How to Clear Browsing Data in Chrome for iPhone or iPod Touch

Clear Google Chrome's cache on iOS

Updated on October 15, 2020

The Google Chrome app for the iPhone stores data on your device and the cloud as you surf the web. While such information can prove useful for future browsing sessions, it can also present security risks and take up a lot of space. Because of these inherent risks, you should know how to clean Chrome's storage on iOS devices.

Information in this article applies to the Chrome app for iOS 13, iOS 12, and iOS 11.

How to Delete Chrome Data on iOS Devices

Chrome automatically saves your browsing history, passwords, cookies, cached images, autofill data, and sometimes even whole websites. To manage your browsing history and other cached data on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch:

Open the Chrome app on your iOS device.
Tap the ellipses (...) in the bottom right corner of the Chrome app
Tap History in the pop-up menu.
Tap Clear Browsing Data.
Select the items you want to delete from Chrome by tapping them individually to place a checkmark next to them. In addition to Browsing History, you may also want to select Cookies, Site Data, Cached Images and Files, or one of the other options.
Tap Clear Browsing Data, then tap it again in the confirmation screen to remove the data from your device and the cloud.
Tap Done at the top of the screen when the confirmation pop-up goes away to return to Chrome.

Clearing Chrome's browsing data does not delete bookmarks or sign you out of your Google account.

Understanding Chrome's Browsing Data Options

The types of data that Chrome automatically saves include:

Browsing History: Chrome maintains a record of every website you've visited since the last time you cleared the history. Access these previously viewed sites via Chrome's History screen in the main menu.
Cookies: Cookies are files placed on your device when you visit certain sites. Each cookie is used to tell a web server when you return to its page. Cookies can remember specific website settings as well as sensitive information such as login credentials.
Cached Images and Files: Chrome for iPhone and iPod Touch uses its cache to store images, content, and URLs of recently visited web pages. Using the cache, the browser can render these pages much faster on subsequent visits by loading the assets locally from your device rather than from the web server itself.
Saved Passwords: When you enter a password on a website, Chrome usually asks if you want it to remember the password. If you choose Yes, the password is stored on your device or in the cloud, similar to a password manager.
Autofill Data: In addition to passwords, Chrome also stores other information that you enter into web forms such as your name, address, and payment information. This data is then used by the browser's Autofill feature to populate similar fields during subsequent sessions.