Not sure if you’ve noticed, but opening an app or visiting a website for the first time can take a while.
Okay, a “while” may be extreme, but those extra few seconds of loading time matter to us when surfing the web or scrolling through our apps.
Although, it isn’t a coincidence why this happens. It’s mainly due to our devices not having cached data for a particular app or website.
If you’re unsure what cached data is, let's take a quick look.
What is cached data?
Cached data are files, scripts, images, and other multimedia stored on your device after opening an app or visiting a website for the first time. This data is then used to quickly gather information about the app or website every time revisited, reducing load time.
The technique of storing cache data or cache files as history on a phone or web browser to improve the user experience on future visits to a website or an app is known as caching.
Regardless of the type of app or device (Hard disk drives, solid-state drives, tablets, smartphones) used to consume content or exchange information, they all contain space to store cached data for quick access. Businesses use mobile device management (MDM) software to optimize device functionality and security while helping to protect the corporate network.
How does cached data work?
For cached data to be stored for re-access, there needs to be enough memory or storage space on your device. On a more technical side, the cache is very high up on the hierarchy of computer memory. Here’s a visual of this hierarchy for reference:
You can see just below the CPU register – the small building blocks of the computer processor – are a few levels of cache memory.
- L1, or level 1, is the primary level of cache built into the microprocessing chip.
- L2 and L3, or level 2 and 3, are the secondary cache level, which feeds the L1. It is slower than L1 by nanoseconds.
Cache memory has extremely low latency, meaning it can be accessed very quickly. You can test this by opening a new app or visiting a website you’ve never been to before, then revisit it, and compare the speeds.
Note: Your second time around should be noticeably faster.
The flip side to low latency means not much memory can be stored. This is why small-sized files like web text and images are stored in the cache.
Is cached data important?
Cached data isn’t inherently important, as it’s only considered “temporary storage.” However, it does exist to improve the user experience.
On-page elements like images, videos, and even text take some time to load. When this data is cached, we can reopen the app or revisit the page with confidence that it won’t take anywhere near as much time.
Cache memory also saves states. For example, if I close my Twitter app and reopen it 10 minutes later, I’ll be able to scroll down and see posts that were previously loaded. Without cache, everything would need to reload. You can specifically remove the cache on certain websites but leave others in place, which can be particularly useful if you are managing multiple sites.
Should I clear my cache?
So, if cached data isn’t that important, is it safe to erase? Well, that depends.
If you find your mobile device memory being drained from cached data, you should probably clear it. After all, cached data isn’t vital to the performance of an app or website; it just means the files on it will have to be reloaded.
Although, constantly clearing your cache isn’t a permanent solution since you’ll eventually be reopening apps and revisiting websites at some point. The data will be re-cached, and the cycle will continue.
If you’re that strapped for memory, consider deleting old text messages, images, or video files on your device. It’s also worth looking into cloud-based file storage and sharing software like Google Drive or Dropbox if you want to hold on to your files. These options typically offer a free amount of cloud space.
How to clear cached data
If you’re all-in on clearing your cache, here’s how to do so on different operating systems:
Clear cacheoniPhone
Follow these simple steps to clear the cache on iOS devices:
Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
From here, you have a few options. Your first option is to clear the entire cache of apps you hardly or never use. This is under the recommendation “Offload Unused Apps.” The term offload is justiOS’ fancy phrase for clearing the cache.
The second option is to scroll down and tap on individual apps with lots of cached data on your device. How can you tell this? Apple will list these apps from the highest usage of memory to the lowest.
Simply offload theindividual appto free up some temporary space on your device.
Tip: Clearing the cache simply clears temporary files. It won't erase login credentials, downloaded files, or custom settings.
Clear cacheonAndroid
You can clear the cache onAndroiddevices in the following ways.
Clear cacheInChromeapp
- Open theGoogleChromeapp on yourAndroidphoneor tablet.
- Tap More on the three dots on thetop rightcorner of thewebpage.
- Tap History and then tapClear browsing dataand choose atime-rangeat the top.
- Select atime-rangeand check the boxes next to “Cached image files.”
- Tap Clear data to free up thebrowser cacheonChrome.
Tip: You can clear cached files on Chrome even when offline.
Clear app cache
Let's take theSamsung GalaxyNote 8 as an example to understand how to clear the app cache fromAndroiddevices.
- Open theSettings menuon yourAndroidphoneand select Apps from the list
- Depending on yourAndroidversion, you might get an option to open installed apps, all apps, enabled, disabled, andother apps. SelectAllif usingSamsung GalaxyNote 8.
- Choose the appropriate option and navigate to the app whose cache you need to clear
- Select the app and tap Storage from the list of options inside theapp data
- TapClear cachetofree up spaceon your device
Is cached data important?
Cached data isn’t inherently important, as it’s only considered “temporary storage.” However, it does exist to improve the user experience.
On-page elements like images, videos, and even text take some time to load. When this data is cached, we can reopen the app or revisit the page with confidence that it won’t take anywhere near as much time.
Cache memory also saves states. For example, if I close my Twitter app and reopen it 10 minutes later, I’ll be able to scroll down and see posts that were previously loaded. Without cache, everything would need to reload.
Additionally, caching is a key ingredient of economical large-scale cloud hosting, being vital for fallbacks such as CDNs (content delivery networks).
Clear cacheonFirefox
It's quite easy to clear the Firefox cache. Follow these five steps:
- Select options by clicking Menu on the Firefox page.
2. Tap thePrivacy & Securitypanel.
3. ClickClearDatain theCookies and Site Datatab.
4. Delete check marks in front of all other options and checkCached Web Content.
What happens after you clear cache?
- Some settings on sites get deleted. For example, if you were signed in, you’ll need to sign in again.
- If you turn sync on in Chrome, you’ll stay signed in to the Google Account you’re syncing to in order to delete your data across all your devices.
- Some sites can seem slower because content, like images, needs to load again. ~ Google Support
What doesclearing cachedo?
You now have a pretty in-depth understanding of whatcached datais, where it’s stored, and its importance when it comes todevice performance.
It’s not bad to clear yourcached datanow and then. Some refer to this data as “junk files,” meaning it just sits and piles up on your device. Clearing the cache helps keep things clean, but don’t rely on it as a solid method for making new space.
Now that you know how to clear the cache to improve your device's performance, make your device safer with two-factor authentication.
This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.
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Devin Pickell
Devin is a former senior content specialist at G2. Prior to G2, he helped scale early-stage startups out of Chicago's booming tech scene. Outside of work, he enjoys watching his beloved Cubs, playing baseball, and gaming. (he/him/his)
