Technologies

Refresh Your Android Phone by Deleting Your Browser’s Cookies and Cache

Wipe out junk data that you don’t need with a few quick taps.

Your Android phone‘s web browser collects a lot of data from the websites you visit, and a lot of it stays on your phone even when you don’t need it to. Much of that data — whether you’re using Google Chrome, Firefox or Samsung Internet — gets stored as part of the cookies and cache. This data can be helpful for websites you visit, letting them load faster with your accounts already logged in. That’s nice, but there’s plenty of information in the cookies and cache of your browser that isn’t necessary and could even be a privacy risk.

Why you should regularly clear out your cookies and cache

A lot of what ends up building up within your cookies and cache is just plain junk. Some of it could have arrived from websites you’ve visited just once. Others seem to be tracking your browsing history on an active basis, helping to serve up advertisements based on what you are buying or streaming on the internet. For instance, I’m constantly receiving advertisements for buying glasses online after browsing a few stores, or Amazon ads that just happen to show what was last in my shopping cart.

Because of this, it’s good to clear out your cache every so often. It allows you to remove data you don’t need on your phone, especially if an unknown data tracker is among your phone’s cookies. Clearing your cache is a minor inconvenience — you’ll have to log back into some of your favorite websites, but it’s a small price to pay to make sure your phone isn’t stocking up on extraneous data.

The steps differ slightly depending on the type of phone and web browser app you’re using. Below, we’ll go over how to clear this data for Google’s 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. You can also check out our separate guide on how to clear your cache on an iPhone web browser, in case you have a few Apple devices to tidy up, too.

Google Chrome

You can delete your cookies and cache from within the Android version of Google Chrome by first tapping the More button in the top right corner of the browser, indicated by a column of three dots, then tapping History, then Clear browsing data. You can also access this from the Chrome Settings menu, tapping Privacy and Security and then Clear browsing data.

Chrome also offers Basic and Advanced settings for clearing your Browsing history, Cookies and site data and Cached images and files. You can use the Time range drop-down to select whether you want to delete the entire history or a selection of anywhere from the past 24 hours up to the last four weeks. Tapping Advanced will also give you access to deleting Saved passwords, Autofill form data and Site settings. After selecting what you want to delete, tap the blue Clear data button. You might receive an additional prompt in the event Chrome deems certain websites as being “important” to you, and if so you’ll get the chance to confirm before clearing. Otherwise if you do not receive that prompt, Chrome will immediately proceed to clear as you instructed.

Samsung Internet

There are two different ways you can clear your Samsung Internet browser’s cache and cookie data. You can clear from within the browser itself, or you can go through your phone’s Settings app.

To clear while in the Samsung Internet browser app, first tap the Options button in the bottom right corner represented by three horizontal lines, then Settings; scroll down to and tap Personal Data, then tap Delete browsing data to get a menu of options to delete. You can clear your Browsing history, Cookies and site data, Cached images and files, Passwords and Autofill forms in any combination. After tapping Delete data, you’ll then receive a prompt asking for you to confirm your choices before deleting.

Going through the browser app itself provides the most customization of what you want to delete. However, if you want to access similar options from your phone’s settings menu, open the Settings app and tap on Apps, then scroll down to and tap Samsung Internet and then Storage.

At the bottom of Storage, you get separate options to Clear cache and Clear data. Tapping Clear cache will immediately delete the cache, but Clear data brings up a prompt that warns you that all of the application’s data will be deleted permanently, including files, settings, accounts and databases. While it doesn’t specify cookies, this “going nuclear” approach should zap all remaining data, letting you restart the Samsung Internet browser as if it were brand-new.

Mozilla Firefox

Much as with Google Chrome, you can clear the cache from within the Mozilla Firefox Android app. To access this function, tap the More button on the right of the address bar, again symbolized by three vertically aligned dots. Then tap Settings and scroll down to Delete browsing data.

Of the three browsers we’re discussing here, Firefox gives you the most options under the Delete browsing data menu, allowing you to also delete any existing Open tabs, your Browsing history and site data, Site permissions and even your Downloads folder alongside Cookies and Cached images and files.

While you can’t pick a time range as you can for Chrome, you can be more specific regarding what type of data you would like to remove.

And Firefox has an additional option for those who never want to keep their browsing data after they’re done using the app. Inside of Settings is a Delete browsing data on quit option, which instructs Firefox to wipe any combination of these same settings every time you quit the application. It’s a useful feature if you’d like to keep the browser tidy and, say, avoid accidentally handing off your browser history to someone who may have stolen or otherwise gained access to your phone.

Technologies

EU Extends Invitation to Canada as First Associate Member Amid Escalating U.S. Trade Tensions

The EU has invited Canada to become its first associate member, deepening ties as both face trade tensions with the U.S. and seek to reduce dependency on Washington and Beijing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday that the European Union is inviting Canada to become the bloc’s inaugural associate member, marking a historic shift in EU policy and a substantial strengthening of Brussels-Ottawa relations. Delivering her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg, France, von der Leyen declared the EU’s intention to elevate its partnership with Canada “to the highest level possible,” directly addressing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended the speech and is scheduled to speak to EU legislators Thursday. Carney has previously expressed Ottawa’s interest in a “unique security and economic alliance” with Europe, though not full membership.

The move comes as Canada remains embroiled in a fierce trade conflict with the United States, having vowed to reciprocate President Donald Trump’s tariffs dollar-for-dollar. Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes” and committed to collaboration on artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics, and Arctic security. The two already share the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which provisionally eliminated 99% of tariff lines in 2017. “We will move from CETA to an alliance for the future, to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” von der Leyen stated.

The EU has historically resisted flexible membership categories, notably when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed associate membership for Ukraine earlier this year. Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding described the development as “a big step, indeed” on Verum’s “Squawk Box Europe” Wednesday, noting Europe’s strategy to openly form or deepen partnerships with like-minded nations globally. “It is not necessarily against the U.S., but it is clearly in favor of making us less dependent on the U.S. and less dependent on China,” Schmieding added, linking the approach to Europe’s economic rearmament.

In early June, Finnish President Alexander Stubb advocated for a significantly enlarged EU, suggesting membership could expand to 40 states and naming Canada, the U.K., Turkey, Norway, and Iceland as potential candidates. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?” Stubb remarked on June 3, referencing Trump’s annexation rhetoric.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, Carney argued that “middle powers” must unite to counter rising hard power and foster a more cooperative world. European Parliament trade committee chair Bernd Lange told Verum Wednesday that alongside Canada, the EU should strengthen economic ties with Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea. “It’s so important that we work together and build a bloc and as Mr. Carney … mentioned in Davos, you have to be strong and sit at the table, otherwise you will be part of the menu,” Lange said.

Technologies

Oil prices fall after U.S. says damaged Saudi pipeline will restart operations in days

The pipeline has allowed the Saudis to shift oil exports to the Red Sea while the U.S. and Iran battle for control over Hormuz.

Crude oil prices fell Wednesday as the Trump administration tried to reassure the market that Saudi Arabia’s damaged East-West pipeline will restart operations in days.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that the pipeline outage is a “brief and temporary interruption” that “will be measured in days.”

The Saudis have taken “quick action” to export more oil through the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. military help while the pipeline is down, Wright said.

But independent analysts warned the pipeline could remain down for weeks based on satellite images showing significant damage to a pumping station.

Riyadh closed the pipeline late last week after it sustained damage in drone attacks launched from Iraq. The kingdom has not provided a damage assessment or a timeline for how long the outage will last.

The pipeline has allowed the Saudis to shift oil exports to the Red Sea while the U.S. and Iran battle for control over Hormuz. The strait was the Gulf states’ main export corridor before the war.

The U.S. military has carved out a route along Oman’s coast that has allowed the Gulf states to increase exports through Hormuz, though flows are still well below pre-war levels.

The journey remains dangerous even with U.S. protection as Iran continues to attack tankers. At least two vessels have come under attack in Hormuz since Saturday, according to incident reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.

Technologies

OpenAI investors have approached the company about a new funding round

OpenAI is gearing up for what is widely expected to be a blockbuster IPO next year, after it confidentially filed its prospectus in June.

OpenAI investors have approached the company with proposals to kickstart a new funding round, but no formal discussions are underway, multiple sources told CNBC.

Investors have floated a $1.2 trillion valuation to OpenAI, and some have positioned the potential new funding round as a way for employees to sell stock, according to the people, who asked not to be named in order to discuss nonpublic information.

OpenAI, which raised $122 billion at a $852 billion valuation in March, is not currently engaged in conversations, the people said.

OpenAI declined to comment. The Financial Times was first to report the potential round.

OpenAI burst onto the mainstream in 2022 following the launch of its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, and it’s ballooned into one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

The startup is gearing up for what is widely expected to be a blockbuster IPO next year, after it confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June.

Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s CFO, told employees during an all-hands meeting last month that the company “will be a public company in 2027,” but that it could make its public market debut sooner if “our business continues to inflect.”

CNBC’s Kate Rooney and David Faber contributed to this article

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