iPhone automatically creates hidden files in daily use, which are stored in a temporary area of your iPhone's memory called cache. Clearing this data can free up storage space or speed up your device. This guide shows how to do this on any iPhone with iOS 12 and above.
How to clear Safari cache on iPhone
The most common cache cleared on any device is the web browser cache. It's full of saved images, web pages, cookies, and other files.
Web browser caching is designed to speed up your browser by saving files that you might need later so that you don't have to download them again. Clearing Safari's cache may slow down your browser because it will have to download previously cached data. However, it is a common solution when the browser is not working.
To clear cache in Safari:
1. Tap the "Settings" app on your iPhone's home screen.
2. Click on Safari.
3. Click Clear History and Website Data.
4. In the confirmation box, click Clear History & Data (if you change your mind, click Cancel).
Tips: You can restart your iPhone to perform a more "lightweight" cache clearing. It won't clear all types of caches: for example, Safari browser caches and some third-party apps won't be cleared. However, it is a great way to delete temporary files to free up storage space or solve the problem.
How to clear cache of third-party apps on iPhone
Third-party apps that you install from the Store may or may not allow you to clear their caches. It depends on whether the developer has added this feature in the app or not.
The setting to clear the cache of some third-party apps is located in the Settings app of your iPhone. For example, to clear the cache of the Accuweather app:
1. Tap on your iPhone's Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on the AccuWeather app.
3. Enable the "Reset cached content" slider.
How to clear cache in Chrome
Sometimes the cache cleanup settings are located in the app's settings, usually in the Settings menu within the app. The Chrome browser app is one of them.
1. Open the Chrome browser and click on the three-dot menu icon at the bottom of the screen.
2. Click Settings.
3. Select Privacy.
4. Select "Clear browsing data".
If you can't clear the cache in the app or phone settings, delete and reinstall the app. This will clear the old cache and restart the app, but you must know what data you have lost here. You may not want to erase the data you need to keep.
Reinstall the app to clear iPhone cache
If the app doesn't allow you to clear the cache manually, you can still clear the app's temporary files. The solution is to uninstall the app from your iPhone and then reinstall it immediately.
1. Go to "Settings > General > iPhone Storage" to determine which apps on your iPhone are taking up the most space on your device.
Tips: The iPhone storage screen lists all the apps installed on your iPhone and the space they use, starting with the ones that use the most space.
2. In the iPhone storage screen, tap an app.
3. Review the Documents & Data row of the application. This shows how much space the app's documents and data are taking up on your device.
4. After finding the app you want to delete, click Delete App (be careful).
Note: Tapping Delete App will permanently delete all files created by the app. The app can be re-downloaded, but the data is no longer there.
Why clear iPhone cache
iPhone cache is an important and useful part of your device. It contains the files you need and, in some cases, can also speed up your smartphone. That is to say, there are two main reasons to clear iPhone cache.
First of all, cached files take up storage space on your iPhone, and over time, they accumulate up. If you want to free up storage space on your iPhone, clearing cache is one way to do it. Some of this is done automatically by iOS, but you can also do it manually.
Another reason for clearing your iPhone's cache is that cached files can sometimes slow down your phone or cause things to go the way you don't want them to.
There are several different types of caches on your iPhone. So, there is no one step to clear all types of caches.