Have you ever noticed your Android device feeling sluggish, or gotten frustrated by low storage space warnings? Excess cache built up from apps and sites can often be the culprit. But have no fear – with a few simple taps you can transform back to buttery smooth performance and ample free space!
In this step-by-step guide, I’ll be walking you through exactly how to clear cache to reclaim storage and speed up your Android. I’ve been an Android power user for over 5 years now, so I want to pass on what I’ve learned to help you master cache cleaning. Let‘s dive in!
What is Cache and Why Does it Matter?
Cache is essentially temporary app data that gets stored on your device. For example, say you browse Instagram and scroll through lots of photos and videos. All that content gets temporarily saved in the app‘s cache so next time you launch Instagram, that content loads quicker than having to re-download it from the internet all over again.
This is helpful for faster loading, but over time cache files pile up – I‘ve seen Chrome alone take up over 1 GB! Multiply that by all the apps you use, and cache can gradually consume a huge chunk of your precious storage.
Beyond just eating up space, excessive cache can also make your device laggy. All those files bog things down, especially if you have lots of content heavy apps like social media, streaming video, or web browsers.
So by periodically wiping cache, you get two wonderful benefits:
- Frees up storage space – great if you keep getting low storage warnings
- Speeds up performance – fixes sluggishness and app freezing issues
Now let me reveal the simple 4 steps to supercharge your Android through the power of cache cleaning!
Step 1: Open Settings and Select Storage
First, launch your Settings app. It‘s usually available on the home screen, app drawer, or notifications pulldown:
Once you have Settings open, it‘s time to navigate to the Storage section. On Samsung or other skinned Android devices, you may go directly to app info.
But for most devices, choose Storage:
This will display a storage overview showing total space used, available space, along with a color coded bar graph visualization.
We need to drill down deeper though, so proceed to the next step!
Step 2: Select Apps for the Cache List
Within Storage settings, your next tap should be on Apps. This surfaces a list of all installed apps along with their storage usage broken down.
Older Android versions may label this option as Other Apps or Application info. But the idea is the same – view app-by-app storage stats:
At first glance you‘ll probably see apps all over the place in terms of cache usage. Let‘s add some order by sorting them.
Step 3: Sort Apps by Size to Pinpoint Cache Culprits
Staring at that big unorganized apps list can feel overwhelming!
Let‘s cut through the noise and pinpoint the worst cache offenders. Tap the vertical 3-dot menu in the upper right corner, then choose the Sort By Size option:
And voila! Now you‘ve got apps neatly arranged from the most total storage used down to the smallest.
This makes it easy to identify heavy hitters for closer inspection. The top apps are prime suspects for potential cache bloat.
Once you tap into an individual app, inspect its App data vs Cache breakdown:
Our cleanup efforts will target caches, so take note of apps leaning heavy on temporary cached data.
Step 4: Tap Clear Cache on Bloated Apps
Armed with your target list of top cache offender apps, it‘s almost time to start wiping!
Open each app individually again, then look for two key options:
- Clear cache – safely deletes TEMPORARY cached files
- Clear data – completely ERASES app contents
Obviously choose Clear cache here! 😅 This removes cache only while preserving any meaningful app data, accounts, settings etc.
Repeat for all apps you identified as having excess cached junk. It may take a few rounds going through this process before you‘ve tamed even the most unruly caches.
But stick with it, and you’ll be rewarded with buttery smooth performance and ample free storage once again!
Cache Cleaning Pro Tips
Congrats, you now know more than 99% of people about effectively clearing cache on Android! 🎉
But before you go enjoy that speedy device, I have a few pro power user tips worth mentioning:
Aggressively Target Browser Cache
Web browsers like Chrome and Firefox are cache consuption kings – don‘t be shy about wiping them!
Utilize Storage Cleaner Apps
The Play Store offers apps that can automatically clear cache across multiple apps at once. Saves you taps!
double Check Functionality After Cleaning
Make sure cached logins, preferences etc rebuild correctly with normal usage. Re-cache selectively if needed.
There are definitely more niche advanced tactics, but hopefully these pointers along with my step-by-step guide gives you everything you need to become a cache cleaning pro! Let me know if any other Android questions come up. Happy speedy apping my friend!
