Concepts
Cookies and cache are different stores
Both are data the browser keeps on the device to make sites easier to use. They sit next to each other in many "clear data" dialogs, but they do different jobs.
Cookies
A cookie is a small note a site asks the browser to hold. It can remember a signed-in session, a cart, a language choice, or the fact that you have visited.
Clearing every cookie makes sites behave as if you arrived for the first time. It does not delete your documents.
Cache
The cache is a copy of pages, images, and scripts the browser already downloaded. The next visit can reuse that copy instead of fetching everything again. When the site has published a new version and the browser keeps showing the old one, clearing the cache makes the next visit download fresh files.
You do not have to clear both
The dialog lists them side by side. The checkboxes are independent.
- Cached files only.
- Cookies for one site.
- Cookies and cached files together.
The choice is spelled out in what to clear.
Other rows in the same dialog
The same dialog often lists browsing history and autofill beside cookies and cached files. Select only the cookie row, the cache row, or both.