How many times have you been surfing the web on your iPhone and the loading times of a particular page take forever? Yes, sometimes it can be the website, but if loading times are unusually longer and your internet connection is fine, most likely that’s your sign to clear your cache. If you were honest, when was the last time you reset your phone’s web cache?
Many of us don’t think about cleaning the cache until our browsing experience becomes laggy or unbearably slow. Clearing your cache does more than just speed things up, it will also reset the data stored on any of the sites you visit often. So, don’t be shocked if you’re treated like a guest on your next visit, the site just needs a chance to relearn you.
It’s a good rule of thumb to clear your web cache every month or two, no matter what browser you use (Chrome, Safari, etc). Trust us, your iPhone will reward you in the long run. If you would also like tips to make your phone run faster, try managing your iPhone’s storage.
What happens when you clear your cache?
Clearing your cache usually involves clearing website cookies, too. Cookies work similarly to browser caches, except they store information about user data, rather than data on the website itself. Clearing your cookies gives you a chance to reset those preferences, which could improve your browsing experience. Note that clearing your cache and cookies will log you out of sites, which means you’ll have to log into them again and reset any preferences. The up-front investment of that time can lead to a smoother experience down the road, and it can be a useful fix if you’ve recently changed settings that aren’t being applied properly.
Here are step-by-step guides on how to clear your iPhone’s cache, depending on the browser you prefer.
How to clear your iPhone cache in Safari
Safari is the default browser on iPhones, and you can clear your Safari cache in a few short steps. Starting with iOS 11, following this process will affect all devices signed in to your iCloud account. As a result, all your devices’ caches will be cleared, and you’ll need to sign in to everything the next time you use them. Here’s what to do.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Select Apps > Safari.
3. Scroll down to History and Website Data and choose Clear History and Website Data.
4. Choose Clear History and Data in the pop-up box — you can choose anywhere from the last hour to all history.
Then you’re set!
How to clear your iPhone cache in Chrome
Chrome is another popular browser for iPhone users. Google has simplified the process for clearing your Chrome cache, making it much faster to clear your data.
1. Open the Chrome app.
2. Select the three dots in the bottom right to open more options.
3. Swipe over to Settings in the top menu bar.
4. Scroll down and tap Privacy and security.
5. Tap Delete browsing data to open up another menu. Select the intended time range at the top of the menu (anywhere from Last 15 minutes to All time). Make sure that Cookies and Site Data are checked, along with Cached Images and Files. Finally, hit Delete data at the bottom of the screen.
How to clear your iPhone cache in Firefox
If you’re a Firefox devotee, don’t worry. Clearing the cache on your iPhone is straightforward. Just follow these steps.
1. Press the hamburger menu in the bottom right corner to open up options.
2. Choose Settings at the bottom of the menu.
3. Select Data Management in the Privacy section.
4. To clear everything, choose Web Site Data at the top of the menu and then Clear All Web Site Data. Alternatively, you can choose to clear just your browsing history, cache, cookies, offline web data, tracking protection or offline files.
What happens when you clear the cache?
Clearing your cache removes the website data your phone stored locally to prevent having to download that data upon each new visit. The data in your cache builds over time and can end up being an issue if that data winds up out of date. (My phone had about 150MB of data stored in Chrome when I checked.) Clearing that data gives sites a fresh start, which may fix some loading errors. But clearing your cache also signs you out of pages, so be prepared to sign in to everything again.
How often do I need to clear my cache?
Most people only need to clear their caches once every month or two. That’s generally the point when your browser will build up a cache large enough to start slowing things down. If you frequent a large number of sites, you should err on the side of clearing your cache more often.