Spring is here, which means you may be spending the last few weeks tidying up your home. Don’t forget to include your iPhone as well as your physical space when you’re dusting off the winter dust.
Your iPhone might not seem like it needs any cleaning, but that’s misleading. Your browser collects data from every website you visit so that it has a faster loading time the next time you visit it. However, that preloaded data can mess things up over time, especially if a site moves elements around on its page or swaps in new images.
Clearing your phone’s browser cache won’t slow down your next visit to any individual website because that site’s data is no longer preloaded, but it also clears out digital clutter. Like physical cleaning, it means putting in a little effort to make things look cleaner going forward.
Whether you use Chrome, Safari, or another browser on your iPhone, it’s a good idea to clear your iPhone’s browser cache every month or two. Yes, even if you’re using the new iPhone 16E and running iOS 18. (If you want to make your phone run faster, try managing your iPhone’s storage.)
Clearing your cache usually also involves clearing website cookies. Cookies work the same way as browser cache, except they store information about user data rather than the data on the website itself. Clearing your cookies gives you a chance to reset preferences, which can improve your browsing experience.
Note that clearing your cache and cookies will log you out of sites, which means you’ll have to log into them again and reset any preferences. That upfront investment of time can lead to a smoother experience in the future, and can be a useful solution if you’ve recently changed settings that aren’t being applied properly.
Here are step-by-step guides on how to clear your cache on your iPhone depending on the browser you use.
How to Clear Your iPhone Cache in Safari
Safari is the default browser on iPhone, and you can clear your Safari cache in just a few steps. Starting with iOS 11, following this procedure will affect all devices signed in to your iCloud account. As a result, all your devices’ caches will be cleared, and you’ll need to sign in to everything the next time you use them. Here’s what to do.
How to Clear Your iPhone Cache in Chrome
Chrome is another popular browser for iPhone users. Google has simplified the process of clearing your Chrome cache, making clearing your data much faster.
Tap Delete Browsing Data to open another menu. Select the time range you want at the top of the menu (from the last 15 minutes to All Time). Make sure Cookies and site data are checked, along with Cached images and files. Finally, click Delete data at the bottom of the screen.
How to clear your iPhone cache in Firefox
If you’re a Firefox devotee, don’t worry. Clearing the cache on your iPhone is straightforward. Just follow these steps.
What happens when you clear the cache
Clearing the cache deletes website data stored locally on your phone, so that it doesn’t have to download that data every time you visit something new.
Data in your cache accumulates over time and can become a problem if that data gets out of date. (When I checked, Chrome had about 150MB of data stored on my phone.) Clearing that data gives sites a fresh start, which may fix some loading errors. But clearing the cache also signs you out of the page, so be prepared to sign in to everything again.
How often do I need to clear my cache
Most people only need to clear their cache once every month or two. This is usually when your browser builds up a cache large enough to slow down performance. If you visit a large number of sites, you may want to clear your cache more often.
Not all information is meant to be shared online, including your personal information like phone numbers and home addresses. Unfortunately, in most cases, your home address is just a Google search away for users — and we understand if that gives you privacy concerns. You’re not alone; many Reddit users are concerned about their security for this very reason. People who have moved house due to security issues or simply don’t want to give away a lot of junk mail may not want their address to be scanned and updated so easily.
The problem is that selling your address, and especially when your address changes, can mean a lot of money for everyone from your bank to the US Postal Service, which is how advertisers get their hands on your mailbox and fill it with junk. It also makes it easy for thieves to change addresses as part of identity theft.
Fortunately, there are effective ways to erase your address from the web, and we’ve explored them all. Here’s what you should do if you’re concerned.