You may get rid of extra data and some trackers that may have accumulated while using your web browser by clearing the cache and cookies on your Android phone. No matter whatever online browser you use on your Android phone—Google Chrome, Firefox, or Samsung Internet—it always gathers and retains data. Your phone uses the data in your cookies and cache to load frequently viewed websites quickly and log you into your accounts.
But over time, this information accumulates, taking up space on your phone and possibly containing cookies that follow your surfing history with the aim of delivering targeted advertising. (I’ve been seeing advertisements for cruise trips after looking at a few potential getaways, as well as for eyeglasses after visiting a few internet sites to compare prices and styles.)
Below, we’ll go over how to clear this data for the Google Chrome browser (often the default for many Android phones like the Google Pixel line), Samsung’s Internet browser (often the default on the Galaxy phone series), and Mozilla’s Firefox browser. The steps vary slightly depending on the type of phone and web browser app you’re using. If you need to clean up a few Apple devices as well, you can also read our separate instruction on how to clear the cache on an iPhone web browser.
