can't delete web data in Safari Privacy preferences

In the Privacy tab of Safari Preferences, I've tried clicking on Manage Website Data to clear that out. When I click on Remove All, there is a little spinning wheel that appears to be doing something, then the whole list of web sites reappears. None of them have been deleted. I can highlight them one by one and then click on Remove, but sometimes that removes them and other times it doesn't. How can I clear out all this stored data? Thanks.

iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13.3), Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015

Posted on Mar 20, 2018 8:09 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 20, 2018 5:04 PM

As the 2nd article points out, they are capable of regenerating after deletion with files that go to many parts of the system.



Safari/Browsers – can’t delete cookies



Evercookie



The myth of the dangerous cookie



Quit Safari.


In Finder go to Go menu and then Go to Folder.


Copy and paste this ~/Library/Safari/Databases.


Delete the contents of the folder.


Launch Safari again and check if all is ok.


If that doesn’t work, copy and paste this ~/Library/Safari/LocalStorage.


Delete the contents of the folder.


Then go to Safari/History and delete any entries for the related websites.


Test.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 20, 2018 5:04 PM in response to William M.

As the 2nd article points out, they are capable of regenerating after deletion with files that go to many parts of the system.



Safari/Browsers – can’t delete cookies



Evercookie



The myth of the dangerous cookie



Quit Safari.


In Finder go to Go menu and then Go to Folder.


Copy and paste this ~/Library/Safari/Databases.


Delete the contents of the folder.


Launch Safari again and check if all is ok.


If that doesn’t work, copy and paste this ~/Library/Safari/LocalStorage.


Delete the contents of the folder.


Then go to Safari/History and delete any entries for the related websites.


Test.

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can't delete web data in Safari Privacy preferences

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