What is a cache in Android?

Cache (or cache data) is information that comes from an app or website which is stored on your phone. It makes a fast browsing speed. Cache data is saved at the period loading app or website on a device. The cache fills the storage space on your device. So sometimes, you need to clear cache data regularly from your Android device and personal computer.

Cache data are the combination of scripts, files, and images that automatically stored on your device at the time of browsing the internet. The cache data helps you to speed-up your browsing because the scripts, files, and images are loaded from the cache, which is stored in the device for a particular website.

Is it ok to clear cached data on Android?

There is no bad impact of deleting the cache data from your Android device. As it takes space in a storage area, regularly deleting cache keeps the valuable storage free. But for some website, you require to re-enter the name and password information as they are cleaned from the cache. The process of cleaning cache data from the device varies from device to device.

How do you clear an app cache?

There are two ways to clean cache from the Android device: cleaning a per-app basis or cleaning all at once. Cleaning "all" at once includes all apps and web browser cache. The steps of cleaning cache data vary from device to device.

Cleaning cache per-app basis on Android

You can clean cache from each app, such as a web browser or game one by one on your Android device. To clean cache as per-app basis, follow the below mentioned steps:

1. Open your device settings.
2. Scroll down and tap on Apps.
3. Tap on the app from the list for which cache you want to clean.
4. On the next screen, you will find a button Clear cache. Click on it to clear the cache from the app.

Cleaning cache per-app basis on Android: Method 2

You might find slightly different steps to clear cache from the app if you are using a newer (or latest) version smartphone. The steps are mostly similar you followed in the above steps:

1. Go to Settings on your Android smartphone.
2. Tap on the App Management (or Apps).
   
3. Tap on the App list to see all apps present on your Android phone.
   
4. Now, select the app which cache you want to clear (in our case, we selected YouTube Music).
   
5. Tap on the Storage usage at the top option.
   
6. Tap on the Clear cache to clear the cache of your selected app.
   

Cleaning all cache at once on Android

Let's see how you can clean the entire cache at once from the device. For this follow the below steps:

1. Open the device Settings
2. Tap on Storage Memory or Storage (the term may vary from device to device).
3. Tap on Cached data, which displays the total amount of cache data of your device.
4. A pop-up will appear that asks whether you want to Clear cache data. Click OK to clean all the cache of the device.

Cleaning cache data on iPhone

The process of cleaning cache data from the iPhone is similar to the process of cleaning cache from an Android device. There is no universal way to clean all cache data at once in the iPhone, so you need to go app to app.

The process of cleaning cache data in an iPhone starts from Safari (the majority of users use Safari as compared to another browser). Click the Settings app, go to Safari, and navigate to Clear History and Website data. Tap on "Clear History and Data".

To delete the cache data of other apps in the iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Here you will found a list of apps to choose. Click on anyone, and go to "Documents and Data". If the app uses more data, then you need to delete and reinstall it.

How do you clear App Data?

After cleaning the app's cache, you should remove App Data. Cleaning App Data frees lots of storage space from the device. But remember that cleaning App Data removes all the data you saved or downloaded from that app. The app will act as if you have newly installed it. When you try to access it, you need to sign in again. Follow the below-given steps to clear App Data:

1. Go to the Settings app of your Android smartphone.
2. Tap on the App Management (or Apps).
   
3. Tap on the App list to see all apps present on your Android phone.
   
4. Now, select the app which cache you want to clear (in our case, we selected YouTube Music).
   
5. Tap on the Storage usage at the top option.
   
6. Tap on the Clear data to remove all data of the desired app.
   

Each Android device's model has a different user interface, due to which they vary in steps to clear app cache and data from them. Below, we have illustrated the steps to clear app cache and data in popular handsets.

How to clear the app's cache and data on Google Pixel

1. Open the Settings app on your Pixel phone.
2. Find and tap on the Apps
3. Tap on the See all option at the bottom.
4. Choose and tap on the app which cache and data you need to clear.
5. Now, tap on "Storage and cache".
6. Select the Clear cache.
7. Finally, tap on Clear storage to clear data and cache from the app you selected.

Clear app's cache and data on Samsung smartphones

1. Open the Settings menu of your Galaxy phone.
2. Scroll down the screen and select Apps.
3. Choose and tap on the app which cache and data you need to clear.
4. Select the Storage.
5. Tap on Clear cache to clear the cache of the selected app.
6. Tap on Clear data to clear data stored in the app.

Clear the app's cache and data on OnePlus phones:

1. Launch the Settings app of your OnePlus Android phone.
2. Scroll down and select the Apps and notifications
3. Tap on See all to view all the apps installed on your Android smartphone.
4. Choose and tap on the app which cache and data you want to delete.
5. Select "Storage and cache".
6. Tap on the Clear cache to remove the cache of the selected app.
7. Tap Clear storage to clear both data and cache.

Clear cache and data on Xiaomi phones

1. Open the Settings app of your Xiaomi phone.
2. Find and tap on the Apps
3. Tap on the Manage apps.
4. Choose and tap on the app which cache and data you need to clear.
5. Select the Storage.
6. Tap on the Clear cache to clear the cache of your selected app.
7. Tap on Clear data to clear both data and cache of your app.

What is the benefit of cleaning the cache from the device?

A question arises here if the device's cache helps in fast web browsing and app's data loading, why you need to clean cache data from time to time?

• The main reason behind the cleaning device's cache is when you face specific issues with an app or website. Maybe the images are not displaying well, or you are having a problem to login.
• Cleaning the cache will help you to regain the valuable space on your Android device. If you never clean the device cache, your device occupies GBs of storage space.
• If an app or web browser doesn't load the latest version of a page, cleaning cache data can force to update it.
• The cache files may compromise your security and privacy. For example, the browser's app stores cache files of several sites you visit and stores sensitive data. If it can't get deleted regularly, any unauthorized person might utilize these cache files to obtain personal information.
• Cleaning the cache from the app or other software may cause it to load the latest or newer version of it.

What's about cache cleaner apps?

There are several cache cleaner apps available on Google Play Store that promise to clean cache, unused photos and videos from your phone quickly and safely. However, there are several reasons about not to use these apps:

• Sometimes, they make false claims, like cleaning cache data will adequately increase your phone's speed.
• The app occupies more space on your phone storage and even slow down performance as they continuously run in the background.
• Display ads in-app purchases.

Files by Google

For the demonstration, we use a free Files by Google app to clear the cache from Android. This third-party app is published by Google and works great for cleaning the cache from Android smartphones. Running the Files by Google app on your device clears the app cache, finds apps you don't use, and free up the storage space based on your activity.

Because Google offers it, you can trust it to clean your device's cache. Another benefit of using this app is that it shows up duplicate images, large files, and other tools that cover lots of space on your Android phone.

Features of Files By Google

• It smart suggests saving space by cleaning files that occupy more storage.
• It frees up space more quickly and very easily way.
• Allows faster sharing of offline files with the Nearby Share
• Offer smart filters option to find files faster on your device.
• It deeply scans files to find out free space left in your phone and SD card.

Use File by Google to clear cache

1. Using the Play Store app, navigate to Google Play Store.
2. Search and download the Files by Google app on your Android device.
3. Open the app, and allow the required permission to run the app.
4. Now, search for the option Junk Files.
5. Choose Clear and Confirm.
6. Wait to finish the task, and you will see the app cache and junk files are deleted from your device.

Download Files By Google From Play Store.

Phone Master - Junk Clean Master

Phone Master is one of the most popular and widely downloaded cache and junk cleaner apps from the Play Store for Android devices. You can download it on your Android phone to clean cache & junk files and remove unused files, including duplicate or blurred photos, videos, and larger size files from your phone.

Phone Master junk cleaner deep searches your device to find caches and junk files, and it separates the different types of caches into different sections. This makes it easy for you to decide which types of cache you want to remove from your Android device so that no other types of files get deleted mistakenly or unknowingly.

Additionally, the Phone Master app also resizes and compresses images to reduce their size to save device storage space. Other than these features, it also suggests deleting unwanted apps (or apps that are not used for a long time) to free up device space. After cleaning junk and cache files from your Android device, it boosts the device's performance. But there are full of ads because of the free version, which promotes upgrading to the paid version.

Download the Phone Master from Play Store

CCleaner

CCleaner is an ultimate Android cleaner app that quickly and easily removes junk, frees up space, and monitors your Android device. Like others, it also has an easy-to-use interface that cleans your phone in just a few taps. On Android phones, the CCleaner app responds as a multifunctional tool that does its task to analyze and clean up stray files and free up precious space.

The main job of the CCleaner app is to clean cache data from apps and delete various histories. Besides these, there is the feature of App Manager that facilitates you to select multiple apps to uninstall in a single click. Also, it monitors the phone's resources, such as CPU, RAM, and other device details, so you can see what is going on in your phone in a quick way.

Features of CCleaner

• It clears junk from your device in just a few taps.
• Check device performance by monitoring system resources like RAM, battery performance, and internal storage.
• Allows you to customize cleaning features as per your requirements.
• Determines the impact of each app on your phone.
• Find the app that consumes high battery power.

Download CCleaner from Play Store.

SD Maid

SD Maid is an Android cache and junk file cleaner app that removes unnecessary files and frees up disk space. This app deep reads the Android file system and storage to find files that can be deleted without affection installed, user, and system apps. It also finds and suggests deleting duplicate photos, music, and documents. In the SD Maid Pro version, you can schedule it to clean Android devices.

Features of SD Maid

• It detects and cleans junk files, cache files, and files left behind after uninstalling apps.
• There is a built-in file manager to manage your file system.
• Option to run it automatically on a scheduled based to keep clean your device of unwanted files.

Download SD Maid from Play Store.

If possible, avoid the third-party app. Remember that your phone already contains a good cleaning system. So, there is no requirement of any third-party apps for this purpose.