How to Clear the Cache on iPhone/iPad?

Gradually with time, you might start to notice that your iPhone is not as fast as it used to be. There are chances your iPhone’s storage is being filled with unwanted apps and files. These unwanted apps and files clog your storage with a type of memory known as the “Cache“. The cache grows over time when an app is frequently used and retains memory locations for faster access. Here we’ll discuss how to clear the cache on iPhone/iPad.

1. Clear the Cache on the iPhone/iPad: Safari

Clearing Safari’s cache can really help boost your iPhone considering Safari keeps all your browser history and data stored. Here are simple steps you can use to clear Safari’s Cache:

Step 1

Go to Settings, find Safari, and tap on it.

Step 2

Tap on “Clear History and Website Data”.

Step 3

Once the option appears, tap “Clear History and Data”.

This will clear the Safari Cache on your iPhone/iPad. Do remember that doing this will clear all the cookies, website data, and browsing history. It will also log you out of any websites you were signed in to. Considering all this, if you want to keep this data, then another option is to delete the cache of third-party apps on your iPhone. 

2. Clear the Cache on iPhone/iPad: Third-party Apps

Another way to clear up some storage space is by clearing the cache data of third-party apps, or apps that came originally installed on the iPhone when you purchased the phone.

You can either permanently delete the apps you barely use or clear the cache of the apps you use to help make your iPhone function faster and eliminate any lags in processing speed. The steps to follow are as follows:

Step 1

Go to Settings, and then tap on General.

Step 2

Find the app for example Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat, tap on it.

Step 3

Tap on “Delete App”, and when the pop-up appears to confirm, tap on “Delete App” again.

Step 4

Reinstall the app, and you are good to go. 

Another way to Delete the App

The other way to delete an app from your iPhone is as follows:

Step 1

Hold the app you want to remove on the home screen. All the apps will show a (-) sign on the top left corner of their logos.

Step 2

Tap the (-) of the app you want to remove, you will be shown several options, tap “Remove App”.

Step 3

Tap on “Delete App” when the pop-up appears.

Step 4

Reinstall the app.

Remember, this deletes all the data saved in the app so make sure before deleting you are not deleting something of use. 

3.   How to Free Up Space in an iPhone/iPad

There are two different ways you can free up space occupied by unnecessary files or apps. These methods along with steps to be taken are discussed below:

Restarting Your iPhone/iPad

Restarting your iPhone is a low effort and a relatively easier way to free up some storage space to ensure your iPhone/iPad works faster and more efficiently. In order to restart your iPhone, follows these steps:

I. For older models that have the home button, hold the power button till the “slide to power off” option shows on the screen. For newer models without a home button, you must hold the power button and volume up button till the “slide to power off” option shows up on the screen.

II. Swipe the slider completely towards the right, to turn your device off.

III. Once the device has been powered off completely, press and hold the power button till the device turns on again.

This method helps in deleting any temporary files and short-term data held by apps, stored in the device’s RAM. Doing this regularly has proven to keep your iPhone/iPad functioning much better.

Using Cleaner Apps

You can download a cleaner app for your iPhone/iPad, downloaded on either your Mac or PC. Once connected, the app does its work and helps in cleaning your phone. An example of such a cleaner app is PhoneClean. This app is available on both Mac and PC and is very simple to use. We will briefly guide you on how to use it:

I. Plug your iPhone into your Mac/PC and launch PhoneClean. Upon launching it will show you the details of your device. It shows you four types of files you can choose to scan. Check the ones you want to scan and then click on start scan.

II. The scanning takes a few minutes. By clicking on the arrows on the right of each type of file you get to choose the apps or data you want to keep.

III. View the apps and uncheck all the apps that you do not want to delete. Once you do that, go back and click on clean up.

IV. The clean-up will take a few minutes. After it is done, you will be notified regarding the amount of space that has been recovered. 

PhoneClean offers a premium version that helps you free up space regularly, which costs about $19.95. This seems like a much better investment than deciding to buy a new iPhone when your present one seems to be getting slow, due to lower available storage in the device.

Conclusion

Clearing your device’s cache memory helps in making sure that your iPhone/iPad runs smoothly, so it is advised to regularly monitor your device’s total storage. Additionally, keeping your iPhone with the minimum amount of cache memory gives you more device storage to utilize for storing your pictures, videos, or an exciting new app you might have always wanted to try out. 

Check out our blog, For other queries related to various iPhone features.