A “cache” is a temporary place where developers store data of a particular website or App. When you will access that specific website or app again the data from the cache files are used to load the pages instead of downloading it again – because going to the network is slow and expensive. The main purpose of caches is to improve things like browsing experience by boosting the page loading speed.
However, along with all the speed advantage they also have some disadvantages that are enough to get rid of them. These files are stored in your phone’s memory which means they are definitely taking some space. Furthermore, if they are not deleted from time to time they can also lead to slowing down your phone’s speed or even stop the web pages and apps from working properly.
There are many advantages of clearing cache files that easily outweigh the advantages of keeping them.
Advantages of clearing cache
- Free up some precious phone memory, in most cases it is enough to store two or three medium size applications.
- Slight boost in performance and if you have never cleared cache before then expect some noticeable change.
- It can fix some misbehaving apps or crashes. This also applies to misbehaving web pages that become slow or stop responding.
- Always see the latest version of web pages. Cache can sometimes make a mistake and don’t show the latest version of the web page but if they are cleared you will always see the latest web page.
There are many ways you can delete app cache and browser cache permanently. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how you can clear cache from both apps and browser of your Android phone according to the method of your choice.
Clear Cache of a Single App
Clearing the cache of a single app can be quite good if the app is lagging or crashing and you just want to clear its cache without affecting others. The process is quite simple just follow these simple steps:
Go to Settings and tap on Application Manager (in some devices it will be called Apps)
There you will be able to see all installed apps, just tap on the desired app and it will lead to its details. There you can see the total space taken by cache and a button to clear it. Just tap on Clear cache and it will be completely removed.
You can go through the same process to clear cache of other applications one by one.
Clear Cache of all Apps
Note: This feature will only work on Android 4.2 and above, if you have an older device running any android version below 4.2 then skip this method and jump straight to the next heading.
You can also completely clean cache from all your apps using Android’s built-in settings. To clear cache of all apps at the same time, just go to:
Settings menu and there tap on Storage
There you will see your total storage and other useful information related to storage such as Used space, System memory and Available space, etc. You will also be able to see the option of “Cached data” just tap on it and a pop up will show up saying “This will clear cached data for all apps” just tap “OK” and it will be cleared.
Use a dedicated app to clear Cache
Clearing cache can become a breeze with the help of a dedicated app. For this tutorial, we have chosen App Cache Cleaner, it is quite detailed and specifically made for clearing cache of apps. Of course, there are also many other apps on Google Play Store which can do the same thing, so you can try them also.
App Cache Cleaner
With the help of App Cache Cleaner you can clear cache of each app individually or clear all cache from all apps just by tapping on the big green button at the bottom of the screen saying “Clear”.
You can also set a reminder according to the size of cache files and a specified time period that will remind you to clear apps cache with just one tap.
There are also some handy features that will make the process easier, such as clear cache when the app starts, auto exit after clearing and dedicated widget to clear cache, etc.
You can access these features by taping on Menu at the top right corner and selecting Setting. You can check or uncheck all these options to avail them.
The auto clear options are quite reliable and ability to clean all apps cache in one go is good for devices that don’t have Android 4.4 and above to do it.
Clear Cache on Chrome for Android
Clearing browser cache isn’t much of a hassle, by following these simple steps you should be able to clear browser cache easily.
Open Chrome and tap on the menu at the top right side of the screen (its the three vertical dots).
In the menu you will see the option of Settings, just tap on it. In settings, tap on Privacy under the heading Advanced.
At the bottom of the screen (no need to scroll down) you will see another option for Menu (It will be 3 vertical dots as well) just tap and in that menu tap on Clear Browsing Data. In the next menu, check Clear the cache option and may be other options too if you would like to clear them as well. Otherwise, just check Clear the cache option and hit “Clear”.
All your browser cache will be cleared and you can start fresh again.
Clear Cache on Firefox for Android
To clear cache on Firefox for Android, open the browser and tap on the Menu located at the top right corner of the screen.
In the menu you will see the option of Settings, tap on it and in the next menu tap on Privacy.
There you will see the option of Clear now and when you will tap on it you will see a list of things that you can clear. Just check “Cache” and maybe other options too if you would like to remove them as well and hit Clear data. All selected data will be removed completely.
You also have the option to automate the process by automatically removing all the cache when you will exit the browser..
To clear cache automatically, tap on Clear on exit in the Privacy menu. From the next menu, choose cache and other data options which you would like to clear upon exiting the browser. After choosing your options just tap on Set and all the chosen data will be removed whenever you will exit Firefox browser.