How to Wipe an App’s Cache Data
Here’s how to clear data for an app you know (or suspect) is causing problems or using up data.
Open Settings > Apps. Select the app whose cache you want to clear. The amount of storage space each app uses displays below the name of the app. Tap Storage. Tap Clear Cache to clear the app cache. Tap Clear Data to erase the data associated with the app.
How Clearing an App’s Cache Can Help
The cache contains temporary files that are used to speed up the app. Sometimes, though, they’re too much of a good thing. They might be duplicated and stored permanently elsewhere, be outdated, or be corrupted. All of this can cause the app to behave erratically or crash.
Clearing the cache can solve these problems, and it’s generally a key step in troubleshooting problems with your device.
Frequent Cache Culprits
Often, you’ll know which app is acting up simply by its behavior. If this isn’t the case, start your cache-clearing with the browser, then move onto social media apps such as Facebook and Twitter. Turn next to other apps that access the internet, and then to those that take up the most overall space.
On Pre-Oreo Android: Clearing the Entire Phone’s Cache at Once
Before the release of Oreo (Android version 8), the easiest way to deal with the device cache was to delete it all at once. However, Google removed this feature in newer versions.
If you’re still running an old version, here’s how to delete the entire device cache:
Open Settings. Tap Device > Storage. Tap Cached data. Android calculates where the device storage is being used (apps, photos, or other places) and how much you will reclaim. When prompted, confirm your choice. Clearing the cache data does not erase any personal information or important data.
