How to clear your Android phone cache (and why it makes such a big difference)

Kerry Wan/ZDNET Follow ZDNET:Add us as a preferred sourceon Google. Google released Android 16over the summer to Pixel devices and select OEMs, bringing performance improvements, new Material You changes, and more upgrades. If you want to try this update but are hesitant because you’ve noticed your Android phone or tablet already feels too sluggish, clearing…

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Google released Android 16over the summer to Pixel devices and select OEMs, bringing performance improvements, new Material You changes, and more upgrades. If you want to try this update but are hesitant because you’ve noticed your Android phone or tablet already feels too sluggish, clearing app and browser caches can give it a fresh boost and free up some storage space.

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Over time, cached data can accumulate, become corrupted, or simply get outdated, which may slow down your device. Restarting your phone often helps, but a targeted cache-clear is a quick way to boost responsiveness without upgrading hardware.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to clear cached data on Android. If you’re an Apple user, here’show to clear the cache on an iPhone.

How to clear cached data from Android apps

What you’ll need: Any Android device. The exact steps may vary slightly by manufacturer, but the general process remains the same.

Open Settings, go to Storage, and tap Apps. If you don’t see a dedicated Apps entry, use the search area in Settings to quickly find it.

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Also in the Storage menu, some Android devices now include a “Free up space” suggestion via the Google Files app. To use this, open Files, tap the three-line menu in the top-left, and select Clean. Review each suggestion (e.g. unused apps, large files, duplicates) and follow the steps to delete any files you no longer need.


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Clear the cache of apps installed on your Android device

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Repeat for any apps that use a lot of space. You can start with data-heavy hogs like social apps or streaming services.

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Also, while you’re in the Apps menu, some Android versions make it easy to see which apps take up the most space. Simply look for the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select Sort by Size.

Note: Some Android phones may have a built-in clear all cache option available. Under Settings > Storage > and App Cache, look for a ‘Select All’ button at the top.


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How to clear cache from Chrome

What you need: The Chrome app on your Android 16 device.

1. Go to History settings in Chrome

Open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu > History > Clear browsing data.

Choose the data you want to delete

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

3. Optional: A simpler shortcut

On newer versions of Chrome for Android, tapping the menu button displays an option called Clear Browsing Data. When you select this, a pop-up will appear asking you to clear browsing data from a specific period. If you select More Options, you’ll be taken to the Browsing Data screen, where you can choose the data to delete and select the time range.

What does cached data mean?

Cache stores temporary files — like images, scripts, and other resources — to speed up apps and websites. Clearing it removes these files without affecting personal settings or login credentials.

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For example, in the Facebook app, cached data might include profile pictures, photos, and videos. Deleting cached data from the Facebook app will remove these temporary files on your device, but won’t log you out.


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