Does Clearing Cache Delete Passwords Tips & Tricks

Have you ever wondered if clearing cache can delete your saved passwords? If you are one of those people, your answer is no.

The truth is that clearing cache can indeed delete your saved passwords.

But before you start panicking, you should know that the websites you visit do not store your passwords in the cache. 

If you want to learn more about clearing cache and risks associated with it, this article is for you. Continue reading to learn more.

What Is Cache?

When you open your browser, it stores temporary information like text, images, and other files. The browser then retrieves this information, loads it into memory, and displays it.

When you reload a page, your browser retrieves the information and loads it back into memory. This process, however, takes time.

Instead of retrieving the information and loading it back into memory each time, the browser stores the information. When the browser needs to reload the page, it retrieves the information and loads it into memory.

Clearing the cache speeds up this process.

If the browser has to retrieve the same information once again, the browser loads it from memory instead of retrieving it from a database.

What Does Clearing Cache Do?

When you load a website, the server sends everything it needs to display the page. This includes images, scripts, and anything else that makes the site work. The server also sends any cookies that it needs, such as your login information.

All of this information is stored on your local computer. The browser is able to access this information much quicker than the server, so it preloads everything in advance. This lets you load the site much faster than you would without the cache, but it means everything is cached.

For example, if you clear the history, the cache will only load the pages that you visited previously. Clearing the cache won’t delete pages that you’ve visited in the past.

Does Clearing Cache Deletate Passwords?

Yes. Clearing the cache deletes all of the temporary files your browser creates when you load a web page.

This includes cookies, session tokens, and other data used to authenticate you to a web service. Clearing the cache also deletes all of the cookies stored in your browser.

Your browser saves your authentication information in the form of a cookie. This is a small file that stores data like your password, username, and IP addresses. Each time your browser loads a new website, it first checks to see if there’s a cookie for that site. If the cookie exists, the browser loads it and uses it to verify that you are an authorized user of the website.

Clearing the cache removes any cookies and session tokens your browser previously saved. This includes cookies that websites have stored in your browser on your behalf. Clearing the cache also removes the cache data your browser uses every time you load a website.

Clearing the cache is especially important if you use a different browser for each computer or device you use. Clearing the cache every time you use a different browser ensures that you remove all of the authentication cookies stored in your browser.

Is It Safe to Clear Your Cache?

Clearing cache and cookies is generally safe for most people, but it’s important to note that some websites store credentials in multiple locations.

For example, a password is usually stored in the browser itself, but in 2020, it’s common for websites to store passwords in third-party browser extensions.

A website may also store credentials in hardware, such as your webcam or microphone.

Clearing cache and cookies could delete credentials stored in one of these locations, which could cause your logins to fail.

If your account is compromised, clearing cache and cookies won’t help.

You should always use strong passwords, change them frequently, and enable two-factor authentication.

So, if a password is compromised, resetting the password or disabling the account is a much better option.

What Are Some Alternatives to Clearing Cache?

Whether you keep your browser’s cache or get rid of it, there’s still a chance that it’ll fill up over time. In that case, clearing its cache will free up space, but it won’t necessarily delete passwords.

If your passwords are stored in the “Local Storage” or “Cookies” sections of your browser, you’ll need to clear the entire browser.

To do this, open the website in incognito mode, which deletes local and temporary files. Then, delete the files.

Alternatively, you can turn on your browser’s private browsing mode, which prevents any cookies or cache from being saved.

FAQ

Hopefully this guide for does clearing cache delete passwords was helpful for you.