Why can't I delete website data in iOS 10.3?

I have been dealing with this website data with apple for a few months. I have submitted data logs for the engineering team to go over and examine. I keep in contact with level 2 support and have an open case. They are aware of it and are working on it. They expect to have it fixed within the next update. Of course we can only hope!

This is a well known and lame defect in the Safari app so here is my easy fix... albeit totally bailing on Safari.

1. Download the Firefox web browser. It's free from the App Store and set it up the way you want.

2. Turn Safari off. I.e. From the iPhone home screen>settings>general>restrictions>enable restrictions>four-digit pass code>safari>turn "off".

3. This will automatically remove the Safari icon from the iPhone tool bar. That's nice because you can simply drag the Firefox icon there. Now your our back in business with a more secure browser.

4. Of course you can always turn Safari back on when/if it gets fixed... but you may have decided you don't want it. It's nice to have options!

Hope this helps

Wins5 wrote:

I like your solution, If you can't fix it, delet it. Their loss

What has Apple lost? Do you think it makes any difference to Apple which browser you use? You're using their hardware. You're using the App Store.

iRaEnginear wrote:

FYI i'm still leaving safari active since some apps seem to integrate better but just like on my Mac I use Firefox as the go to browser

You should use whatever browser (or browsers) that work best for you. It's not up to me to decide for your nor is it of any particular concern to me which you chose.

Best of luck.

Got it!

1. Go to cellular and switch off access for safari.

2. Turn off wifi.

3. Safari/Block cookies/ always block

4. Clear all browsing data and history

5. Advanced/ website data

6. Swipe and delete top selection/ remove all website data.

7. Back arrow to safari settings.

8. Go back to step 5. And repeate until they are gone.

This worked for me. Good luck.

When I turned everything back on, then returned to safari lots of them returned. If you leave cellular off for safari and use a different browser it works. For now I will use a different browser until apple works it out.

I have a case open with Apple for the past 4 months and no resolution. Approximately 15 websites an counting on my iphone will not delete and have a size of 0KB or 68KB. This website tracking all started when I installed 10.3.0. Then they said it would be fixed in 10.3.1, which was a lie. Then they said it was fixed in 10.3.2, which is another lie.

I never had this issue, until I upgraded to 10.3.0. This is clearly a memory issue with Safari and iPhone needs to fix it!!

If you use Firefox or Chrome, any website is quickly deleted. Also, a complete erase and format of the iPhone does not work.

Come on apple corporation, give us an easy fix, you created this monster, we are suppose to easily control our ipad air, now I click edit and delete on a site like auto guide website, I click delete and it doesnt delete, take your ipad back if we can't control them easily, I want my money money back, or give us an upgrade to fix now today, there no excuse for this waste of all our time, our time abuse, I demand a fix upgrade now with this ios belony upgrades, your upgrades are degrades to our ipads, just for one, what about your upgrades for laptops and others, do your upgrades right, or dont them at at all, they ruin our systems we paid alot for. We action now.

Spoke with a Level 2 Apple tech yesterday about this and explained that I had an EVERCOOKIE for a sex site in my website data cache that would not go away, despite frequent attempts to "dislodge" it... ( I never even visited it in the first place, when I DID in fact finally click on the address it led me to a blank page saying "under construction"???)

The only thing she told was that they(the Apple Gods) were aware of the situation and the ONLY remedy/work-around is to totally reset your phone,..but don't bother backing it up first,..evidently when you reset and then back up, it brings the EVERCOOKIE with it somehow, so you need to reset as "a new phone" starting from scratch.

PATHETIC if you ask me,...all this technology at our fingertips and this is what we are left doing at the end of the day...a hard reset.

Thanks, but, I don't have the ability to clear all cookies. I can only clear history and website data, then remove website data through the advice tab.

Eitherway, there seems to be no way to remove the website data.

I find this issue to a convenient and willful evasion of privacy. Apple doesn't seem too motivate about fixing it despite a great deal of people have reported the problem. Most of them show zero but I have one merchant Costco which shows 279 kb and it concerns me I can't clear it. One thing consistent on my phone they are all retailers that won't clear.

Same here ... the gap, Starbucks, Home Depot, eBay ... and ... a dozen more just won't clear ... even after I remove or delete them individually ... next thing you, this will become a back door to hackers ...

This is a huge issue. I tried one of the complicated processes in this thread and ended up with more. I have always been a loyal Apple fan, but this is scary. No more Safari until its fixed. APPLE PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR LONG TERM CUSTOMERS!

Sean Boston wrote:

This is a huge issue. I tried one of the complicated processes in this thread and ended up with more. I have always been a loyal Apple fan, but this is scary. No more Safari until its fixed. APPLE PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR LONG TERM CUSTOMERS!

Did you submit feedback to them?

I found this to work.

Go back to website. Accept cookie from website I visit.

Leave website. Go settings Safari delete data.

Then go advanced> delete cookies that are 0 bytes. It’s working for me. Hope you get my instructions. Everything is different is iOS 11.

That’s another story.

I am not allowed to even up vote this.

Apple: the little monster that could.

Skip on Safari, folks.

This is NOT an error issue. This is The New Low of Apple, INC.

If you're holding your breath awaiting Apple's fix you're not paying attention.

This IS the fix...