Clear Temporary Internet Files on Android Devices
Your Android stores various files as your browse the internet that can help increase your browsing speed when returning to a previously-visited site. After a while, however, these files can start to add up and hog your valuable storage space. Deleting these temporary internet files, which Android refers to as "cache", will give you more space for apps, music, or any other files you want.
Contents
Steps
Using the Settings App
- Open the Settings app on your Android device. You can usually find the Settings app in your App Drawer, or by pressing your device's Menu button and selecting Settings. You can also pull down from the notifications shade to get to settings.
- Tap "Apps" or "Applications". This will open a list of your applications.
- Select the "All" or "Installed" tab. This will display every app installed on your device.
- Tap your browser in the list. This could be "Browser", "Internet", "Chrome", or any third-party browser you may have installed.
- You may need to click "Storage" to find the buttons you need for the next steps.
- Tap the "Clear cache" button. This will remove all the data that your browser has stored to speed up your browsing. Clearing your cache can free up a lot of space.
- There may be a small amount of data left over after deleting the cache that cannot be removed. This is usually an insignificant amount that you can safely ignore.
- Repeat for any other browsers you use. If you have more than one browser you use regularly, repeat this process to remove the cache for each one.
Using the Browser's Menu
- Open your browser. Besides using the Settings menu, most browsers allow you to clear the cache from within the browser itself.
- Tap the Menu button. This usually looks like three dots stacked on top of each other. Press "More" if there are only a few options.
- Select "Settings". This will open the browser's Settings menu.
- In some browsers, such as Chrome, you can clear temporary files through History, not Settings.
- Select "Privacy" (if applicable). Not all browser's require you to select this option.
- Tap "Clear Browsing Data" or "Clear cache". If prompted to choose what you want to delete, make sure that "Cache" box is checked.
Using CCleaner
- Download the CCleaner app. This is the Android version of a popular Windows optimization program. You can download it for free from the Google Play Store or through other apps stores.
- Start CCleaner once it is done downloading.
- Tap the "Analyze" button to scan your Android device for unused files. Wait for the analysis to complete.
- Ensure that all of the "Cache" boxes are checked. This could include "Cache", "Google Maps Cache", "Browser History", "Thumbnail Cache", and more.
- Tap "Clean". All of the checked data will be deleted from the device.
