Safari on a Mac groups cookies and cached website files in Manage Website Data, a control in its Privacy settings. You can remove the data for a troublesome site or for every site in the list. Removing cookies can sign you out, so make sure you can sign back in before you begin.

The browser cache holds copies of page resources, such as images and scripts, so Safari can reuse them on later visits. Cookies can identify a signed-in session or remember a preference. Removing a website's data clears more than a picture that looks out of date: the same action can also remove information the site uses to recognize your browser.

Choose One Website or All Websites

If a single website loads incorrectly or keeps returning you to a broken sign-in page, start with that site's entry. Removing one site's data limits how many stored sessions and preferences you disturb. A problem on one website doesn't by itself justify clearing data for every service you use.

Choose Remove All when you intend to erase the listed website data across sites. Before clearing all entries, make sure you know how to sign back in to important accounts, including any multifactor authentication method you use. If you are in the middle of a form or checkout, finish or save the work first because the page may depend on a session or locally stored information that will be removed.

Website data is not the same as all information on your Mac. Safari's Manage Website Data control does not erase your documents, photos, or downloaded files. Browsing history has a separate control, History > Clear History, for removing Safari's records of visited pages and related browsing information. Use the website-data manager when your aim is to remove a site's stored data rather than its entries in your history.

Remove Data in Safari's Privacy Settings

Open Safari and use the menu bar at the top of the Mac's screen. The following controls are inside Safari, rather than the Mac's System Settings app.

  1. Choose Safari > Settings, then click Privacy.
  2. Click Manage Website Data and let the list of stored website data load.
  3. To clear data for selected websites, select their entries and click Remove.
  4. To clear all the listed website data instead, click Remove All and confirm the removal if Safari asks.
  5. Click Done when you have finished removing the data.

Check the website names before removing their entries. A service may use a separate domain for signing in, so clearing the main site's entry may not remove every cookie involved in its sign-in process. If you are troubleshooting a specific account, identify the relevant domains before removing additional entries; a familiar name is not enough to show that an entry belongs to the affected service.

If you use Safari profiles, note which profile you were using when the problem occurred. Profiles have separate cookies and website data, even though some settings are shared. Return to the same profile when checking the result, and don't assume that a page working in a different profile means the original problem has been fixed.

Use Safari's controls rather than manually deleting files from the Mac's Library folders. The website-data manager lets you choose named website entries. Deleting unfamiliar browser files can remove information beyond the site you intended to reset.

Reload the Site and Check the Result

Return to the affected page and reload it with Command-R. Safari may need to download page resources again, so the first load can take longer than a visit that used cached copies. Check the specific problem that prompted the removal, such as a missing image or a sign-in page that kept looping.

The website may create new cookies and other data as soon as you revisit it. A new entry in Manage Website Data after that visit does not, by itself, mean the removal failed. Clearing stored data removes the existing copy; it does not prevent the website from storing new information during later use.

If the same problem persists, repeatedly clearing every site's data is unlikely to help you identify the cause. A browser extension can affect how a page loads, and an account problem may need attention from the website's support team. If the page also fails in another browser or on another device, the problem may be with the website or network rather than Safari's stored data. Note the exact symptom, affected website, and Safari version before asking for help.

What Happens to Sessions and Preferences

A site may use a cookie containing a session identifier to recognize that you are signed in. After that cookie is removed, the site may ask you to authenticate again. A password saved in a password manager can still be available even though the browser no longer has the cookie for the active session.

A language, theme, or similar choice stored locally may return to its default after you clear the site's data. Choices saved to your account on the website's servers may return after you sign in. Removing Safari cookies and website data can also change or remove related data used by other apps, so check any affected service rather than assuming the change was limited to one Safari tab.

Clearing local data does not delete your account or erase the website's records about you. If you are finishing a session on a shared Mac, use the website's sign-out control before clearing its data. Signing out lets the service end the session, while deleting a local cookie alone does not necessarily invalidate the session on the server.