How to Clear Cache on iPhone

The iPhone has no single “clear all cache” button like Android. Instead you clear Safari, third-party browsers and apps separately. Here is exactly where each control lives in iOS 18 and iOS 26.

Mustafa Bilgic · Editor, TudugUpdated 2026-06-20 · 8 min read · Sources cited

If you came here looking for the iPhone equivalent of Android’s “Clear cache” button, here is the honest answer: there isn’t one. Apple deliberately hides cache management from users because iOS is supposed to handle it automatically, purging temporary files when storage runs low. In practice that automatic cleanup is unpredictable, so when an app turns sluggish or your storage bar turns red you often need to clear caches yourself — and the controls are scattered across several different Settings screens. This guide walks through every place an iPhone keeps cached data and the safe way to clear each one, with the exact menu paths for the latest iOS.

Why the iPhone has no one-tap cache button

Android lets you open any app’s settings and tap Clear cache. iOS does not, by design. Apple treats caches as a job for the operating system: when free space gets tight, iOS evicts cached and re-downloadable files on its own. That is great when it works, but it means there is no universal switch you can press, and the cleanup only kicks in under pressure rather than on demand. The result is the situation that brought you here — an app misbehaving, or a “Storage Almost Full” warning — with no obvious button to press. The fix is to go to each source of cached data in turn. The two that matter most are Safari (web browsing data) and individual apps (via Offload), with Messages and Photos usually being the real storage hogs.

Clear the Safari cache

Safari is the one place iOS gives you a genuine clear-cache control. The wording shifted recently: in iOS 18 and earlier, Safari sits directly in the main Settings list; in iOS 26, Apple moved app settings into a dedicated Apps section, so the path is now Settings → Apps → Safari. Either way, scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data. Newer iOS versions let you choose a time range (last hour, today, all history) and whether to keep recent tabs open. Confirm, and Safari’s cache, browsing history and cookies are wiped in a single action.

Clear data for one website only

To free space for a single site without losing every login, take a more surgical route: Settings → Apps → Safari → Advanced → Website Data. This lists every site that has stored data on your iPhone, sorted by size, so you can see which ones are bloated. Tap Edit and remove individual sites, or swipe left on a single site and tap Delete. There is also a Remove All Website Data button at the bottom if you want to clear the lot from this screen. Removing one site here clears just that site’s cache and cookies and leaves your other logins untouched — ideal when one misbehaving site is the only problem.

Clear cache in Chrome, Edge and other browsers

Crucially, the Safari settings above do nothing for third-party browsers. If you mainly use Chrome, Edge or Firefox, their caches live inside each app and must be cleared from within it. In Chrome for iPhone, tap the three-dot menu, then Delete Browsing Data (older builds: Settings → Privacy → Clear Browsing Data), tick Cached Images and Files and, if you want a deeper clean, Cookies, Site Data, choose a time range and confirm. Microsoft Edge and Firefox follow the same idea under their own Settings → Privacy menus. Because these apps store their own data, offloading or deleting them from iPhone Storage is the other way to reset a browser that has become bloated.

Offload vs delete an app to clear its cache

For regular apps there is no “Clear cache” button at all, so the practical way to shed a bloated app’s cache is to offload or delete it. Go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage, wait for the list to populate (sorted largest first), and tap the app. You will see two options. Offload App removes the app and its cache but keeps its documents and data, so reinstalling restores your place. Delete App removes the app and everything it stored. For clearing cache without losing anything important, Offload is almost always the right choice.

Clear caches in Messages and Photos

On most iPhones the genuine storage hogs are not caches at all — they are Messages attachments, photos and videos. From Settings → General → iPhone Storage, tap Messages to delete large attachments, GIFs and old conversations, or set messages to auto-delete after 30 days or one year. For photos, the same screen surfaces recommendations such as emptying Recently Deleted; turning on Optimise iPhone Storage (in Settings → Photos) keeps full-resolution originals in iCloud and lightweight versions on the device. If iCloud itself is full, our guide to freeing up iCloud storage covers that side, and how to free up storage handles the device as a whole.

Restart the iPhone

The last step is the one people forget: restart. A restart clears temporary system memory (RAM caches) and closes files that apps are holding open, which often resolves the sluggishness a cache clear was meant to fix. Press and hold the side button together with either volume button until Slide to Power Off appears, swipe to power down, wait about ten seconds, then hold the side button to switch it back on. If your storage bar is still red afterwards, the problem is stored content rather than cache — head back to iPhone Storage and tackle photos, videos and large apps directly. Last updated 20 June 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Apple Support — Clear the history and cookies from Safari on iPhone
• Apple Support — Check and manage iPhone storage
• Apple Support — Offload and delete apps on iPhone

This guide is independently produced. We reference primary documentation from device makers and security authorities (NIST, CISA). Tudug is reader-supported and may earn from ads.

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