YouTube cache takes up storage space on your iPhone, and clearing it can free up gigabytes without deleting your videos or account data
YouTube stores temporary files — thumbnails, video previews, watch history data — on your iPhone to load faster next time. Over months, this cache can grow to several gigabytes. Clearing it does not sign you out, delete your saved videos, or affect your YouTube account. It simply removes the temporary files stored locally on your phone.
The method depends on whether you want to clear cache for the YouTube app alone or for Safari if you watch YouTube in a browser. Both take under a minute.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube app cache clears through iPhone Settings under the YouTube app storage menu, not within the YouTube app itself.
- Clearing cache frees storage space but does not delete your watch history, saved videos, or sign you out of your account.
- If you watch YouTube in Safari, you must clear Safari cache separately through Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.
- Cache rebuilds automatically as you use YouTube, so you may need to repeat this process every few months if storage is tight.
Clear cache from the YouTube app through iPhone Settings
Open Settings on your iPhone. Scroll down and tap Apps (or General on older iOS versions, then iPhone Storage). Find and tap YouTube in the list of installed apps.
Tap Offload App or Delete App depending on what you see. If you see Offload App, tap it — this removes the app but keeps your data. If you only see Delete App, tap that instead. Either way, you will see a confirmation prompt asking if you want to delete the app data. Tap Delete App or Offload to confirm.
After offloading or deleting, go to the App Store, search for YouTube, and tap Get to reinstall it. Sign back in with your Google account. Your watch history, subscriptions, and saved videos remain intact because they are stored on Google's servers, not on your phone.
Clear Safari cache if you watch YouTube in a browser
If you watch YouTube through Safari instead of the app, the cache lives in Safari's browser data. Open Settings and scroll to Safari. Tap Clear History and Website Data at the bottom.
A popup appears asking what time range to clear. Choose All time to remove all cached data, or pick a specific range like Last hour or Last day if you want to keep some browsing data. Tap Clear History and Data to confirm.
This clears cache from all websites you have visited in Safari, not just YouTube. If you want to clear only YouTube cache without touching other sites, you cannot do this through Settings — Safari does not offer per-site cache clearing. Your only option is to clear all Safari data or use the YouTube app instead.
How much storage you typically free up
YouTube cache usually ranges from 500 megabytes to 2 gigabytes depending on how often you use the app and how many videos you have watched. Heavy users who watch hours of YouTube daily may see cache grow to 3 or 4 gigabytes over several months.
You can check how much space YouTube is using before you clear it. Go to Settings > Apps > YouTube and look at the storage number displayed under the app name. This shows the total size of the app plus its cache. After you offload and reinstall, the app alone is usually 200 to 400 megabytes, so the difference is roughly how much cache you freed.
Why cache rebuilds and when to clear it again
YouTube rebuilds cache automatically as you use the app. Within a week of normal use, you may see cache grow back to several hundred megabytes. Within a month, it can return to 1 or 2 gigabytes.
Clear cache again if your iPhone storage is running low or if YouTube starts loading slowly. There is no harm in clearing it frequently — once a month is reasonable if you watch YouTube daily and storage is tight. If your iPhone has plenty of free space, you do not need to clear cache at all.
What clearing cache does not do
Clearing YouTube cache does not delete your watch history, subscriptions, playlists, or saved videos. These are stored on Google's servers and tied to your account, not stored on your phone. You remain signed in after clearing cache.
Clearing cache also does not improve YouTube performance in most cases — it may actually make the app slightly slower for a few minutes as it rebuilds cache. The main reason to clear cache is to free storage space, not to fix bugs or speed up the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I lose my watch history if I clear YouTube cache?
No. Your watch history is stored on your Google account, not on your phone. It remains the same after you clear cache. You stay signed in and can see all your previously watched videos in your history.
Do I have to reinstall YouTube after clearing cache?
Only if you delete the app entirely. If you use Offload App instead, the app stays on your phone and you do not need to reinstall it. Offloading removes cache and temporary files while keeping the app itself. Deleting removes everything and requires reinstalling from the App Store.
Can I clear cache without signing out of YouTube?
Yes. Clearing cache through Settings does not sign you out. When you reopen YouTube after clearing cache, you remain logged in to your Google account and all your preferences are still there.
What if YouTube is slow after I clear cache?
This is normal for the first few uses. YouTube rebuilds cache as you watch videos, and the app may load slightly slower for a few minutes. This is temporary and not a sign something went wrong.