HOW AND WHEN TO USE "CLEAR APP CACHE" & "CLEAR APP DATA"

HOW AND WHEN TO USE "CLEAR APP CACHE" & "CLEAR APP DATA"

‘Clear app cache’ and ‘clear app data’ are two separate instructions on Android devices. Every app you use on your android device captures information, for instance, when you're using a web browser, it'll save images you've seen so that they don't have to be downloaded every time the app needs them. All these information fill some spaces on the device’s storage. 

When the app ‘cache’ is cleared, all of the mentioned data is cleared which frees up some space. The main reason for clearing app cache most times would be to free up storage, which might have an impact on how quickly and smoothly your device operates, it is a short-term solution though because after clearing the cache and you start using the app again, the app will start populating the storage with that information.

Every application also stores more critical information like databases, custom settings and login information as ‘data’. When you clear the ‘data’, both ‘cache’ and ‘data’ are removed. ‘Clearing data’ simply put, means starting an app freshly, like it was just installed. This option is generally reserved for when an app is buggy or fails to start. It could be a result of an app update gone wrong resulting in corruption of previous cache files, untested server-side changes, misbehaving software, or a new OS update to Android.

TO CLEAR APP CACHE OR APP DATA, clearly follow these steps:

1. Go to the Settings Menu
2. Click on Apps
3. Select the All tab (if all the apps are not displayed by default)
   
4. Choose the app that you want to clear the cache or data
5. Click Clear Cache. (But if your device is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow or newer Android then you'll need to click on Storage and then Clear Cache).
6. To clear the app data, follow the same instructions above but instead of selecting the ‘clear cache’ option, simply select Clear Data

Final words;

Your first action in trying to fix a faulty app should be clearing the cache, because this is a less harsh option. If that option doesn’t fix the bugged app, or you wish to free up a larger volume of storage space, just go for the ‘clear data’ option but remember that any information stored or saved in the app, (including media files, login details, app settings), will also be removed. And the app will start freshly.

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