Effectively Removing Safari Cache, Cookies and History

Keep a clean browser history locally

Every web browser keeps a file of your digital profile: browser history, download history, cookies, local storage and cache. That’s a gold mine for anyone who wants to obtain information about you, so keeping your browser clean is the way to go to protect your privacy. Safari will automatically delete browsing history based on your preferences, but it’s good to do it often, either manually or using a Mac optimization app.

Uncheck iCloud sync

Apple uses every possible opportunity to emphasize the security measures it takes to protect user privacy. That refers to iCloud sync, as well: if you delete browsing history locally, that will clear it on every device associated with that Apple ID, the company says, hence the surprise when Russian-based software maker Elcomsoft was able to retrieve ‘deleted’ browser history dating back more than 12 months.

This case shows that if you care about privacy, don’t enable Safari sync. The current status can be checked by launching System Preferences, clicking iCloud, and checking whether Safari sync is turned on. If it is, turn it off by unchecking the box located on the left.

How to keep Safari clean with Mac optimization apps

Use private browsing and a VPN service

The ultimate protection, however, is using a combination of private browsing mode and a VPN service. The Private Browsing feature of Safari protects user privacy by blocking some websites from tracking search behavior, and it won’t store browsing history, search history or AutoFill information after a session.

A VPN service adds another layer of security on top of that by hiding your real IP address and replacing it with a new one. Such a service will also protect user privacy by hiding the browsing history from the ISP, which will then only be able to see a connection to the selected VPN server.

Protecting passwords using a password managerFor those balking at password manager apps, the likelihood is that iCloud Keychain has still been a good companion for them since it, too, has kept passwords handy. However, if you care about your online privacy and taking measures to protect it – by disabling iCloud sync, for example – then this neat Keychain feature is also one to avoid. As such, this is where password managers can help by providing a wide variety of features centered around security on every major platform, meaning users aren’t even locked only to the Apple ecosystem. With such software users won’t be giving out their usernames, passwords, and credit card details to a browser that could end up leaking sensitive information without their knowledge. Instead, users can save sensitive information in a secure environment.