Should I clear the cache memory on my Android phone? This is a question many of our readers have wondered and it’s something you should consider. Read on to know more.
Many Android users frequently ask themselves if they should, or not, clear the cache data and also what is the outcome.
Clearing cache in Android phone
Knowing how to clear the cache on your phone can be very helpful.
Keep on reading to learn more about the most common questions on this matter.
You will also be able to learn how to clean the Bluetooth or the DNS cache, please read on.
Table of Contents
- Clearing cache in Android phone
- What is cache data on my phone?
- Advantages and disadvantages of cache memory
- Is Android cache cleaner necessary?
- How to clear cache in Android
- What is the best cache cleaner app for Android?
- Clear Bluetooth cache on Android
- Clear DNS cache on Android phone
- Clearing cache on an Android tablet
- Wrap Up
What is cache data on my phone?
Over time, when using your phone, the installed apps store bits of information to speed up the user experience.
The cache is a temporary storage file used by websites as well as applications to store some data on your device.
It contains references like where to store the settings or in which folder it should load or store the source file, as well as thumbnails of the images that are to be displayed in the application.
Advantages and disadvantages of cache memory
What is the purpose of cache files? Once you have already loaded a website or an application on your phone, thanks to the data stored in the cache file, it will load exceptionally fast when compared to the first time load.
For instance, when you’re using a web browser, it will save images you’ve seen so that they don’t need to be downloaded again and every single time the app needs them. Spotify stores streamed music in its cache file for faster (and offline) playback. This saves you time and data. It is the main advantage of the cache.
Every application has its own cache file and clearing that cache is a great way to free up space. Just keep in mind that the app will rebuild the cache as you use it, so clearing cache data on Android is just a temporary fix to get extra usable space on your device.
The downside is that over time, your phone is going to collect a lot of files you don’t really need and can take up to some gigabytes of usable storage space.
Is Android cache cleaner necessary?
Android cache cleaning is not necessary unless you’re running out of storage space on your phone and you need to free up some.
It can also be useful to do an Android cache cleaning if any of your installed apps are misbehaving, or if you think your phone has become laggy.
Does Android automatically clear cache?
No, Android does not automatically clear cache data. You have to perform it manually by yourself, following a couple of simple steps.
What happens when the cache is cleared?
What does clearing cache do on Android? That’s a common question for many users. Apart from freeing up space – sometimes a lot of it – by erasing big amounts of data stored by the installed apps over time, clearing the cache on an Android phone may marginally slow down the websites you visit more often for the first time you load them. As well as the first time you load each app after the cache cleaning procedure.
You may also note some increase in mobile data usage, for instance when using apps such as Facebook or Spotify. Like thumbnails and music, you may have listened to previously are going to be downloaded again to your device.
How often should you clear cache on Android?
There is no described period for clearing cache in Android. You should perform it whenever your phone is getting out of storage memory, if you’re experiencing problems with some apps or if your phone is getting slower than usual.
How to clear cache in Android
There are several ways you can go through to clear cache on an Android phone.
Clear all cache at once
1. To clear all cached data in the device, go to Settings > Storage and USB > Internal Storage > tap Cached Data and confirm you want to clear all cached data.
Now let’s take a look at how to do it for a specific app.
Clear cache on Chrome on Android phone or on any other app
Let’s see an example of doing it to clear the cache on Chrome on an Android device. The steps are similar to any other app.
1. Go to Settings > Apps and select the app for which you want to clear the cache. Then, in the App Info interface, tap on Storage > Clear Cache
2. You can use Recovery to wipe all cache data using the Android clear cache bootloader. This will allow doing the Android clear cache at a partition level.
Please note that this is an advanced procedure and your device might become unusable if it is not done properly. Do this at your own risk.
If you choose to do so, follow the next steps:
- Power off the device,
- Press and hold the power and volume down button until the phone powers back on. If this doesn’t work, the button combination may be different on your device. Refer to the user documentation if necessary.
- On some devices, the touchscreen may not work in recovery mode and you have to navigate using volume keys.
- Go to Recovery and select it with a tap on the power button.
- Go to Wipe cache partition and tap the power button to select it.
- When it finishes, use the reboot option in recovery to boot your phone back into the OS. Your device will power up normally, and you’re all set!
3. Use third-party cache cleaning apps. There are a lot of cleaner apps available in the Google Play Store. Apart from removing cached data, they can help you remove unused APK files, and other forgotten junk files, helping you save free space.
Clear Instagram cache on Android phone
To clear the cache of Instagram on an Android phone the procedure is the same as we already mentioned.
You can clear the Instagram cache on your Android like on any other app.
Please scroll up just below and see the instructions to clear the cache on Chrome, you do it just the same way.
How to clear the cache on Android 8.0 (Oreo) and following versions
In the past, you could clear the cache on Android 7 in one single go but then Google removed the possibility for the user to clear all the cache at once.
If you want to clear the cache on Android Oreo (8.0), you have to do it one app at a time, as we explained before in this article.
The same applies if you’re looking to learn the cache on Android 9 (also known as Android Pie) and also for the Android 10 operating system.
What is the best cache cleaner app for Android?
Cleaner apps that actually live up to what they promise may be tricky to find. Some are useless and others may contain adware and other malware.
We are providing you with a list of the ones worth using. Many are useful not only as cache cleaners but also brilliant in performing other tasks like junk file removing, CPU overclocking, app disabling, or task automation.
Best Android cache clear app list:
Clear Bluetooth cache on Android
The Bluetooth cache can take some of the precious storage space from your smartphone. Also, there are several Bluetooth issues such as being unable to find or pair with a car or an accessory, and also not being able to hear music or make and receive calls. Those can be solved by clearing the Bluetooth cache.
How to clear Bluetooth cache
Following, are the simple steps to clear your Bluetooth cache:
- Open the “Settings” menu;
- Scroll down, search for “Apps” or “Apps & notifications” and tap it;
- Inside the “Apps” menu, click the 3-dot icon on the top-right corner;
- Tap “Show system”;
- Search for “Bluetooth” or “Bluetooth Share” and tap it;
- Select the “Storage” option;
- Under “Cache”, tap on “Clear Cache” – it will clear your device’s Bluetooth cache;
- Reboot your smartphone.
If the above procedure didn’t solve your Bluetooth issues, try the following one:
- Repeat all the steps mentioned above until you’re under the “Bluetooth” or “Bluetooth Share” app info;
- Select the “Storage” option;
- Under “Data”, tap on “Clear Data” to clear all Bluetooth data;
- Reboot your device.
Note that this last procedure will disconnect and un-pair all your Bluetooth devices and you will have to pair each one manually right after.
Clear DNS cache on Android phone
If you’re regularly coming across a situation when some webpages that you often visit are failing to open on your smartphone’s browser, it’s probably due to corruption in the DNS cache.
How to clear DNS cache on Android through the web browser
It’s easy to clean the DNS cache on your Android device through your web browser. Just follow the ahead procedure:
- Open your browser’s settings;
- Clear browsing data and cache that should do the job.
Or:
- Open your device’s “Settings” menu;
- Go to “Apps” or “Apps & notifications”;
- Search the app list for the browser app you are using;
- Go to “Storage”;
- Tap on “Clear Cache”.
Clearing cache on an Android tablet
So you’ve learned different cache cleaning methods for your Android phone. How about clearing the cache on an Android tablet?
Since they both use the same operating system, the procedures are exactly the same whether it’s an Android phone or tablet.
Wrap Up
As you use applications, they start storing files to reference later. Clearing cache on an Android phone or clearing cache on an Android tablet may help you to free up a lot of storage space, sometimes a couple of gigabytes or more.
Whether it is necessary or not to perform an Android cache cleaning will depend on your device’s free space and overall behavior.
The process of clearing cache in Android phones is simple and straightforward and it is explained in detail in this article, which we hope will be useful for you.
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