As people increasingly rely on their Internet-connected devices, they unwittingly share a lot of personal data with third parties and leave the traces of their online activity on their smartphones and computers. As a result, there are mounting safety concerns regarding third parties’ access to personal data and browsing history. For many people, safety precautions are limited to installing the antivirus software, which is not enough.
Is Clearing your Cache Dangerous ?
Using Someone Else’s Device
If you use someone else’s device, you probably don’t want the owner to know what you’ve been doing online. Even if you simply checked your e-mail, removing cache data from another person’s computer may be helpful. Otherwise, they will be able to access the cache and cookie data and know exactly what websites you visited. If you are concerned about the safety of your personal information, you also should consider clearing the cache when you use computers in public spaces (e.g., libraries, hotels, etc.).
You never know how someone can use the cache data against you. If the device uses an unfamiliar browser, you can always check for detailed instructions online to know precisely where cache data is stored and how to delete it.
Having Things to Hide
You may have safety concerns for many reasons. Here are some common examples:
- You don’t want your parents to know that you’ve been watching Netflix instead of browsing your school library.
- You may need to ensure that your significant other doesn’t find out what you’ve been doing online while you were supposed to be at work.
- Sometimes, people living in authoritarian countries may have more serious safety concerns. For example, people openly criticizing the authorities may want to delete the files in the cache to prevent the police from obtaining information that can be used against them. In such cases, deleting the data regularly can help avoid serious problems.
Is It Safe to Delete Everything?
Deleting cache files has many advantages, but it can also cause some access problems. After you clear the cache and cookies, you will have to enter all the passwords and logins to the websites you logged in to. Therefore, make sure you remember all login information before you clear the cache. If your memory fails you, you can find the list of saved passwords in the settings menu. However, this option works only if you previously allowed your computer to store passwords.
Remaining Concerns
Unfortunately, even deleted cache data can be restored. Experienced hackers can use various data recovery tools and strategies to access the private data you deleted. Although it may take time and skill, you need to be aware that someone can find the traces of your Internet activity. For example, do not hope that you will hide your activity from the police, as they know how to recover deleted data. Hacking someone’s device is never as easy as it may look in movies, but there is always a possibility that you didn’t clear all the files.
Final Remarks
To conclude, clearing cache files is one of the security measures you should consider to protect yourself. Deleting the data once in a while is very simple and takes no more than a minute. A valuable habit to develop is creating a notification that regularly reminds you to take care of your Internet safety.
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