How to Clear Cache on iPhone and Android: The Complete 2026 Guide
Your phone’s cache is one of those things you only think about when something goes wrong — a website that will not load properly, an app that keeps crashing, or a storage warning that appears out of nowhere. Learning how to clear cache on iPhone and Android is one of the simplest maintenance skills you can have: it can fix glitchy apps and websites, free up storage, and protect your privacy, all in a few minutes.
But it is also easy to do wrong, clearing logins and data you actually wanted to keep. This guide explains what cache is, what clearing it does and does not delete, and gives step-by-step instructions for Safari, Chrome, and individual apps on both iPhone and Android in 2026.
What Is Cache, and Why Clear Cache on iPhone and Android?
Cache is temporary data your phone stores to make things faster. When you visit a website, your browser saves images, scripts, and page elements so the next visit loads quicker. When you use an app, the app saves thumbnails, feed data, and other files so it does not have to download everything again. In theory, cache is helpful — it speeds things up and saves mobile data. In practice, cache can grow to several gigabytes, become corrupted, or go stale, so a website shows an old version of a page, or an app behaves strangely because it is working from outdated files.
To clear cache on iPhone and Android removes those temporary files and forces apps and browsers to fetch fresh data. That is why it fixes so many common problems: a page that will not update, a login loop, images that will not load, or an app that crashes on launch. It is also a useful privacy step, since browser cache and cookies can reveal which sites you have visited.
What clearing cache does not do is just as important: it does not delete your photos, contacts, messages, or installed apps, and to clear cache on iPhone and Android— as opposed to its data — does not log you out or delete your account. The distinction between cache and data matters most on Android, and we cover it carefully below.
Before You Clear Cache on iPhone and Android: Cache vs Data vs Cookies
Before you tap anything, understand three terms that settings menus often blur together. Cache is temporary files, safe to delete, and your apps will rebuild it as you use them. Cookies are small files websites store to remember you — your login session, preferences, and shopping cart — and clearing cookies will log you out of websites, which is sometimes exactly what you want when fixing a login problem, and sometimes an annoyance. Data, on Android, is everything an app has stored, including your account, settings, and downloaded content — clearing data is effectively resetting the app, and you should only do it as a last resort.
On iPhone, the distinction is simpler but less flexible: iOS does not offer a universal “clear cache” button for every app. Instead, you clear browser data in Safari or Chrome, offload or delete individual apps, or use in-app settings where the app provides them. That means iPhone cache clearing is a little more piecemeal, but also harder to get wrong — you are unlikely to accidentally wipe an app’s data by clearing its cache, because iOS does not give you that button. I
storage is your main problem rather than a glitch, start with our guide on how to free up storage on iPhone and Android, which covers the bigger wins, like deleting unused apps and large videos, before you worry about cache.
How to Clear Cache on iPhone: Safari
Safari is the browser most iPhone users rely on, and learning to clear cache on iPhone and Android in Safari is straightforward. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Safari, then tap Clear History and Website Data. Choose the time range — the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history — and confirm. This clears browsing history, cookies, and cached website data for the selected period.
If you want to keep your history but clear cached files, there is a more surgical option: in Safari settings, tap Advanced, then Website Data, then Remove All Website Data. This removes stored website data without necessarily wiping your full history in the same way, though you will still be logged out of sites whose data you remove.
After you clear cache on iPhone and Android, Safari will feel slightly slower on the first visit to each site, because it has to download everything fresh — that is normal, and speed returns within a day or two as the cache rebuilds. If a specific website is misbehaving but others are fine, you can remove data for just that site: go to Settings, then Safari, then Advanced, then Website Data, find the site in the list, swipe left, and tap Delete. That targeted approach fixes one broken site without logging you out of everything else, and it is the option to try first before clearing all Safari data.
How to Clear Cache on iPhone: Chrome and Other Browsers
If you use Chrome on your iPhone, the steps to clear cache on iPhone and Android are inside the app rather than in Settings. Open Chrome, tap the three dots in the bottom-right corner, then tap History, then Clear Browsing Data. Choose a time range — the last 15 minutes, hour, day, week, month, or all time — and make sure “Cached Images and Files” is checked. You can also check “Cookies, Site Data” if you want to log out of sites, and “Browsing History” if you want to clear your history too, but for a simple cache fix, cached images and files alone is enough. Tap Clear Browsing Data at the bottom to confirm.
The same pattern applies to other iPhone browsers: look for History or Privacy in the browser’s menu, then a Clear Browsing Data option, and choose cached images and files rather than everything. Firefox, Edge, and Brave on iOS all follow this layout, with slightly different menu labels. A useful habit is to clear browser cache once every few months, or whenever a site starts behaving oddly — not daily, since rebuilding the cache constantly actually slows browsing down and uses more data. For more on keeping your browsing private as well as fast, see our guide on how to protect your privacy online in 2026.
How to Clear Cache on iPhone: Individual Apps
iPhone does not let you clear cache on iPhone and Android for an individual app directly, but you have three workarounds. The first is in-app settings: many large apps, including TikTok, Spotify, and Telegram, include their own cache controls under Settings or Storage in the app — look for “Clear Cache,” “Storage,” or “Data Usage” and use the app’s own button, which is safe because the developer designed it to remove only temporary files. The second is offloading: go to Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage, tap an app, and tap Offload App. This removes the app itself but keeps its documents and data, and reinstalling the app gives you a fresh copy with its cache cleared.
The third option, deleting and reinstalling the app, is the strongest reset: it removes the app and all its data, so only use it if you know your account and content are backed up in the cloud or you are happy to log in again. For most cache problems, the in-app way to clear cache on iPhone and Androidor the offload is enough, and deleting should be a last resort.
If an app keeps crashing after you clear cache on iPhone and Android, check that it is updated to the latest version — a crash caused by a bug will not be fixed by clearing cache, and reinstalling the latest version is the next step. Before any major app reset, make sure your phone is backed up; our guide on how to back up your phone in 2026 covers iPhone and Android backups step by step.
How to Clear Cache on Android: Chrome
On Android, Chrome’s cache controls are similar to iPhone’s but with one useful extra: you can clear cache on iPhone and Androidfor a specific time range without touching cookies. Open Chrome, tap the three dots in the top-right corner, then tap History, then Clear Browsing Data. Make sure you are on the Basic tab, choose a time range, and check “Cached Images and Files.” Leave “Cookies and Site Data” unchecked unless you specifically want to log out of sites, and leave “Browsing History” unchecked unless you want to clear that too. Tap Clear Data to confirm.
Android Chrome also lets you clear data for a single site, which is the targeted fix to try first for a broken page. Tap the three dots, then Settings, then Site Settings, then All Sites, find the site, tap it, and tap Clear and Reset. This removes that site’s stored data and permissions without affecting anything else. If you use Samsung Internet, Firefox, or Edge on Android, the layout is similar: look in the browser’s Settings or Privacy menu for a Clear Browsing Data or Delete Browsing Data option, and choose cached images and files as your target.
How to Clear Cache on Android: Individual Apps
Android gives you the most direct app-cache control of any mobile platform, and it is the best tool for fixing a misbehaving app. Go to Settings, then Apps, then See All Apps, and tap the app that is causing trouble. Tap Storage and Cache, then tap Clear Cache. That is it — the app’s temporary files are gone, but your account, settings, and downloaded content remain. The next time you open the app, it may take a few seconds longer to load as it rebuilds its cache, and images or feeds may need to download again, but your login and data will be intact.
On that same screen you will also see a Clear Storage or Clear Data button. Do not tap it by accident. Clear Storage deletes everything the app has stored — your account, preferences, offline content, and settings — and returns the app to its freshly-installed state. It can fix deep corruption that cache clearing cannot, but it should be a deliberate last resort, after you have tried Clear Cache, updated the app, and restarted your phone.
A good rule to clear cache on iPhone and Android: Clear Cache is safe and reversible; Clear Storage is a reset. If you are ever unsure which button you are about to press, stop and re-read the label — the two buttons sit close together on many Android phones.
When to Clear Cache on iPhone and Android — and When It Does Not
To clear cache on iPhone and Android is the right fix when a website shows old content, a page will not load, an app crashes on launch, images or videos fail to appear, or a login keeps looping. It is also a reasonable privacy step before handing your phone to someone else, or when you want to remove traces of sites you have visited.
It is not a magic speed boost, however. If your phone is slow overall, cache is rarely the cause — low storage, an aging battery, too many background apps, or an outdated operating system are more likely culprits, and clearing cache will not fix those. In fact, to clear cache on iPhone and Android too often can make your phone feel slower, because apps have to re-download everything they had conveniently stored.
Similarly, to clear cache on iPhone and Android will not free up huge amounts of storage on its own. A browser cache might be a few hundred megabytes, and most app caches are tens of megabytes — meaningful if you are right at your storage limit, but small compared with videos, photos, and large games. If storage is the real problem, cache clearing is a footnote, not a solution, and you should work through the bigger items first. Think of the way to clear cache on iPhone and Android as targeted maintenance: excellent for fixing a specific glitch, useful as an occasional tidy-up, and not something you need to do every week.
How Often Should You Clear Cache on iPhone and Android?
For most people, the answer is: when something is wrong, or every few months as routine maintenance — not daily, and not on a schedule. Browsers and apps are designed to manage their own caches, deleting old files automatically when space is needed. To clear cache on iPhone and Android manually is most useful when that automatic management fails, or when you want a clean slate for privacy. A sensible routine to clear cache on iPhone and Android is to clear your main browser’s cache once every two to three months, clear an individual app’s cache when that app misbehaves, and leave everything else alone.
If you find yourself having to clear cache on iPhone and Android constantly to keep an app working, that app has a deeper problem — report it to the developer, check for updates, or consider an alternative app. Repeated cache clearing that never sticks is a symptom, not a solution. And if your phone is constantly running out of space despite cache clearing, the answer is almost certainly to free up storage properly or to consider a phone with more capacity next time you upgrade, rather than to keep chasing temporary files.
Conclusion: How to Clear Cache on iPhone and Android
Learning to clear cache on iPhone and Android is simple once you know where to look: Safari and Chrome settings for browsers, in-app controls or offloading on iPhone, and the Storage and Cache screen on Android. Remember the key distinction — cache is safe temporary data, cookies control logins, and clearing storage on Android resets an app completely. Use cache clearing to fix glitchy sites and apps, as occasional maintenance, or for privacy, but do not expect it to speed up a slow phone or free up gigabytes of storage on its own. Done correctly, it is a five-minute fix that keeps your phone running smoothly, without risking the data you actually care about.