What clearing your iPhone cache does
Cache is temporary data that apps store on your phone to load faster next time you use them. When you clear the cache, you delete this temporary data without removing the app itself or your personal files. Your apps will work normally afterward — they'll just take a moment longer to load the first time you open them while they rebuild their cache.
Clearing cache frees up storage space on your phone, which can help if you're running low on room for photos, messages, or new apps. It can also fix problems where an app is behaving strangely or crashing repeatedly. The downside is minimal: your apps will simply rebuild their cache automatically as you use them.
Key Takeaways
- You can clear cache for individual apps through Settings, or clear Safari cache separately if your browser is taking up space.
- Clearing cache does not delete your photos, messages, login information, or any data you created — only temporary files apps use to run faster.
- If your phone is running slowly or an app keeps crashing, clearing its cache often fixes the problem without losing anything important.
- On newer iPhones, you can also offload apps temporarily to free space, which removes the app but keeps your data inside it.
Clear cache for individual apps through Settings
Open Settings on your home screen. Scroll down and tap General, then tap iPhone Storage. You'll see a list of all your apps sorted by how much space they use. Find the app you want to clear cache for and tap its name.
On the next screen, tap Offload App. This removes the app temporarily but keeps your data — photos, messages, saved games, login information — all stored on your phone. The app icon stays on your home screen but appears faded. When you tap it again, your phone will download the app fresh, and your cache will be cleared. Tap Reinstall App to bring it back immediately, or just tap the faded icon when you're ready to use it again.
If you want to clear cache without removing the app at all, this method won't work — iOS doesn't give you a direct "clear cache only" button for most apps. Offloading and reinstalling is the closest option that keeps your personal data intact.
Clear Safari browser cache
If Safari is taking up a lot of storage, you can clear its cache separately. Open Settings and scroll down to Safari. Tap Clear History and Website Data. A menu will appear asking what time period to clear — choose All Time to remove everything, or Last Hour, Last Day, Last Week, or Last Month if you want to keep some history.
Tap Clear History and Website Data again to confirm. This removes the websites you've visited, cookies that websites stored on your phone, and cached files from web pages. Your saved passwords and autofill information stay in place unless you specifically choose to remove them in the same menu.
Clear cache for messaging and photo apps
Messages and Photos apps store cache differently than other apps. For Messages, open Settings, scroll to Messages, and look for the Keep Messages option. If it's set to Forever, your messages and their attachments stay on your phone indefinitely. Change it to 30 Days or 1 Year to have older messages and their cached files automatically deleted.
For Photos, your cached thumbnails and previews are usually small enough not to matter. If you want to free space, the most effective step is to delete photos and videos you no longer need, then open Settings, scroll to Photos, and make sure iCloud Photos is turned on. This moves your originals to iCloud and keeps only optimized versions on your phone, freeing significant space.
Restart your phone after clearing cache
After you clear cache for an app or Safari, restart your iPhone to complete the process. Press and hold the Side button and either Volume Up or Volume Down (depending on your model) until the power-off slider appears. Drag it to turn off your phone, wait a few seconds, then press and hold the Side button again until you see the Apple logo.
Restarting helps your phone finish removing cached files and can also fix temporary glitches that were slowing it down. You don't have to restart after every cache clearing, but it's a good step if you're trying to solve a specific problem like an app crashing or your phone running slowly.
When to clear cache versus when to delete the app
Clear cache when an app is misbehaving, loading slowly, or crashing — this often fixes the problem without losing your data. Clear cache also when you're running low on storage but don't want to remove apps you use regularly.
Delete the app entirely (not just offload it) only if you don't use it anymore and want to free up space permanently. To delete an app, open Settings, tap General, tap iPhone Storage, find the app, and tap Delete App. Confirm by tapping Delete App again. This removes the app and all its data, including login information and saved games, so only do this if you're certain you won't need it.
Check how much space you're actually freeing
Before and after clearing cache, check your available storage to see the difference. Open Settings, tap General, then tap iPhone Storage. At the top, you'll see a bar showing how much space is used and how much is free. The number next to each app shows how much space it's using right now.
Keep in mind that clearing cache for one app might only free a few hundred megabytes, especially if the app is small. If you're trying to free up several gigabytes, you'll likely need to delete photos, videos, or apps you don't use, or move files to iCloud. Cache clearing is most useful as a troubleshooting step or for maintaining your phone, not as a major storage solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will clearing cache delete my photos or messages?
No. Cache is only temporary data apps use to run faster. Your photos, messages, login information, and anything you created stay on your phone. Only the temporary files that help apps load quickly get removed.
Why is my app still taking up a lot of space after I cleared its cache?
The app itself, plus any data you created inside it (like saved games, downloaded content, or stored messages), takes up space separately from cache. Clearing cache only removes the temporary files. To free more space, you'd need to delete the app entirely or remove data within it.
Do I need to clear cache regularly?
Not unless you're running low on storage or an app is misbehaving. Cache builds up slowly, and most people don't need to clear it more than a few times a year. If your phone has plenty of free space, clearing cache won't noticeably improve performance.
What's the difference between offloading an app and deleting it?
Offloading removes the app but keeps all your data inside it — when you reinstall, everything comes back. Deleting removes both the app and all its data permanently. Use offload to free space temporarily; use delete only if you're done with the app.
Can I clear cache for all apps at once?
iOS doesn't have a single button to clear cache for every app at once. You have to offload and reinstall apps individually, or clear Safari separately. If you're trying to free a lot of space quickly, deleting apps you don't use is faster than clearing cache for each one.