Are you dealing with slow speeds on your iPhone? Are your apps malfunctioning? It’s probably time to clear the cache on your iPhone! Every app and website leave data trails, and your cache stores everything.
Free up your storage space and boost your iPhone’s speed and overall performance by knowing how to clear cache on your iPhone. In this guide, we’ll cover how to clear the cache on iPhones and get the most out of your device.
Cheat Sheet:
- How to Clear Cache
- Significance
- What Is Cached Data?
- How Apps Affect Your iPhone Storage
- Automating Clearing Your Cache
- Wrapping Up
How to Clear Cache
iPhone
Step 1: Open your iPhone’s Settings app then scroll until you find Safari.
Step 2: Click on Safari. Next, scroll down and find Clear History and Website Data.
Step 3: Clear your browsing history and cookies by pressing Clear History and Website Data.
After clearing your cache, it also helps to restart your iPhone then you’re back to browsing in no time!
From a Specific App
Here’s how to manually delete the cache for specific apps:
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and scroll down to find the General section.
Step 2: In General, tap iPhone Storage.
iPhone Storage lists all the apps on your phone, sorted by how much space they take up.
Step 3: Go to your Settings app, scroll down the list and locate the app you’re wanting to clear the cache for.
Step 4: Click on the app to see the amount of storage it uses.
Once you’ve selected the app, you’ll see a breakdown of its storage usage, including how much space is being taken up by documents and data.
Step 5: Tap Clear Cache or Clear Data. (Some apps might not have this option, so try deleting and reinstalling the app to clear the cache).
If you’d rather delete the app, tap on Offload App or tap Delete App to remove the app entirely.
Clearing an app’s cache manually is time-consuming but crucial to keeping your iPhone healthy and moving at the speed of curiosity. If you have a hefty amount of apps, an automatic cache-clearing tool might be the best option!
Automatic cache-clearing apps scan your phone for unnecessary files and clear them, including cached data from apps. Just ensure you check reviews and research the app before fully committing!
Chrome Browser
While Safari is the default browser for iPhones, maybe you’re more of a Chrome user. Luckily, the steps are similar though there are a few steps to clear your Chrome cache. Let’s jump in!
Step 1: Go to Chrome and in the lower right corner, click More (the three dots).
Step 2: Scroll until you find Settings then tap it.
(Ensure you’re viewing the menu bar that features Bookmarks, History and Reading List, you may have to scroll to the right to find Settings.)
Step 3: Click on Privacy and Security.
Step 4: Choose the time range you want to be cleared (typically, choosing All Time works, but it’s up to you!)
Step 5: Select Cookies, Files, Cached Images and Site Data (or customize this to the cached data you want to clear).
Step 6: Once you’ve selected your preferences, press Clear Browsing Data.
Step 7: A pop-up box will appear to confirm clearing your cache. From here, confirm by pressing Clear Browsing Data.
Your Chrome cache is clear, and your iPhone storage space has room to breathe!
Significance
You rely on your phone a lot, so keeping your iPhone running smoothly is essential. How? By clearing your cache regularly. Don’t let cached data bog down your iPhone’s overall performance.
Eliminate excess data, free up storage space and improve your iPhone’s speed. Plus, clearing your cache also helps fix glitches and reduce app crashes.
What Is Cached Data?
Cached data is temporary data stored on your iPhone by apps and websites you visit, including temporary files, cookies and browsing history. Cached data helps apps and websites load faster but slows down your iPhone over time.
Keeping cached data is like having a closet you’ve avoided organizing for years. Over time, a lot of unnecessary things accumulate, taking up space and making it difficult to find what you’re looking for.
How Apps Affect Your iPhone Storage
Are you running low on storage space? See what apps occupy most of your device’s space using the following steps:
Step 1: Open your Settings app.
Step 2: Tap General.
Step 3: Click iPhone Storage.
Step 4: Wait a few minutes while your iPhone calculates the space each app uses.
Step 5: Scroll down to view the list of apps in order of their space usage.
From there, you gain insight into what apps are hogging the most space and either delete them or clear their cache.
It’s important to note that some apps, like social media apps, typically accumulate a lot of cached data over time. It’s a good idea to regularly check your storage usage and clear out any unnecessary data for premium iPhone performance.
Automating Clearing Your Cache
If you prefer not to clear your iPhone’s cache manually, several third-party apps are available that automatically do it for you.
Follow these steps on how to use one:
Step 1: Open your App Store.
Step 2: Search for a cache-cleaning app (or cache cleaner app) then install the app of your choice and launch it.
Step 3: Follow the app’s instructions to allow it to access your iPhone’s storage.
Once the app has access, select the types of data you want to clean, like cached data and temporary files. Most cache cleaning apps also let you schedule automatically clearing your cache daily, weekly or monthly, depending on your preference.
While third-party cache-cleaning apps are handy tools, they may also have privacy and security concerns. Be sure to read reviews and do your research before downloading and using one.
Wrapping Up
Slow speeds take the fun out of using your iPhone and impact your overall experience. That’s why keeping your iPhone in shape is crucial, and clearing the cache is essential.
By knowing how to clear the cache on iPhones, you easily check which apps take up the most space and clear out their cache manually or use third-party apps for automatic cache clearing.