Web Storage API
The Web Storage API provides mechanisms by which browsers can store key/value pairs, in a much more intuitive fashion than using cookies.
Web Storage concepts and usage
The two mechanisms within Web Storage are as follows:
sessionStorage
maintains a separate storage area for each given origin that's available for the duration of the page session (as long as the browser is open, including page reloads and restores).- Stores data only for a session, meaning that the data is stored until the browser (or tab) is closed.
- Data is never transferred to the server.
- Storage limit is larger than a cookie (at most 5MB).
localStorage
does the same thing, but persists even when the browser is closed and reopened.- Stores data with no expiration date, and gets cleared only through JavaScript, or clearing the Browser cache / Locally Stored Data.
- Storage limit is the maximum amongst the two.
These mechanisms are available via the Window.sessionStorage
and Window.localStorage
properties (to be more precise, the Window
object implements the WindowLocalStorage
and WindowSessionStorage
objects, which the localStorage
and sessionStorage
properties hang off) — invoking one of these will create an instance of the Storage
object, through which data items can be set, retrieved and removed. A different Storage object is used for the sessionStorage
and localStorage
for each origin — they function and are controlled separately.
Note: In Firefox, when the browser crashes/restarts, to avoid memory issues caused by excessive usage of web storage, the amount of data saved per origin is limited to 10MB. See storage quotas and eviction criteria for more information.
Note: Access to Web Storage from third-party IFrames is denied if the user has disabled third-party cookies.
Web Storage interfaces
Storage
-
Allows you to set, retrieve and remove data for a specific domain and storage type (session or local).
Window
-
The Web Storage API extends the
Window
object with two new properties —Window.sessionStorage
andWindow.localStorage
— which provide access to the current domain's session and localStorage
objects respectively, and astorage
event handler that fires when a storage area changes (e.g., a new item is stored). StorageEvent
-
The
storage
event is fired on a document'sWindow
object when a storage area changes.
Examples
To illustrate some typical web storage usage, we have created a simple example, imaginatively called Web Storage Demo. The landing page provides controls that can be used to customize the color, font and decorative image. When you choose different options, the page is instantly updated; in addition your choices are stored in localStorage
, so that when you leave the page then load it again later on your choices are remembered.
In addition, we have provided an event output page — if you load this page in another tab, then make changes to your choices in the landing page, you'll see the updated storage information outputted as the StorageEvent
is fired.
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # dom-localstorage-dev |
HTML Standard # dom-sessionstorage-dev |
Browser compatibility
api.Window.localStorage
BCD tables only load in the browser
api.Window.sessionStorage
BCD tables only load in the browser
Private Browsing / Incognito modes
Private windows, incognito mode, and similarly named privacy browsing options, don't store data like history and cookies. In private mode, localStorage
is treated like sessionStorage
. The storage APIs are still available and fully functional, but all data stored in the private window is deleted when the browser or browser tab is closed.