How to Clear Cache in Chrome (2026 Guide)

Last updated: June 6, 2026

When a website isn't loading properly — showing old content, broken layouts, or refusing to load at all — clearing your Chrome cache is often the quickest fix. Chrome stores copies of web pages, images, and scripts locally to speed things up, but sometimes this cached data becomes outdated or corrupted.

This guide covers three ways to clear your cache in Google Chrome, from the quickest method to the most thorough.

Method 1: Quick Cache Bypass (No Data Lost)

This forces Chrome to re-download the current page without touching your saved data. Perfect for when a single site looks wrong.

Hard refresh the page

On the page that's not loading correctly, press:

Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Shift + R

Mac: Cmd + Shift + R

This bypasses the cache for the current page only. Your bookmarks, passwords, and history are untouched.

Tip: This method works 80% of the time. Try it first before doing a full cache clear.

Method 2: Clear Cache via Keyboard Shortcut

If a hard refresh didn't fix it, clear the full browser cache. This is the most common method.

Open the Clear Browsing Data dialog

Press this keyboard shortcut:

Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Shift + Delete

Mac: Cmd + Shift + Delete

This opens the "Clear browsing data" dialog directly.

Choose what to clear

In the dialog that appears:

Set Time range to "All time" (or "Last hour" if you only need recent data cleared)
Check "Cached images and files" — this is the main one
Optionally check "Cookies and other site data" — this will log you out of websites
Leave "Browsing history" unchecked unless you want to clear that too

Click "Delete data"

Chrome will clear the selected data. This usually takes a few seconds. Once done, refresh the website you were having trouble with.

Note: If you clear cookies, you'll be logged out of most websites. You'll need to sign in again.

Method 3: Clear Cache via Chrome Settings

If the keyboard shortcut doesn't work, you can navigate to the same dialog through the menu.

Open Chrome menu

Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of Chrome.

Go to Delete browsing data

Click "Delete browsing data..." — it's near the top of the menu. Alternatively, go to Settings → Privacy and security → Delete browsing data.

Select and clear

Same as Method 2 — choose your time range, check "Cached images and files", and click "Delete data".

Method 4: Clear Cache for a Single Site

Want to clear the cache for just one specific website without affecting everything else? Chrome lets you do that.

Open Developer Tools

On the website you want to clear, press F12 to open Developer Tools (or right-click → Inspect).

Long-press the refresh button

With DevTools open, right-click (or long-press) the refresh button (↻) in the toolbar. A dropdown appears with three options:

Normal Reload — same as pressing F5
Hard Reload — bypasses cache (same as Ctrl+Shift+R)
Empty Cache and Hard Reload — clears cache for this site only, then reloads

Select "Empty Cache and Hard Reload".

Tip: This is the cleanest method when you only have issues with one specific website. It won't affect your login sessions on other sites.

Chrome on Android

Open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu (⋮)

Tap the menu icon in the top-right corner.

Tap "Delete browsing data"

Scroll down and tap "Delete browsing data".

Select and clear

Choose "All time" as the time range, check "Cached images and files", and tap "Delete data".

Chrome on iPhone / iPad

Open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu (···)

Tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen.

Go to Settings → Privacy and Security → Clear Browsing Data

Navigate through the settings menu to find the clear data option.

Select "Cached Images and Files" and tap "Clear Browsing Data"

Make sure to set the time range to "All Time" for a complete cache clear.

When Should You Clear Your Cache?

A website looks broken — missing styles, weird layout, old images showing
A site says it's updated but you see old content — your browser is serving a cached version
Login issues — sometimes stale cookies or cached authentication data causes problems
After a site was down — your browser may have cached the error page
General sluggishness — a very large cache can slow Chrome down

Tip: If clearing the cache doesn't fix your issue, the website itself may be down. Use nere.nu to check if the site is down for everyone or just you.

Still having trouble accessing a website?

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