Do you want to keep your mobile clean and eliminate all the traces you leave when you use the Internet? One of the most effective ways is to clear all cookie logs, both from the mobile browser and from other applications. We explain the necessary processes.
The more we use the phone, the more the data of our use accumulates, at all levels: there is a lot of information it keeps about us. And surely you have heard of “cookies” or cookies, an element associated with privacy and also with web browsing. They are not something we can see with the naked eye as they are stored in the phone memory, but they say a lot about who we are. Keeping them at a distance is the best weapon against the lack of intimacy.
Delete cookies from your mobile web browser
First, discard all cookies and browser indicators. To do this, you will need to open the web browser you use regularly (Google Chrome, Brave, Firefox, Samsung browser, Opera…) and enter the settings. The process is as follows:
- Open the browser and enter the application settings (usually in the three menu points).
- Go to advanced settings and look for the “Privacy” option.
- And one “Clear browsing data“.
- Check the “Delete cookies” option and proceed with the action. Additionally, you can delete browsing history and all files saved in the cache.
Keep in mind that the process prevents websites from tracking you because they won’t have cookies to read (you need to perform this process frequently), but it does have a downside: You lose access to the pages on which you logged in and some of the information you saved there (this is a function of cookies). The password should not be lost if you save it in your Google account (Chrome recovers them for example).
If you’re concerned about cookies, it’s best to browse in incognito mode: when logging off, they should be deleted by default. Firefox Focus is a very good option, also Brave.
Clear app data
Apps accumulate a huge amount of usage data, both as cache and other personal information. If you are concerned about the excess of said information, it is very easy to finish with a pencil stroke what they keep on the phone. It proceeds as follows:
- Go to mobile settings and go to “Applications”.
- Look for any apps you use frequently, preferably social apps. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or SnapchatFor example.
- To delete all the data they have on your phone, find the “Storage” option, in the settings of each application, and proceed to delete the data.
- Once you open each application again, you just need to log in: the information saved in the cloud is not lost, yes you will delete everything that was on the phone.
Deleting app data saves you a bit of memory, not so much to preserve your privacy since the applications will have been responsible for saving all this information on the servers
Moreover, you can delete everything the apps have saved on their computer servers. This is more complicated and depends on each service: You need to look in your privacy options, in account settings.
How to delete all data stored by Google about you
Google stores a lot of personal information on your phone, but everything is managed from your cloud. There you can delete from your activity log (if you’ve never accessed it, you’ll be surprised how many records there are) which apps have access to your data. For that:
- Go to phone settings and find Google settings.
- Enter in “Manage your Google Account“.
- Go to “Data and personalization”.
- Go to “My activity” and delete what you want: just click on the “Filter by date and productmark the period and manage what Google has saved on you, including all your Android usage.
- Look for the option “Data about what you create and do” and click on “Go to Google’s control panel”.
- You will see all the data that Google has saved from the apps. From here you can view the information; You also have a link to manage saved data from the specific service.
Your Google account stores a lot of information related to the use you make of your Android: you should consult it frequently and delete what you don’t want to save. You can even manage its automatic deletion, including location.
Last option: restore the phone
What do you want to clean the phone and remove all traces of use? It remains only to restore it as it was at the factory). This, yes, everything is deleted: both usage data and the apps themselves and the photos. Only do this if you are convinced that you should leave your Android as good as new. Because you are going to sell it, give it to a friend or simply because you want to start from scratch.
To wipe an Android and restore it to its original factory state, you need to do the following:
- Go to your Android settings and find the “Reset” option. It is usually found in backup settings, also in advanced settings. It is better to use the search engine.
- Locate the option “Return to factory settings“.
- Click on reset and follow the steps. Remember that all mobiles will be erased.
- If you don’t want to delete the whole phone, you can “Reset settings”. This reset does not delete all personal data from apps, but it does. much of its configuration and customization.
Table of Contents