built with Electron, a framework many desktop apps use, keep their cookies, local storage and cache in the app's own folder in your Library's Application Support, according to Electron's documentation.
How do you clear an app's sign-in?
Through the app. Sign out in its settings or account menu, and use any Clear cache option it offers. Chat apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat on a Mac and the ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini apps each keep their own data, covered in those posts.
Don't delete an app's folders in Finder to sign out. App preferences and saved state aren't caches, and removing them can reset or break the app.
What about Safari web apps in the Dock?
A site you've added to the Dock with File › Add to Dock is separate from Safari. Apple says a web app shares no browsing history, cookies, website data or settings with Safari.
To clear its data, open the web app, click its name in the menu bar, choose Settings, and use the Privacy tab, which can clear the site's data, including cookies and caches.
How much can an app's web content store?
Less than a browser, by default. MDN says that in Safari's engine, each site in embedded web content can store up to around 15 percent of the disk, against around 60 percent in a browser app. In practice, chat and AI apps grow through caches and downloaded files more than through cookies.
Mistakes to avoid when clearing cookies
Most problems come from clearing more than you meant to, or clearing the wrong thing for the job. Here are the common ones.
| Don't | Why | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Click Remove All to fix one site | You're signed out of everything | Remove that one site |
| Clear cookies to free space | They take a few megabytes | Clear the cache, and large sites' data |
| Clear history to sign out | History isn't where sign-ins are | Manage Website Data |
| Delete browser folders in Finder | macOS 27 protects several of them, and it skips the browser's own checks | Use the browser's settings |
| Clear everything without your passwords saved | You may be locked out | Check your password manager first |
| Paste a cleanup command from a web page | No undo, and some are malware | Use the browser's menus |
Why not delete the browser's folders directly?
Because the browser knows which files belong to which site, and you don't. The catalog notes that on macOS 27, macOS protects Chrome's, Firefox's, Edge's and Brave's data folders so other apps can't open or change them, which is one more reason to clear from the browser's own settings.
Does clearing cookies make a Mac faster?
No. Cookies are small records that sites read when you visit; removing them doesn't change how fast your Mac, or even the browser, runs. Clearing them fixes sign-in loops and stuck pages, and it's a privacy choice. It isn't a speed-up, and neither is clearing the cache.
Should you clear cookies on a schedule?
There's no need. Safari's engine already deletes data from sites you don't interact with: MDN says Safari removes a site's script-created data after seven days of browser use without interaction, when cross-site tracking prevention is on. Clear when a site misbehaves, when you want to sign out of something, or before handing the Mac on.
A worked example
Say a shopping site keeps showing an old basket and won't let you sign in. In Safari, you open Manage Website Data, find that one site, and remove it. You sign in again, using the password the Passwords app fills in, and the basket is fixed. Nothing else changed.
A week later, you want a fresh start before lending the Mac to a relative. You check your passwords and codes, then click Remove All. Everything signs out; your passwords are still there. For the space question, the post on how to clear cache on a Mac is the better starting point.
How the app does it
Wombit is a native Mac app that shows what's using your storage, explains every item in plain language, and clears it safely: Trash first, undoable and logged. File names and paths never leave your Mac.
Browsers' website data folders appear on the map like everything else. Select one and the app says what it is, how safe it is to remove and what removing it costs, from a catalog written and checked by hand with sources:
~/
Library/ Containers/ com.apple.Safari/ Data/ Library/ WebKit/ WebsiteData Data that websites store on your Mac through Safari, such as sign-in state, settings, databases and offline files.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Application Support/ Google/ Chrome/ {Default,Profile *}/ {Service Worker,IndexedDB} Offline data that websites and web apps stored in Chrome, such as service worker caches and IndexedDB databases.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Application Support/ Firefox/ Profiles/ */ storage/ default Offline data, databases and local storage that websites and web apps stored in Firefox, in a folder for each site.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Application Support/ Microsoft Edge/ {Default,Profile *}/ {Service Worker,IndexedDB} Offline data that websites and web apps stored in Edge, such as service worker caches and IndexedDB databases.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Library/ Application Support/ BraveSoftware/ Brave-Browser/ {Default,Profile *}/ {Service Worker,IndexedDB} Offline data that websites and web apps stored in Brave, such as service worker caches and IndexedDB databases.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
Each is Usually safe, so it never starts checked: removing it signs you out of sites and can lose a web app's unsynced work. The catalog explains how to remove the sites you no longer use from the browser's own settings, where the browser knows which data belongs to which site.
On macOS 27, folders macOS doesn't let the app read, such as Chrome's data folder, are listed rather than skipped. Finding and explaining browser data is part of the free analyzer. Cleanup is PRO: one payment of $4.99 with lifetime access. Every Pro tool's review is free to open.
Frequently asked questions
Will clearing cookies delete my saved passwords?
No. Cookies keep you signed in between visits; saved passwords and passkeys are stored separately. On a Mac, Safari's are in the Passwords app, and Google says clearing cookies in Chrome doesn't delete saved passwords or passkeys. You'll sign in again, and your password manager can fill in the details.
How do I clear cookies for just one website on a Mac?
In Safari, choose Safari › Settings, click Privacy, click Manage Website Data, select the site and click Remove. Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave each have a list of sites in their privacy settings with a delete button for each one. Only that site signs you out.
Does clearing cookies free up space on a Mac?
Hardly. Cookies are tiny; on one Mac we measured, Chrome's whole cookie database was about 2 MB. The space is in the other data sites store, such as databases and offline files, which the same controls remove, and in the browser's cache, which has its own setting.
Why do sites ask for a two-factor code again after I clear cookies?
Because the cookie that marked your Mac as trusted is gone. Google, for example, says it asks again when your browser deletes cookies, and suggests allowing its cookies to keep a computer trusted. Have your codes or your phone ready before clearing everything.
Does clearing cookies in Safari on my Mac clear them on my iPhone?
Apple doesn't describe cookies as syncing. Its lists of what Safari keeps in iCloud name tabs, bookmarks, the Reading List and history, and Manage Website Data covers the data stored on your Mac. Clear History is different: it removes your history from every device that syncs Safari through iCloud.
Can I clear cookies automatically when I quit the browser?
In some browsers. Edge can clear cookies every time you close it, Brave has an On exit tab, Chrome can delete site data when you close all windows, and Firefox lets you allow chosen sites for the session only. Apple doesn't document such a setting for Safari; private windows don't save cookie changes.
Does clearing cookies make a Mac faster?
No. Cookies are small records that websites read, and removing them doesn't change how fast your Mac runs. Clearing them can fix a site that's stuck or misbehaving, and it's a privacy choice, but it isn't a speed-up.