How to Delete Downloads from Your Computer

If a your internet browser starts up slowly, webpages take longer to load, downloads and freezes, or your browser freezes, you may have a problem with too many files in your download folder. If you want to know how delete downloads from your computer and from popular web browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge, here’s how to do it quickly and painlessly.

Why You Should Delete Your Downloads

Every time you use the Internet, you may encounter countless files to download such as apps, toolbars, browser extensions, images, documents, and videos. Every time you download something from the Internet, it is stored in folder «Downloads» which can cause a significant slowdown of your web browser and even your entire computer.

If you use a family or public computer to navigate the Internet, it may be in your best interest to make sure your history is deleted. In addition, you can risk the data of everyone who uses the computer, not just your own.

You can also suggest security and privacy questions. Some downloads may contain malware, that install viruses and monitor your web activity, keystrokes and browsing behavior.

How to remove downloads from your PC

You may be shocked to learn that if you neglect cleaning download folders and temporary folders you may have hundreds of megabytes or even gigabytes of data littering your system. Even compressed files such as installers can take up a surprising amount of disk space if left alone.

If you want to remove all downloads from your web browser and computer at the same time, here’s how to do it.

Navigate to the search bar next to the Windows start menu.

If you don’t see the search bar, click Windows Key+S, to open it.
Sign in » Conductor ” and select “Explorer”.
Select folder » Downloads » on the left side of the window.
To select all files in the Downloads folder, click Ctrl+A . You can also select individual files, but this will take a little longer.
Right-click the selected files and select » Delete» .
Select Yes, to confirm deletion of files.
Right click basket in the top left corner of the desktop.
Select Empty trash, to permanently remove downloads from your computer.

How to remove downloads from Firefox

Select hamburger menu .
Select Options .
Select Privacy & Security .
Go to the «Cookies and Site Data» section, then select » Clear data» .

You can also delete all downloads at the end of your browsing session. This can be done by checking the box next to Cookies and site data. Your cookies and site data will be automatically deleted when you close Firefox.
Select » Data management», for more options for managing site data such as cookies.
To delete data for a single website, select the website, then select » Delete selected» . To remove them all at once, select » Delete everything» .
Close the settings page. Any changes you make will be automatically saved.

How to Delete Downloads from Google Chrome

Open the Chrome browser.
Select three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the screen.
From the drop down menu select » Downloads» .
Select open download folder from the new window that opens.
To select all files in the Downloads folder, click Ctrl+A . You can also select individual files by clicking on each.
Right-click the selected files and select » Delete» .
Right-click the Recycle Bin in the top left corner of your Desktop.
Select Empty Recycle Bin to delete the downloads from your PC permanently.

How to Delete Downloads from Microsoft Edge

Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
Select the three horizontal dots in the upper right-hand corner.
Select the Settings icon at the bottom of the menu.
Select Choose what to clear under Clear browsing data.
Make sure that the box next to Download History is checked, then select Clear.