How to Clear the Cache in Microsoft Edge

This article explains how to manually and automatically clear cached data from web pages on the Microsoft Edge Windows web browser each time you exit the browser.

How to Clear the Cache

To clear the cache on Microsoft Edge, complete the following steps:

1. In Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more (the icon that looks like three dots).

   

2. Select Settings.

   

3. In the Settings sidebar, select Privacy and services.

   

4. Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear.

   

5. In Clear browsing data, select the check box for each type of data, such as browsing history, cookies, and passwords, you want to clear from the cache.

   

6. From the Time range list, select how far back Microsoft Edge should empty the cache (for example, everything for the past hour, for the past seven days, or for all time).

7. Select Clear now.

How to Clear the Cache When You Close the Browser Window

You can also set Microsoft Edge to clear the cache automatically every time you close the browser window. To do so, complete the following steps:

1. In Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more.

   

2. Select Settings.

   

3. In the Settings sidebar, select Privacy and services.

   

4. Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear every time you close the browser.

   

5. In Clear browsing data on close, select the option beside each cache you want to clear when you close a browser window.

   

6. Close the Settings tab in Microsoft Edge.

Reasons to Clear the Cache

The cache consists of items that Microsoft Edge saves while you browse the web. The most common issue you can run into when using a browser is a corrupted cache file. That means a small data file on your computer contains data with errors, and it can stop the browser from reading the file properly.

Deleting (aka clearing) the cache file tells the browser to make a new, clean one. When you visit a site, you might need to log in again because the cache file contained information about you that the site saved to make it easier for you to visit the site again.

It's annoying to have to log in again, but you'll appreciate how your browser behaves better when there's a new cache file.