Your iPhone takes note of everything you do. It stores every image the browser loads and every login credential you ask to remember as cookies and cache. These invisible files help enhance speed and convenience. However, when data piles up, it slows your phone's performance and may give out your information. The good news is that you can clear cookies and caches using several methods to avoid such problems. The best part? They are all easy and fast.
Clear Safari cache and cookies
It’s possible to clear out all Safari data or retain some (e.g., browsing history). Clearing out data logs you out of any sites you are signed into, but you can still keep your browsing history if you need to refer to it again. Let’s start with the option of deleting everything:
- Tap ‘Settings’ on your device.
- Find Safari from the options offered.
- Tap Clear ‘History and Website Data’ from the list.
- Tap the option again to confirm the clear command.
If you wish to keep your browser history, follow the steps below after clicking Safari as explained above:
- Get to the bottom and tap ‘advanced.’
- Find and tap ‘Website data’ and allow it to load.
- Select ‘Remove All Website Data’ at the bottom.
- Tap ‘Remove Now’ to confirm.
Clear data for specific sites
Let's face it, when you clear all data from your device, you break the connection with trusted sites, log out of online accounts, and may lose easy cart checkout options.
The good news is that you can retain access to trusted sites and clear cookies and other data for buggy sites. For instance, social media apps pick up temporary data but don't need cookies for continuity of your user experience. So, you can always delete their cookies using this process:
- Open your phone settings.
- Click Safari.
- Scroll and tap ‘Advanced.’
- From the options, click ‘Website data’ and let the website information load.
- Tap ‘Edit’ on the top right corner.
- Swipe left on the site whose data you wish to clean and tap ‘delete.’
This clears data without affecting any other saved sessions.
Clear cache in third-party browsers
A browser like Chrome only lets you clear data from within. The procedure might be different in other browsers, but similar. Do this:
- Open the browser.
- Look for and tap the menu icon (three dots or three lines at the top).
- Check for a History or Settings option, then find Privacy or Clear Browsing Data.
- Some may ask you for the deletion time range. To clear everything, select ‘all time.’
- Select the data you want to clear. Here, you may choose cookies, cached images, and website data.
- Tap to clear the data.
If you have Firefox on your Apple device, the cache option is located in the data management folder in the settings section. From here, you tap ‘clear private data.’
Clearing Cache in Third-party apps
There is no magic ‘clear cache button’ for other apps that you may have installed on your device. Fortunately, most apps, especially social media, have their own ways to clear cache. These are the general steps to clear the cache in them:
- Open the app.
- Go to the app's Settings or Profile section.
- Look for a storage or cache management option and clear the data from there.
Has an app become so buggy, and you don’t find an in-app cache-clearing option? You can offload it or reinstall it afresh.
- Tap the ‘Settings’ on your device.
- Locate ‘General.’ Tap it and select ‘iPhone Storage.’
- Pick the app you wish to clear.
- Consider any of these two options:
Offload App: This frees up the space the app itself uses but keeps documents and data. It shrinks your app and may fix crashes.
Delete App: App still fails? Hit the delete button to remove everything in a click. Wish to use the app again? Redownload it from the App Store. Use the same option to remove any app that you don’t really need.
- Refresh the iPhone by restarting it.
Clear system data
You may still find that your device is slow, even after clearing the cache and cookies. The problem is usually the category called ‘system data’ (also named ‘Other’ in older models). This is usually a large data block where the operating system catches all temporary files that cannot fit in any category. Think of apps, photos, system logs, and streaming media cache.
iPhone handles it for you with an internal garbage collector. So, when your phone is almost running out of space, it deletes some files automatically, but the garbage collector is sometimes very slow. So, you end up low on space.
There is no delete button. You can only trigger the system for a cleanup. You do this by forcing a full backup and restarting your device. The two stamps cause the system to recalculate storage and remove unwanted data.
Here is how to back up your phone:
- Open phone settings.
- Click your name at the top of the page.
- Select iCloud from the resulting options.
- Tap iCloud Backup and toggle on ‘Back Up This iPhone.’
- Tap ‘Back Up Now.’
- Wait for the backup process to complete.
Once you back up all data, restart your phone using the steps below:
- Hold the Power and Volume Up buttons until the slider appears.
- Slide to the Power Off direction.
- Turn it back on by pressing the power button.
Power button not working? Head to Settings > General > Shut Down.
Check if you now have more space and your device works better.
Why should you clear cookies and cache?
Clearing data on your device has several benefits besides freeing up space and resources. Let’s look at some of them:
Rev up performance
Corrupted, outdated, or excessively cached files often create conflicts, causing pages to load slowly or apps to crash. You can clear these bottlenecks instantly by removing this data.
Stop sharing data
Websites track your browsing habits on the internet using cookies. If you clear them regularly, you deny them the chance to build a wholesome profile for their marketing purposes.
Resolve issues
Can't see the latest information on your app despite refreshing it several times? You may be looking at a cached version. You can force it to download the most recent information by clearing temporary data.
Reclaim storage
The collective app caches can consume several gigabytes of storage, particularly for media-heavy applications like streaming and editing tools. You can free up vital space by deleting them.
How often should you clear cookies and cache?
The cache deletion frequency depends on your phone usage patterns. If you have apps you use heavily, you will need to clear their stored data more regularly. See where you fit in the classification below:
Heavy users
A heavy user, like a social media manager or streamer? Consider clearing browser data and cache weekly. You may delete and reinstall one or two of the most used apps in two months.
Average users
Clear the Safari cache and browser cache every 3-4 weeks. Perform a storage check and targeted app cleanup every quarter.
Security-conscious users
Clear cookies every few days to minimize tracking footprint.
Conclusion
A sluggish phone is a real pain. It slows you down and can make it impossible to complete tasks. You may need to clear temporary data in the form of cache and cookies. The location of the data depends on the app you are looking at. Inbuilt apps like Safari have data accessible in settings. Every other third-party app stores its own data. Does the app lack a clear storage location? Just offload it or delete and reinstall it. When done, you will notice that the app runs better and loads faster. So, you get to complete tasks with less hassle.
FAQs
What is the difference between cache and cookies?
Cache stores temporary files (like images and scripts). Your phone stores them for faster loading. However, cookies store data like login info and preferences. Websites store it to track your browsing habits and meet your preferences.
Will clearing the data log me out of websites?
Yes, clearing cookies removes your saved login sessions. So, you need to sign back into most websites.
Will clearing data delete my photos or app settings?
No, clearing browser data only affects temporary internet files and stored website preferences, not your personal photos or primary app configurations.
If I clear Safari data, are my saved passwords deleted too?
No, Safari stores your saved passwords in your iCloud. You don't touch them when you clear history and website data.
Is it better to "Offload App" or "Delete App" to clear an app's cache?
It depends. You must delete the app and then reinstall it to fully clear the cache and documents. Offloading the app keeps the cache, only removing the application code. You can offload an app if it has glitches and you don't wish to delete and reinstall it.