How to clear your app cache on Android

Many people clear app cache to free up additional storage on their Android phone or to keep their phone and apps from getting slow. As our smartphones continue to become more powerful, they also accumulate more and more apps.

Many users believe that Android should handle app cache and that interfering with default caching behavior is asking for trouble. But the truth is far murkier. 

Some apps don’t use cache space responsibly, some break when they use too much cached data, and others won’t start after an update without being manually cached. 

 It’s useful to understand what app cache is, why it matters, and why you might want to clear it on your Android smartphone.

What is a cache?

Caching lets applications like browsers, games, and streaming services store temporary files to reduce load times and make your overall experience faster.

YouTube, Spotify, Google News, and other apps save information as cache data. This can be video thumbnails, search history, or snippets of video used to minimize user input.

Caching can save time, as internet speeds aren’t the same everywhere. Although, apps offloading data onto your phone will slow it down, especially when there’s not much storage to spare.

Why should you clear the app cache?

The primary reason for someone to clear the application cache would be to free up storage, which might impact the phone’s performance.

But clearing data is a much more dramatic step, which is generally reserved for when an app is buggy or fails to start. This could result from corrupted cache files, untested server-side changes, misbehaving software, or a new OS update to Android.

How to clear your app cache on Android

Google Pixel

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Apps.
3. Tap the See all option at the bottom.
4. Tap the app name whose app cache you want to clear.
5. Tap Storage and cache.
6. Select Clear cache.
7. Tap Clear storage to clear data and cache

Samsung Galaxy phones

1. Open the Settings menu.
2. Scroll down and select Apps.
3. Tap the app name whose app cache you want to clear.
4. Scroll down and select Storage.
5. Tap Clear data to clear data.
6. Tap Clear cache to clear the app cache.

OnePlus phones

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Apps and notifications.
3. Tap See all to list all installed apps.
4. Tap the app name whose app cache you want to clear.
5. Select Storage and cache.
6. Tap Clear cache to clear the cache.
7. Tap Clear storage to clear data and cache.

Xiaomi phones

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Apps.
3. Tap Manage apps.
4. Tap the app name whose app cache you want to clear.
5. Select the Storage option.
6. Tap Clear cache to clear only the app cache, or tap Clear data to clear data and cache.