Your Browser Is a Data Store
Most privacy guides tell you to 'clear your browser data' without explaining what that phrase actually covers. The six data types below have different purposes, different privacy risks, and different implications for what you should clear and how often.
The Six Types of Browser Data
Each serves a purpose — each also carries a privacy cost.
Cookies
Small key-value pairs websites write to track sessions and preferences. Third-party cookies follow you across sites. Accumulate quickly and are the primary vehicle for ad tracking.
Cache
Stored copies of images, scripts, and HTML. Makes pages load faster on repeat visits. Can grow to several gigabytes. Doesn't directly track you, but stale cache causes display bugs.
Browser History
A timestamped log of every URL you visited. Used for address bar autocomplete. A complete record of your interests, medical searches, and personal activities.
LocalStorage & SessionStorage
A persistent key-value database websites can write to. Unlike cookies, not sent with requests. Used for settings, drafts — and increasingly as a cookie replacement by trackers.
IndexedDB
A full structured database API built into browsers. Used by complex web apps for offline data. Can store large amounts of data indefinitely with no user awareness.
Service Workers
Background scripts that intercept network requests and control caching. Legitimate use in PWAs, but can persist across sessions and accumulate cached data independently.
The Privacy Risk You're Probably Ignoring
Cookies get all the attention because they're the oldest tracking mechanism and the most discussed. But LocalStorage and IndexedDB are increasingly used as cookie replacements — a technique called 'supercookies' or 'evercookies'. The data survives cookie deletion and can be used to re-identify you on your next visit.
What to Clear — and How Often
Cookies: Clear frequently. Daily or on browser close is ideal for privacy. Use domain whitelisting to preserve logins you need.
Cache: Clear monthly or when experiencing page display issues. Cache deletion slows the first page load slightly as assets are re-fetched.
History: Personal preference. Daily clearing prevents your device from becoming a searchable record of your life.
LocalStorage / IndexedDB / Service Workers: These are the forgotten data types. Clear them with the same frequency as cookies — they're increasingly used for the same tracking purposes.
The problem with manual clearing is consistency. Doing this properly every day requires navigating deep browser menus. Most people do it once, forget, and don't do it again for months.
Take Control of Your Privacy Today
Automatically manage and delete cookies with Broom Cookie Cleaner
How Broom Cookie Cleaner Handles All Six Types
Rather than opening browser settings every day, Broom lets you configure what gets cleared and when — automatically:
- 1Choose per data type: Toggle cookies, cache, history, LocalStorage, IndexedDB, and service workers independently. Clear what matters to your threat model.
- 2Set it on a schedule: 30 minutes, 1 hour, or once a day. The cleaner runs in the background without interrupting your browsing.
- 3Or trigger on browser close: Profile rules can be set to clean automatically when you close the browser — no manual action needed.
- 4Whitelist what you need: Keep specific domains intact (your bank, your work tools) while clearing everything else.
- 5See what's been cleaned: The Cookie Manager view shows you exactly what was stored and what was removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about browser cookies answered
Does clearing cache delete my files or downloaded content?
No. Browser cache is temporary copies of web assets (images, scripts, fonts) stored to speed up page loading. It has nothing to do with your Downloads folder or files you've saved to your computer.
Why does clearing cookies log me out everywhere?
Login state is stored in cookies. When you clear all cookies, you remove the authentication tokens that keep you logged in. Broom solves this with domain whitelisting — you can clear third-party tracking cookies while preserving the first-party cookies that maintain your logins.
Is IndexedDB commonly used for tracking?
Increasingly, yes. The technique involves writing a unique identifier to IndexedDB on your first visit, then reading it back on subsequent visits — even if you've cleared cookies. It's used by sophisticated fingerprinting services as a backup persistence layer.
Can I selectively clear data per website?
Browsers allow this natively but it's buried in developer tools. Broom's domain-based rules let you set rules at the domain level — clean everything from tracking-heavy sites while keeping data from trusted ones.
