Everyone in the world owns a smart phone today. And more often than not, more than half of the world’s population is probably using an iPhone. We all like to exchange notes on how satisfied or dissatisfied we are with our phones. One of the most common complaints that we hear from iPhone users is how slow their phone has become.
Over a period of time, loading becomes slow on iPhones and it is not because your phone has become old or that your network is slow. A simple reason could be that your iPhone has too many useless files and app data which could lead to the fact that your cache needs to be cleared.
What does cache data have to do with it may be your next thought. And it does have a lot to do with it. Cached data contains all the files and images that your phone has hidden away in its memory. This can be anything from passwords and scripts from previously visited websites that your phone remembers for easy access.
Theoretically, it is designed to make things easier and faster for you so that your phone does not have to repeatedly ask you for your passwords or other related information. The general view of the tech community is that when your iPhone gets backed up with too much data, your phone’s cache can make your device run at slower speeds. However, this view is yet to be confirmed by Apple.
A healthy habit to adopt would be to clear your cache to enable your phone to operate at full capacity. Luckily, it is an easy process that even those who are not technologically savvy can do it themselves.
If you feel that your iPhone is in desperate need of a spring cleaning, follow these steps, starting with the app that you probably use the most, Safari.
1. Clearing Cache on Safari
However, a word of caution before you start deleting all your data. Make sure you know your essential passwords as this process will log you out of the websites you frequent.
a. In “Settings”, find the “Passwords & Accounts” section and tap “Safari”.
b. After the toggles, you will see “Clear History and Website Data”. Tap on that.
c. Your device will double check whether you want to clear Safari’s data, so click through the message that follows.
2. Clearing third-party apps’ cache
a. When it comes to third part apps that you’ve downloaded like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Maps etc-you can manage your storage by going to “Settings”. In “Settings” got to “General” and then tap on “iPhone Storage”
b. In “iPhone Storage”, you will see a list of your apps, the top ones indicate that they hold the most data.
c. By tapping any of these apps, you will see exactly how much space their “Documents & Data” is taking up.
d. If your device is becoming full, it will offer recommendations as to what to clean up on the “iPhone Storage” page. Tap the “Show All” button to read the descriptions for each.
e. If you would like to take any of the recommendations, tap “Enable”.
6. But if you would rather clear out space manually, go into the app and start clearing out unnecessary files, such as old text conversations, playlists, pictures, e-mails etc.
3. Deleting and redownloading apps to clear cache
If there is one particular app that is taking a lot of space, then it would be worthwhile to delete the app and download it again. This is because your social apps are storing not just passwords, but images and videos that you have already watched. Sometimes the only way to clear that cache is to erase it and clear out a significant portion of its cached data.
