What is Cached Data?
Cached data is something that’s used whenever there’s any loading of digital data required. In other words, pretty much everything digital these days utilizes it in some way. The way it works is simple. Whenever you visit a website or open an app, your device will save, or “cache”, some parts of it so that the next time you access that website or app again, some parts of it will load instantly. While this is useful in the short term, in the long term, cached data can pile up over time, taking up storage space and occasionally causing your device to malfunction. That’s why clearing your cache is one of the first steps of troubleshooting. In this guide, we’ll go over how to clear your cache on the iPhone specifically.
Types of iPhone Cache
On the iPhone, there are three main types of cache:
- Safari cache: Stores website data, cookies, and history for faster browsing when using the Safari browser.
- App cache: Keeps temporary files used by apps. While most apps do keep a cache of some kind, some of the simpler ones don’t.
- System cache: Background files that keep the iPhone running smoothly.
Let’s go over how to clear them out.
1. Clearing Your iPhone’s Safari Cache
If Safari is your primary browser, then chances are its cache is pretty big. Clearing it can help clear up your storage space. To clear its cache, follow these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Safari.
- Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data.
- Tap it and it will ask the timeframe that you want to clear the data from. For maximum results, you can clear “All history”. Do note, however, that it will clear a lot of your autofill settings, which can be annoying.
If you want to be a little more precise about it, and keep your browsing history, then you can do this instead:
- Go to Settings and tap on Safari just like before.
- Go to “Advanced”at the bottom.
- Tap Website Data. This is where all your cookies are stored.
- Select “Remove All Website Data”.
This will achieve an effect similar to clearing your cache, but keep some of our autofill settings intact.
2. Clear Individual App Cache
Unlike Android, iPhone doesn’t have a universal “Clear App Cache” option. However, some apps have an individual option to clear their cache. Unfortunately, each app is unique enough that it’s impossible to write universal instructions for all of them. However, in most cases, you can enter the app, find their settings menu, and then find an option along the lines of “Cache Settings” or “Browsing data settings”. From there, you can clear the cache of the app.
3. Offload or Delete Apps
On iOS, the only universal way to clear an app’s cache is to offload or uninstall them entirely, then reinstall them afterwards. Offloading is similar to uninstalling, except that it keeps the user data so using it later is a smoother process. To do so, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings
- Tap on General, then iPhone Storage.
- Browse through your list of apps and tap the ones you want to clear.
- Tap Offload App.
- When you want it back, reinstall it from the App Store.
Alternatively, you can just delete the app from your phone entirely. The process is pretty much the same; you just select “Delete App” instead. This will make it so absolutely nothing is saved and you’d start fresh the next time you install the app.
4. Clear System Cache
The simplest way to clear your system cache on the iPhone is to just restart your iPhone. This is a simple way to improve your phone’s performance if you’ve kept it on for a long time.
- Hold the Power and Volume buttons to bring up the shutdown screen. If you’re on an older model, you only need to hold the power button.
- Slide to power off.
- Once the phone shuts down, wait a few seconds before starting it up again.
If you want to go for a deeper cleanup, you’ll have to reset your phone’s settings. While this will keep your personal data intact, it will remove any custom settings you may have tweaked to your liking.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings, then General.
- Scroll down to “Transfer or Reset iPhone”.
- Tap Reset, then choose to “Reset All Settings”.
Keeping Your Phone Running Well
Clearing your cache from time to time is essential to keeping your device running well. Unfortunately, iOS has a lot less options for doing so than most other devices. Despite that, you still do have a couple of ways to do so, although it’s more of a hassle. Safari and app caches can both be cleared via the Settings menu, although they tend to be several layers deep. The system cache can be cleared simply by restarting your device, although to reduce the deeper layer of clutter, you’d also have to dive deep into your settings. Thankfully, you don’t need to do this too often – just once every few months is enough!
We hope that our guide has helped you keep your iPhone in tip top shape!
