Should you clear app cache on Android?
It is not a placebo, and it has its uses
Clearing the app cache is probably one of the most controversial topics when it comes to preserving your Android phone. Many people instinctively clear the app's cache, either to free up extra storage, or – true or not – to prevent their phones and apps from slowing down over time. But there are a lot of questions about this practice, and whether or not it achieves anything useful in the short or long term. Some claim that Android itself should handle the app cache on its own, and that interfering with the behavior of the default caching is just a request for problems. But the truth is far from obscure.
Some apps don't use cache space responsibly, others break completely when using a lot of cached data, and some may crash or refuse to work completely after updating – a problem you might be able to remedy by clearing said cache. So, comprehensive phrases aren't really helpful here. But we can discuss what the app cache is, why it is important, and why you might want to clear it on your Android smartphone.
What is cache?
Caching, as it is known in the world of computing, allows applications such as browsers, games, and streaming services to store temporary files that are relevant to make loading times and the overall experience faster. YouTube, Spotify, Google News, and many other apps save information in the form of cache data. This can be video thumbnails, search history, or snippets from cached videos to reduce the frequency of having to repeatedly ask the user for input or pull information from the internet frequently.
Caching can save a lot of time, as the quality of the Internet and speeds are not the same everywhere. But ironically, when apps empty too much data on your phone, it ultimately slows it down, especially when there's minimal storage space to spare.
Difference Between Clearing Cache and Data on Android
While we often mention erasing cache and data at the same time, they are two distinct actions on Android. When you use the Spotify app, for example, it keeps information like the artists you watched outside your library, browsed album art, and search history as a cache. When the app cache is cleared, all mentioned data is erased.
Then, the app stores more vital information such as user settings, databases, and login information as data. More radically, when you clear data, the cache and data are removed. Clearing data is equivalent to starting the app as a clean page as if you had just installed it for the first time.
Why should you clear the app cache?
The primary reason why someone clears the app's cache is to free up storage space, which can have an impact on the phone's performance. But erasing data is a more dramatic step and is generally reserved when the app is disorganized or fails to start. This could be the result of an app update error resulting in corruption of previous cache files, untested server-side changes, poorly functioning software, or a new Android operating system update.
Some applications that are poorly written or not well placed in sandbox may pose a security threat if they cache sensitive user information and their data. In such a scenario, it makes sense to clarify both.
When should you do it?
Clearing the cache is always meant to be a temporary fix because every app you use will start filling the storage with files after clearing them. Despite its benefits, removing it too much can become a pointless activity because it eliminates the purpose of improving load times. Thus, it is advisable to clear the cache only when it is necessary instead of making it a daily routine.
How to clear cache and data on Google Pixel
- Open Settings and head to Apps. You will see the list of recently opened apps.
- Use the "View All" option at the bottom to list the names of all the apps installed on your Pixel phone.
- Continue to click on the name of the app whose storage and cache you want to clear. Then, tap on Storage & Cache.
- From the settings page that opens, click on the Clear cache and clear storage option. Depending on the space occupied, this process can take a few seconds, so be patient.
How to clear cache and data on Samsung Galaxy phones
- Go to Settings> Apps on your Samsung Galaxy device. A list of all installed applications will be displayed with the space they occupy.
- Tap the name of the app whose app cache you want to clear followed by the storage. Then tap on Clear Data and Clear Cache to clear all the data associated with it.
How to clear cache and data on OnePlus phones
- Open Settings followed by Apps & Notifications . Press the Sell All button to list all installed apps.
- Continue to open the list of applications whose cache and data you want to clear. Then, click on Storage & Cache.
- From there, select Clear Cache to clear cache data and Clear Storage to clear app and cache data.
How to clear cache and data on Xiaomi phones
- Open Settings followed by Apps> Manage Apps.
- Click to open the application menu. You can find app and cache data details in the storage settings.
- To clear the app data and cache, click on the Clear Data button at the bottom. You will then have to decide whether to clear all the data associated with the app or just its cache. Clearing data will automatically clear the app cache as well.
Why not use a cleaner gas app?
Let's start with a mandatory rebuke of cleaner apps by declaring them the most useless practices in human history. If you are using an app that claims to boost your phone's performance, please stop and evaluate if anything functional other than my user data has been done and sent to foreign servers. As the saying goes, the app either dies a hero or lives long enough to see itself become a cleaner app .
Jokes aside, there are real concerns about the use of these apps due to their shady practices and privacy policies. They generally require extensive permissions or display superficial full-screen ads. Finally, the most common selling point of sale for phone acceleration becomes a topic of debate when they are constantly running in the background, using system resources.
However, there are legitimate apps like SD Maid or Files by Google that offer a certain level of value in showing a detailed view of what is taking up your phone's storage space or just to identify and erase memes!
Is there an ideal solution?
The data wipe option is a really useful feature in solving many issues and something unique for Android. But we can really use an automated solution to clear cache data, similar to iOS when the device's storage is full.
Nextbit Robin, which was one of my favorite devices in 2016, had some great ideas on putting less used apps on shelves by backing up and recovering files from the cloud as needed. But this solution seems less than ideal when the reliability of the Internet becomes an issue. Older versions of Android gave users the option to clear the cache of all installed apps with a single click. For now, we can either hope that Google will return it one day or be thankful that it at least gives us the option to clear the cache individually in the first place.