Is your iPhone a little more sluggish than usual? Like a regular computer, it’s possible that your phone’s performance is slow because your cache is clogged up. Every so often, you need to clear out those old files to cut down on the lag time you experience.

When complaining about the slow load times on your iPhone, you may have had tech-savvy folks ask about the last time you cleared out your cache (pronounced cash). If you were confused or made up an answer to sound less confused, we can help you understand what it is and clean it up for your iPhone.

To keep it brief, caching stores files from the places you’ve visited with your web browser for future use. Behind the scenes, caching makes it easier to access those sites by loading them quickly. Apps use caching too.

The downside is that those files can bog down your speed and open you up to cyber attacks when things like passwords are stored. Nobody wants that. What can you do? Clear your iPhone’s cache like a boss! Luckily, the steps are very simple and we’re going to lay them out right here.

First, if you’re one of those people who likes it when your passwords auto-fill on apps, then we suggest you capture that info and store it in a safe place before cleaning out the cache. It will be deleted.

How to Clean the iPhone’s Cache:

1. Clear Out Safari

   Go to “Settings”, then tap Safari. Scroll down the list and click on “Clear History and Website Data.” Tap “Clear History and Data” and that’s it!

2. Check Your App Storage

   Check to see which apps are using up the most space on your phone by scanning your storage.

   Go to “Settings” and choose “General” from the menu. Tap on “iPad Storage” from the list. Notice the apps on your phone that are using up the most space. Choose one and then look at its number for “Documents & Data.” If the app is taking up too much space, you can either delete it and re-download it or clean it up.

3. To Clean, But Not Delete. . .

   To clear out data files such as messages, music, or photos, look under the “Documents & Data” heading at the recommendations. You can choose to review large files or enable auto delete of certain items. Manually clear out which app files you don’t want anymore.

4. Delete

   To delete an app, simply hit “Delete App” and then go to the Apple Store to install it again. As a final step, you can restart your iPhone to clean up its memory.

Your other option is to install an app that cleans up the cache for you. Some are free and some cost a few bucks, and typically you’ll need to connect your phone to a Mac or PC to use it. It may be worth the investment depending on how much you accumulate in your cache and how often it gets filled up.

By doing this once a month (or at least per quarter), you’ll find that your phone will operate more smoothly. This step will also keep it more secure!

Do you clear out your phone’s cache regularly? Will you start to do it now? Do you prefer to use a cache cleaning app or this DIY method?