Spokeo Search Answers – Clearing Your Cache

Have you ever wondered how to make the most of your Spokeo searches? From tips and tricks that might help you locate the listing you’re searching for, to basic technical support, “Spokeo Search Answers” is the series for you. Customer service rep and Spokeo guru, Johnny Z., brings you one Spokeo tip at a time.  Feel free to explore the series, and contact us here so that we can help you make the best of your searching experience.

It’s a new year and a time for clearing out the old and making way for a fresh start. Conducting searches on Spokeo is no different. There’s no better way to start fresh than CLEARING YOUR CACHE.  By choosing to do this, your browser gets a fresh new start.  This also kick-starts the site (and any other site you frequent) if you experience difficulties with the site returning you to the log-in page after you’ve logged in, or missing buttons or fields that should appear (ie: the log-in button is missing; the zipcode field is missing).

What is the Cache? (pronounced “cash”)

In simple terms, a cache is a way for a particular site to “remember” major elements of a web page, like images, html or other items.  A website will “store” these features, so that if you frequent a site, you can pull up the features more quickly.  The best way to think of it is a “short-term” memory for the sites you visit often.

Why Clear it?

Occasionally, a Website might be unresponsive and not working properly.  For example, let’s say you try to log-in to Spokeo, but after you enter your username and password, you are brought back to the same log-in screen. Other times, you may see that a button or the box to enter a zipcode is missing. Before you pull your hair out, know that this is usually because the cache has archived the information incorrectly, and by clearing it, you will “refresh” the web page and save your pretty new hair do.

How Do I Do it?

In order to clear the cache, you first need to figure out which browser you use. Here, we’ll discuss using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as those are the browsers that are currently most compatible with Spokeo. If you are using Internet Explorer, we suggest switching to one of those two, in order to have the best experience on our site.

Google Chrome:

1.) Make sure to select the three hash marks on the upper right corner of any Chrome page.

2.) Scroll down to “Settings”.  The drop down menu will open another menu. Scroll all the way to the bottom and click the “Advanced” option.

                                                                 

3.) Click “Clear Browsing Data” which will open a pop-up window in the middle of the screen.  Select the following:

• • • • • • • Browsing history
            • Download history
            • Cookies and other site data
            • Cached images and files

Then you’re done!  Go back to Spokeo and start searching away for your old flame! (Don’t have one? Check here to see how Spokeo can help you navigate the online dating world!)

Mozilla Firefox:

1.) Click the menu button (upper right area of window, looks like this: ) and choose “Preferences” from the dropdown menu.

2.)  Select the “Privacy and Security” panel on the left side (highlighted blue in the screenshot below).

3.) In the Cookies and Site Data section, click “Clear Data”

                                                                    

4.) Remove the check mark in front of Cookies and Site Data. With Cached Web Content marked, click the “Clear” button. Close the Preferences tab.

Then you’re done!  Go back to Spokeo and find your old classmates!

HOT KEYS:

Get to the cache pages MUCH more quickly by using hotkeys!

Clearing your cache will not only help you search on Spokeo more effectively, but you’ll also find it useful for troubleshooting other websites as well.  So in a time when we’re clearing out old habits and shedding old images, clear your cache – and then reach out to an old friend to start 2019!