Given enough time, all electronic devices will slow down, including smartphones. Your Android may randomly start to slow down, and sometimes even restarting doesn't really fix the problem. You don't necessarily have to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on a new phone, though. Your old device might just need a cleaning.
When no other method seems to speed up your Android phone backup, you should try some cache maintenance. When you use your Android phone, apps (especially Chrome) start saving temporary files that it thinks you need. They are used to speed up page loading and keep old files in memory. It's great when you have a fast flagship with lots of extra memory to play with. But if your Android phone is a bit older, you'll be surprised how much easier things get once you ditch some caching.
In fact, it's a good idea to do this regularly, even every few weeks. This may seem a little counterintuitive, since caching is supposed to make your phone faster, but easing the digital load is often the way to go with older devices.
How exactly does caching work?
Simply put, a cache is a collection of data stored by a specific application to improve the performance of that application. The cache becomes a buffer between RAM and CPU, loading pre-built data immediately so the user doesn't experience delays or even the time it takes for the CPU to communicate with RAM or storage.
Why you should clear your cache
The problem is that small caches from different applications can eventually add up to a huge cache. Before you know it, 4GB of storage and RAM power has been taken up by apps you don't use regularly.
Modern Android devices are very good at managing RAM and cache, ensuring that memory is allocated to applications that are running or used frequently. However, if you're using an older Android device that hasn't been updated in 2-3 years (which is all too common in the Android world), you'll start to notice that this RAM and cache management system doesn't cut it. Really effective.
Instead of spending $600 on a new Android flagship phone, you could try clearing your cache and see if that improves performance in apps you really use frequently, like the camera or browser.
How to manually clear cache of any app on Android smartphone
Sometimes, it is third-party applications that go rogue and take up all the cache memory. Android’s Settings app makes it easy to find such culprits. Go to Storage > Apps to see a list of all installed apps. Switch to the "Sort by size" option from the "Menu" and you'll see the apps that take up the most storage space. The exact steps to find the Apps section may vary depending on your Android smartphone, but you can search for Storage or Apps to get there.
Browse the apps and select an app to clear cache. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are major offenders of caching systems. From the Apps screen, tap the "Clear Cache" button to see cached data disappear instantly. Now, go back to the list and do this again and again, at least for the top 10 apps that take up most of the cache.
How to clear your cache automatically using a cleaning app on Android
If you have an older phone, you might want to clear all your apps and system caches at once—you might even want to automate this process every night when you go to bed. Android used to let you clear your entire cache at once, but now you can only do this on a per-app basis (as we covered above).
Thanks to third-party apps, it's still possible to clear cache completely. Here are a few popular options. CCleaner, 1Tap Cleaner and SDMaid 2 are all established software.
Once you give them access to your files, they'll show you which junk files you can delete and which caches you can clear. Clearing an app's cache is free, but most apps will require a paid upgrade or subscription if you want to clear the entire cache all together, or if you want to automate the process. But if you plan on doing this often, it might be worth it. CCleaner has a hidden file feature that can clear these cache files for you.
SD Maid 2 is still under development, but stable enough for daily use. The paid version can even automate the cleaning process for you so you can clear your cache when you wake up. Their AppCleaner tool will help you delete cache files from all apps at once. However, it requires a paid upgrade. That said, SD Maid 2 is open source and ad-free, so any funds you donate will go toward the development of the app itself. Plus, it's not owned by a big company, and the app promises it won't collect or scan your data, either.
How to clear cache in Chrome
Probably the biggest cache hog on your smartphone is Chrome, and if you've never cleared your cache, you might notice a huge difference before and after. If you don't use Chrome, do this for your default browser. The changes will be the same.
Open Chrome, click Menu , then go to History > Clear browsing data . First, switch to the "All time" option at the top and make sure you have checked the "Cache images and files" option below. Then, click on the Clear Data button to clear cache.
Continue to do this regularly for Chrome and other apps on Android. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you should do the same thing there as well.
