How to clear cache and cookies on Android?

Modern mobile devices are versatile tools that provide a rich and wholesome user experience. They are full-featured computers capable of performing any function. Most mobile devices run on the Android operating system (OS) developed by Google.

Although smartphones are pretty powerful, they may suffer from slower loading times due to the limitations of mobile Internet networks. The devices use several caching mechanisms to improve their performance.

However, stored cache and cookies can sometimes cause connectivity issues. The following guide explains how cache works, why you need to delete it periodically, and how to clear the cache on Android phones and browsers.

Why do you need to delete the cache?

Having these resources ready to use, the content will load faster for you. It dramatically reduces the loading times and provides a much smoother online experience.

Overall, the cache is beneficial for your user experience, yet it may sometimes cause performance issues.

Corrupted and expired cache or cookies may prevent you from loading a website or app correctly. If your browser cache contains outdated files, you might not see the most recent website version.

Furthermore, the accumulated cache may grow and clutter your internal storage with time. This will lead to a reduced overall performance of your mobile phone or tablet.

Therefore, it is recommended to periodically flush the cache from apps and browsers on your Android device.

How to clear the cache on Android apps?

Many Android apps keep their own cache. It is recommended to inspect your storage usage regularly and see how much space each app takes. Then, you can clear the app data of the largest ones.

Keep in mind that your device may use a customized Android version. The process of clearing the cache may differ for the various versions. However, the app cache is generally flushed from your device’s Settings page. In our example, the version is Android 12.

Open the Settings menu by tapping on its icon. In the Settings menu, scroll down to the section Apps and tap on it.

In this section, you will see all apps installed on your phone. To locate the largest apps easier, use the Filter icon to sort the apps by size. They will be listed in descending order.

Let’s take Messenger, for example. It’s one of the most popular apps used arguably by everyone for messaging, multimedia exchange, and video calls. Over time, the app can accumulate lots of cached content that you may want to clear.

From the Apps section, click on the app icon. Then scroll down to the section Storage and tap on it.

You will see a breakdown of the app’s storage usage. Tap on the Clear cache icon to delete the temporary cached files that the app has generated.

In the same manner, you can clear the cache for other apps to free up additional storage.

How to clear the cache on Google Chrome?

Web browsers generate a lot of cached content to improve web browsing. Cached content includes media files from websites, cookies, CSS files, JavaScript files, etc. Arguably the most popular web browser on Android devices is Chrome.

To clear its cache, tap on the Chrome app icon. Click on the kebab menu (three dots) in the top right corner to open the browser menu and tap on Settings.

In the Settings screen, select Privacy and security, where the first option is Clear browsing data. In this menu, you can choose the type of cached data to delete and for what period.

To make sure that all cached data is cleared, tap on the drop-down menu next to Time range and select All time. Then, select the data types to delete. Browsing History is not affecting your device’s performance. Usually, you need to choose only Cached images and files and Cookies and site data. In the Advanced section, you can select more options for data types to delete.

Check the boxes for the data types to delete and then confirm your choice with the button Clear data.

How to clear cache in Mozilla Firefox?

Another browser widely used on mobile devices is Firefox. The process for clearing its browsing data is similar to Chrome.

To flush its cache, open the browser by tapping on its icon. Select the kebab menu (three dots) and choose Settings.

On the Settings screen, scroll down to the section Privacy and security and select Delete browsing data. On this page, you can select the type of data to delete.

Similarly to Chrome, the most relevant types to delete are Cookies and Cached images and files.

Check the boxes for the data types and confirm with the button Delete browsing data.

Summary

Overall, cached content and cookies improve your online experience. However, with time, expired or corrupted data can cause connectivity problems. Therefore, we recommend you to regularly flush your device’s cache.

This guide outlined the standard process for clearing the different types of Android cache.

For iPhone or other iOS devices, read this guide on how to clear the cache on iPhone or other iOS devices.

For desktop browsers, read this guide on how to clear cache on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and other browsers.