How to Clear the Cache on Your iPhone

If you’re looking for a clear cache on iPhone guide, we’ve got you. There are lots of reasons why your iPhone may be lagging or sluggish, but one of the most common solutions is clearing the app or browser cache. This article will cover what a cache is, why you should care, and all the steps for clearing it on your iPhone. 

What is a Cache? The Silent Speedster of Computing

The applications on your phone will store frequently accessed data, files, etc. This is so that when you keep using these apps, they don’t have to reload the data as it is already stored and quickly accessible. This means faster access for you, making your user experience more seamless and fluid, and it frees up resources for your phone. That said, sometimes issues can be caused by this stored data, which may necessitate clearing it.   

How is Clearing Your iPhone Cache Helpful?

As mentioned, loading times on your iPhone are greatly reduced thanks to cached data. Normally, it makes using apps and accessing websites a lot faster. Except when it doesn’t….

Sometimes this cached data can cause issues, especially if the data becomes corrupted or there’s just too much of it, which can slow down your iPhone’s loading times or even cause crashes. If the data is expired or is out-of-date, it may also cause a site to not load correctly (or at all). 

App or browser cache issues can cause a handful of problems. Here are some reasons why clearing your cache from time to time is a good idea: 

• Apps perform better: When you clear your cache and use the app again, the freshly downloaded data can improve performance and make accessing the app faster.
• Correct glitches: If the cached data is problematic and corrupted, it may cause crashes or glitches. Getting rid of this stored data may correct this problem. This is a very common cause of issues for PCs and other devices, too. You’ll probably run across the suggestion to clear your system’s cache in tons of troubleshooting guides, for this reason.
• Clears up your iPhone storage: If you don’t clear your caches very often, this data stacks up over time and takes up a lot of storage space that you probably need for more important things. Clearing your cache gives you more storage and also frees up that space for other resources, improving your phone’s performance too. 
• Improves privacy: Because the cached data may sometimes have sensitive or personal information (such as private documents, login information, or images) removing this stored cache can keep this data from reaching the wrong hands, especially if your smartphone is stolen. 
• Up-to-date content: If your iPhone is using previously cached information from a browser or app, it may not be up to date. Periodically clearing your cache ensures you have the most updated data versions. 
• Clears up authentication problems: Stored login credentials, authentication tokens and other such data can become corrupted or problematic. Clearing the cache refreshes these tokens and can help with login issues. 

How to Clear Cache on Apps on iPhones

Learning how to clear cache on iPhones is pretty simple. There are a few different methods and techniques, which we’ll cover, but these are all fast and easy to perform. 

Clear Separate Apps’s Cache on Your iPhone

To clear an individual app’s cached data, here are the steps: 

1. Go to Settings (the gearbox icon).
2. Go to General.
3. Tap iPhone Storage.
4. Scroll to find the individual app you want.
5. There will be a few options under the individual app, the important ones for our case are Offload App and Delete App. The Offload app will not remove all of the data, but it will clear up some of the cache, which helps with storage space. To keep using the app afterward, you’ll have to reinstall it. Deleting the app completely will remove all of the data and cache. If you choose to reinstall the app after deletion, none of your data will have been saved. Be sure you decide on the best option for you, as deleting the app may be more extreme than some users want.

6. If you choose to Offload App, a window will appear and you tap Offload App once more to confirm this action. Similarly, deleting the app will require confirmation.

Some specific applications may have the ability to clear the cache by accessing the app’s settings. If you see that your app has a “clear-cache” option, just tap this and restart the app, which should have cleared its data. You may need to log in again though. 

Clear All of Your iPhone App Caches

There is no actual method to clear all of the cache for all of the apps on your iPhone simultaneously. However, you can choose to Offload Unused Apps, which will clear the caches on apps you don’t often use, which helps clear up storage space. It frees up memory but it still keeps the app data, restoring this data when you reinstall the app, so long as it’s still available from the App store. Here’s how to clear cache on iPhone apps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Scroll down to find Apps.
3. Find the App Store and tap.

4. Scroll down to find Offload Unused Apps and toggle the option to on.

Keep in mind, some users have lost access to apps doing this if they disappear from the app store. It is heavily reliant on that app being available in the future so that the data can be reinstalled. If you’re worried about this, it may be preferable to clear the cache on individual apps, as mentioned before. 

How to Clear Browser Caches on iPhones

Because browsers are one of the most frequently used aspects for iPhone users, here’s how to clear caches from your actual browser, such as Safari. Note that these steps will clear your Safari history, cache, and cookies all at once. Also, these steps will be for Safari, but the process is similar to any browser you may use, such as clearing the cache on Chrome: 

1. Go to Settings.
2. Scroll down to Apps.
3. Find Safari and tap.
4. Select Clear History and Website Data. This won’t alter your autofill info. Also, if there is no data to clear, the button will be grayed out.

To keep your browsing history but only clear your cache and cookies: 

1. Go to Settings.
2. Go to Apps.
3. Tap Safari.
4. Scroll down to find Advanced.
5. Tap Website Data.

6. Choose Remove All Website Data. Note, if you don’t have data that is available to clear, the option may be grayed out, or there simply won’t be the option available at all. This is also applicable if you have certain web content restrictions in place from the Content and Privacy settings

Frequently Asked Questions

Would content blockers help reduce the cache on my iPhone?

To an extent, yes. Content blockers are extensions and third-party apps that help block certain unwanted content from loading when you’re browsing on your phone. Examples include pop-ups, ads, trackers, cookies, and similar content. It won’t keep your iPhone from accumulating cached data (that’s not necessarily a bad thing either), but it can help reduce unwanted cached data, making it easier to manage your cache and help lower unnecessary data storage. 

How do you clear a cache on an iPad?

iPad cache clearing is similar to that for iPhones. There are some differences, however. There is no specific option to clear data and cache files, but you can delete and reinstall the application, which will clear the cache. Here’s how: 

1. Go to Settings.
2. Go to General.
3. Choose iPad Storage.
4. Find the App you want to delete and tap Delete app.
5. You can then go to the Apple Store and re-download the previously removed app.

To clear the iPad’s browser cache, you simply: 

1. Go to Settings.
2. Choose Safari (or other browser of choice).
3. Choose Advanced.
4. Choose Website Data.
5. Choose Remove all website data. Note if the option is grayed out, it means there is no web data available to clear.

What is the difference between a cache and a cookie?

Because they are often addressed together in troubleshooting methods, it’s easy to get cookies and caches confused. Here’s a quick overview of each: 

• Caches: Caches store data from sites or apps in order to reduce loading times. Examples of this data include JavaScript, CSS, login tokens, images, etc. The next time you go to the site or app, this information is loaded from the cache rather than reloading it all over again, which saves time. 
• Cookies: Small amounts of data that are stored from websites on your iPhone or other device. This is so things like your login details, shopping cart items, settings, and other unique information is saved so it doesn’t have to be reentered every time you go to an app or site. An example of this is the “Remember me” feature many sites have where you don’t have to input your login credentials every time.

The main difference is that caches save some data from apps or sites so that loading is faster, whereas cookies are for saving particular details, such as login information. 

How often should I clear the cache on my iPhone? 

Ultimately, how often you clear your cache is up to you. However, doing this from time to time will help your phone run better and take up less storage, too. Many experts recommend doing it at least once a month, and doing it more frequently if you have a lot of storage already used on your device from other things. If you have a lot of storage on  your phone, you may be able to stretch this out more, but because there are multiple issues that caches can cause, it is often a good idea just to do it fairly regularly, regardless. Also, restarting your phone from time to time is important, because it can clear temporary caches that may also cause issues.