In a user's computer, temporary Internet files are a collection of the most recent pages and files downloaded from the Web. The files are stored in a folder that acts as a cache so that subsequent requests are retrieved more quickly from the local storage drive. When the user requests the same page again, a request is sent to the website for the date of the file. If the date is newer than the one stored locally, the page is downloaded. If it is the same, the page is read locally.
A storage setting generally determines how large the folder can grow. When the limit is reached, old files are discarded when new ones are added. See
temporary file.