Cache files are the temporary files stored on your phone. To store information that can be recalled quickly when you open an app or webpage. Almost every app and Website stores cache files on your device. But this cache is only useful to that particular app or webpage and changes after a certain duration.
This cache can be cleared for any app even if it’s a web browser through the application manager. Which is by default present on every Android device inside settings. To clear cache for apps follow the steps below, (I have used a Samsung Android phone to clear cache):
- Open Settings, then scroll down and look for Apps or Application manager.
- In the application manager find the app that you want to clear cache for and tap on that app.
- Now in the app menu tap on Storage.
- Then tap on Clear Cache.
- This will clear the cache for that particular application.
This process is only useful when you want to clear the cache for a single app or a few selected applications. If you want to clear the cache of multiple apps in a single touch then you have to use third-party apps, more about it later in this article. For now, let’s first see why should we clear the cache.
Why should we clear the cache?
There are various reasons why you should clear the cache files. One of the most important reasons to clear the cache is to free up storage space. And if the cache files get corrupt they can cause problems. Now let’s see what problems can corrupt cache files cause.
What problems can be caused due to corrupt or old cache?
When the cache files of apps get corrupt, applications can start experiencing problems. One of the examples of such an issue is the app getting stuck, this can be fixed by clearing the cache of that particular app.
Old cache files can also potentially pose privacy and security threats. If your browser cached files are accessed by an unauthorized person then, they can steal your personal information.
Some times when a browser is unable to fetch the newer version of the webpage, clearing the browser cache will solve the problem. After clearing the cache browser will load the newer version of the webpage next time you open the site.
These are some of the problems caused due to cache files that can be solved by clearing the cache. But does this mean you should clear cache regularly? Let’s see.
Should you clear your app and browser cache regularly?
Clearing cache is beneficial in solving some problems or errors. But clearing cache regularly is also not that useful. Cache files are created to speed up the process of the app or browser. But if you delete the cache files, the app needs to create them again when you use that app.
So if you regularly delete the cache files to free up storage space it will not be very beneficial. Because when you use the app next time, it will again start creating those cache files. Instead, it will affect the performance as cache files are created to speed up the process and the app has to create those files all over again.
This same is the case with your browser cache. Browser stores cached webpage on your phone so that when you open any webpage again it needs not to be downloaded all over again. Instead, some elements of it are loaded from your phone’s storage. This reduces the load time of the webpage and presents you with the webpage faster.
So clearing your cache files for apps and browsers regularly is also not recommended. Instead to keep the performance of apps and webpage load speed faster you should not delete the cache files regularly. So now you might be wondering when should we clear cache? Let’s get an answer to that.
When should we clear the cache files?
Clearing cache is a temporary solution to fixing storage problems. But it can be very effective in case of apps that don’t update cache files and accumulate a lot of cache files over time. Clearing cache for such apps after long durations will give you a lot of free space. One of the popular app that accumulates a lot of cache files over time is Facebook app.
Clearing cache for such apps can give you a storage boost. Although there is no timeline as to when should you do it. But deleting cache over a long period can be better to free up storage space. You can clean cache once in a month or once in two to three months. But clearing cache one by one for every app is a lot of work. For that, you can use the best apps to bulk clean the cache of all apps at once.
In Samsung Android phones there is also an inbuilt cache clear app. To access it open Settings then scroll to find Device maintenance or Device Care. Then tap on Storage and tap on Clean, this will clear all the unnecessary files.
Although this method might not fix the problem due to corrupt cache files. For that, you might need to clear all cache files of that app by the first method in this article. If that doesn’t work then for some problems you might want to clear data for that particular app. But do remember clearing data will delete all the data of that app and also log you out from the app account.
How to clear data for Apps?
- To clear data for any app open Settings.
- In Settings open Apps or Application manager.
- Then tap on the app in which you are facing any problems.
- Tap on Storage and then tap on Clear data.
This will clear data for that particular app. But if you want you can also clear data for multiple apps, I have tried this in Samsung Galaxy Android phones with One UI 2.0. This method might not work on other smartphones or other Android skins.
To clear data for multiple Apps on Samsung Galaxy Android phone along with cache open Settings. Then tap on Device Care, in it tap on Storage. Then tap on Apps and start selecting the apps for which you want to clear data you can also select all the apps. Do remember this will clear all the data of those apps and will log you out from the account of all these applications.
Then tap on three vertical dots menu(ellipsis menu) in the upper right corner and tap on Delete user data. This will ask you for a confirmation, that tap on Delete.
This should reset the app and should fix any problem you were facing with the app.
Conclusion:
These above methods should allow you to clear the cache on your Phone. For this tutorial to clear cache I have used a Samsung Android phone. But the steps should be similar on other phones also.
Clearing cache fixes problems you might be facing with the app due to corrupt cache. It also clears unwanted temporary files, freeing up space. Although it is not recommended to clear cache regularly. But clearing cache after long durations can give you free space by clearing unwanted cache files that pile up over time.