If your iPhone or iPad has been running slower than normal, all it might need is a clearing the device’s browser cache for a quick performance boost. Every browser app stores a cache of website data like cookies, saved login info, images, and more. This helps pages load faster the next time you visit, and it lets you stay logged into a site even after closing the browser. That’s helpful for domains you visit regularly, but a lot of the files in your cache are useless. Those little bits of extra data add up quickly and can take up a sizable chunk of your iPhone or iPad’s internal storage space. The less space left on your device, the slower it will run.
Clearing your browser cache won’t suddenly overclock the device’s hardware, but it can help apps load faster and make iOS (or iPadOS) run smoother. Doing so regularly will keep your iOS devices running smoothly, especially when you’re using the web browser. It should also be the first thing you try if you notice other errors, like sudden browser crashes. If your device still lags after clearing the cache (or caches, if you use multiple browsers frequently), it’s time to take more drastic measures.
The only downside to clearing your browser cache is that it deletes your saved logins and any unique settings you’ve saved for certain pages. You will need to log back into the websites you use each time you clear your browser’s data. This isn’t that big of a deal, but it can be annoying—especially for Safari users, as clearing the cache affects all devices logged into your iCloud account.
Despite that annoyance, clearing your cache is a simple way to boost your iOS device’s performance if it’s running slower than normal. Here’s how to clear the cache in a variety of browsers—and here’s how to do the same thing on Android, too.
How the clear the cache in Safari
Open your iPhone or iPad’s Settings app, then select Safari from the list of apps.
Tap “Clear History and Website Data.”
Confirm you want to delete your data when prompted.
How the clear the cache in Brave
Open Brave and tap the “...” menu icon.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy.
Scroll down and tap “Brave Shields & Privacy.”
Scroll down in the next menu and select “Clear Data Now.”
How the clear the cache in Chrome
Open Chrome, tap the three-dot icon on the menu bar, and then go to Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data.
Make sure Cookies, Site Data, and Cached Images and Files are all selected, and set the date range to “All Time” if you want to free up the most space possible.
Tap “Clear Browsing Data.”
How the clear the cache in DuckDuckGo
Open the DuckDuckGo app and tap the fire icon at the bottom of the browser.
How the clear the cache in Edge
Open Edge and tap the “...” icon in the lower right.
Go to Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data.
Tap “Clear Browsing Data,” then confirm your selection.
How the clear the cache in Firefox
In Firefox, tap the three-line menu icon and go to Privacy > Settings > Data Management.
Select the type of data you want to remove then tap “Clear Private Data” to empty your entire browsing cache, or tap “Website Data” and clear data saved from specific websites.
[CNET]