Three Signs you Need to Clear Cache on Your Mac

Clearing the cache is a universal recipe you can apply to take your Mac experience to a new level. It can make your device faster, expand the storage, and speed up your browser. But sometimes, clearing the cache is a dire need rather than a mere recommendation. In this post, we take a look at the tell-tale signs your Mac is begging for a clean cache.

First of all, let’s answer an important question: What is the cache? Well, it’s basically a storage of temporary files (often referred to as “temps”) produced by your system, apps, and browser. The temps are usually tucked away in a hiding place behind the scenes, meaning you need to dive deeper into the system folders to find and delete them.

Secondly, why should you care about keeping the cache clean at all? It’s simple – when your system gets overcrowded with temps, it can affect your Mac’s performance. While macOS can handle the cache independently, it’s still a good idea to clear the cache after you’ve run into the symptoms of a swamped cache. While it may seem like a piece of work, we’ll show you how to do it. So, when do you need to clear the cache?

The “Your Disk is almost full” notification

This notification can be highly annoying and make you scratch your head. It means that your Mac is running out of space, so it can’t contain more data. You can clear the cache as an essential step to gain more free space on your Mac. Here’s how you can do it:

• Go to the Library folder by launching Finder – Go;

• Then hit the Option key and choose the Library folder, a place where your Mac stores your temporary files in a manner of folders;

• Your task here is to erase all the files in the folders, leaving the folders intact. Just drag and drop the files into the Bin;

• It’s best to clone the folder before you remove its contents. If everything is going well after deleting temps, you can remove the cloned folder;

• After you’re done, empty the Bin.

image via mashable.com

This way, you delete the temporary files generated by your applications, which will help you gain a significant chunk of open space on your disk and get rid of the pesky notification.

Your browser is slower than usual

No matter your browser, it may get overworked with temporary files over time. Thus, if your browser began to act up, it may be the time to dive into its cache. Fortunately, all browsers have a convenient way to do away with unneeded temps. Note that after clearing the cache, you may lose your previous settings on some websites, so you may have to log in to those again. The same goes for all of your devices if they are synchronized under the same account. Another side effect of clearing the browser cache is that some websites can load slower, given that this type of cache is responsible for a fast content load on your most visited websites.

Now, how can you remove the redundant files in your browser? Let’s go over the most well-suited browsers for Mac users.

How to clear Safari cache on your Mac:

• Access the Developer menu in Safari by going Safari – Preferences in the menu bar – Advanced;

• Then check the Show Develop menu in the menu bar option;

• Go to the menu bar and open the newly appeared Develop section;

• Click Empty Caches. That’s all!

How to clear Opera cache:

• Launch Opera and press the combination of Shift + Command + Delete;

• Choose the time frame in the pop-up window, ranging from 24 hours to the entire cache;

• Check the “Images and files in the cache”;

• Confirm by clicking “Clear browsing data”.

How to clear Google Chrome cache:

• Launch Google Chrome and go to the Settings;

• Choose “Clear browsing data”;

• Pick a time frame in the window that appears;

• Confirm your actions. That’s all!

Your Mac is lagging

If your Mac has lost its speed and you invariably see a spinning beach ball every time you try to open an app, the overworked cache can be blamed for this. You can fix it by clearing the user cache, following the steps we’ve described for the “Your Disk is Almost Full” problem, which will help you get rid of temps generated by your apps. Alternatively, you can dive deeper into your system cache folder and remove the temps generated by macOS. Below is how you can go about it:

• Launch Finder and pick Go;

• Open Library – Caches and find a folder with com.apple in the title;

• Make a backup of the folder;

• Open the folder and remove its contents while leaving the folder intact. If everything works fine, you can remove the backup folder as well;

• Empty the Bin.

Clearing the cache is a surefire way to fix the most common Mac problems. Hopefully, this post has helped you to gain more speed and clear space on your device.