Clear Cache vs. Clear Storage: Best Methods to Free Up Phone Space
Troubleshooting Android apps is usually followed by suggestions to "clear cache" or "clear storage" (or app data). But what are the differences between the two options and when to use each of them? Keep reading to find the answers to those app-cleaning questions.
What is app cache?
Before deleting app data it is important to understand what cache is. In a nutshell, the cache is a collection of temporary data used by apps to speed up tasks or loading, for example recently used pages, maps, or even other tasks. Temporarily storing those usually helps avoid waiting for a new download or calculating something that was already done before, for example.
Other examples include keeping locally frequently accessed documents, or a webpage full of heavy images that can be quickly refreshed without having to load everything again using your mobile connection.
- Also interesting: Master your Xiaomi phone with the best hidden HyperOS features
What does 'Clear cache' mean?
With that in mind, Clear cache (previously 'Clear app cache') simply deletes all temporary data from an app in your phone. Android has systems to automatically refresh those, but every so often an app may show issues or even stop working when there is something wrong in its cache data.
Cleaning the app cache will remove those temporary files without deleting your personal data or saved settings, and can often solve most app loading or crashing issues without taking more drastic measures we will cover later.
What does 'Clear storage' or 'Clear app storage' mean?
Different from the mentioned 'Clear cache' option, Clear storage ('Clear app data' in older Android versions) take a more radical approach to deleting app data. Clearing storage basically resets the app to its factory state: Settings, logins, preferences, and all other information are deleted.
Consequently, every data associated with the app will be lost, and you will find a clean installation asking for all your details, preferences, and other information.
- Also read: Which phones are expected to get Android 15?
When should they be applied?
There are a few scenarios we recommend to clear app or cached data.
- Reclaim storage space. Some apps may fail to manage temporary data, occupying precious GB on your phone. Audio and video apps can keep multimedia content long after you have consumed them, for example.
- As previously mentioned, issues with app crashes or strange bugs can sometimes be fixed with a quick data cleaning.
How to clear app storage or cached data?
On Android 11 and above, follow these steps to clear app data or cached data.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap on Storage.
- Select Apps or Other Apps.
This will open a list of apps currently installed on your phone. By default, it will show you the apps with the most data used at the top. On older Android versions, you also get the option to sort the apps by size.
- Select the app you want to clear the cache/data.
- Select Clear cache or Clear storage, depending on your needs.
- We recommend to first clear the cache to see if the issue is fixed before clearing app storage.
- The options were previously known as 'Clear app cache' and 'Clear app data', respectively.
If you are on an older version of Android, you have the option to clear all cached files with a single click. To achieve this, all you need to do is go to Settings > Storage > Cached data and select Clear Cache. This option is no longer available on newer Android versions, including Android 10 and 11.
A word on "performance-boosting" apps
There are many apps that claim to "boost device performance" but often this just isn't true. In numerous instances, these apps merely provide a one-touch button for ending processes and clearing the cache, both of which are largely unnecessary on today’s Android platform.
You can, and should, do this manually if it is ever required, but don't make it a habit.
So, cleaning your app when your phone is running slowly or the memory is full could seem like the best option in the short run, but it could have consequences in the long term, which is why you shouldn't do it too often.
Final thoughts
Choosing between Clear cache or Clear storage is not a "better/worse" situation, as each Android feature has a specific purpose.
If you are troubleshooting a wonky app, first try clearing the app cache. If that doesn't work, and you don't mind losing saved data on it, clearing the app storage can help. Remember that the last option will remove everything saved on the app, including settings, photos, audio recordings, and videos. And, in many cases, issues can be tracked down to a buggy update that can be simply fixed by (waiting and) applying another update.
What is your experience with the app clearing features on Android? Do you remember any specific bug that was fixed by using them?
This article was updated in June 2024. Older comments have been preserved.
Does clearing data on the text app get rid of all the tests???
Wow ! this is awesome am now quite clear about clearing of cache coz u guys have putting the understanding of this in a chronological manner which i do think almost everyone will understand the issue of clearing cache . Thanks for your knowledge-based n have a Beautifull weekend chao .
The question I asked which apps are okay to clear data that you won't lose important information. EXAMPLE IF I CLEAR DATA FROM ONE OF MY GAMES APP
What apps are okay to clear data from
Open the Settings menu on your Android phone and select Apps from the list.
Depending on your Android version, you might get an option to open installed apps, all apps, enabled, disabled, and other apps.
Choose the appropriate option and navigate to the app whose cache you need to clear.
Hope these steps of clearing cache help you too
Do you know if clearing the cache or data would delete Instagram Reels Drafts specifically? I have three drafts that are not working and keep giving me the notification "Oops, something went wrong". Reels takes a very long time to make so I'm really worried about this and trying to figure out how to retrieve them since IG no longer gives me the option to download the video I'm creating. thank you!
It looks like I need to reinstall an app in order to get it working properly again, and I'm concerned that I will lose app data (the same that would be lost if I select Clear Data. To be safe, I'd like to make a backup of those data before doing the uninstall/reinstall. How can I find where those data reside on the phone in order to make a backup?
Is there a way to clear former usernames under "access data" without affecting anything else, such as your archived photos?
Hi, just wondering if I select "Clear Data" for WhatsApp app. would I have to verify/activate my WhatsApp account again? Or I can use it as it is?
It's been a long time since I heard someone speak articulately plain English about smartphones.
Thank You So Much for your articles.
HOW COME WHEN i SHARE MY POST OR SOMEONE THAT LETS YOU SHARE THEIR POST WONT LET ME ON FACEBOOK WHY DOES IT KEEP SAYING POST FAiLED WHAT DOES IT MEAN AND CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME FIX iT PLEASE THANKS
If you cleared Data by mistake is there any way to recover it without pricey recovery applications?
I have a zte and I cleared the cache but playstore is still saying I don't have enough memory to update an app. Should I clear the data from some of the apps or what?
I have a lg g stylo and lg stylo 3 so it I clear my data I'll lose everything on my android?
If I clear data of Instagram, will it logout of all accounts?
So if i were to clear data in my files, which is nearly 4GB big for some reason, would i lose all of my pictures, like even the ones saved to my SD card or cloud
so for example, if i were to clear data from OneDrive, would that delete the files i have on my onedrive account as well?
Curious and fearful of my local storage, if I delete the app data of YouTube while signed in, will I lose my search history, watch history and comments?
Thank you so much. This is really helpful.
Google Play Store in my smartphone was misbehaving / malfunctioning for a few days. I cleared its cache and after that magically it started working normally.