How to Clear the Cache on Mac

Many users complain that the performance of their Mac deteriorates over time, but they should know that this is not a permanent condition. There are plenty of small things they can do to stop this from happening or even to fix the problem entirely. One of the commonly recommended fixes for a poorly performing Mac is to clear the cache. But what is the cache? Cached files are typically temporary files used by many applications such as Web browsers, messaging clients and even system processes. Over long periods, these cached files may grow in size, often taking up several gigabytes of space. Here are some steps you will need to take to clear cached files on your Mac:

Clearing the Mozilla Firefox Cache

Start Firefox, and then click on the 'Preferences' section in the main menu. Select 'Privacy & Security',' then 'Cookies and Site Data.' Press 'Clear Data' to wipe out the unnecessary data from Firefox's cache.

Clearing the Safari Cache

The Safari Web browser is preferred by many macOS users, and here is how you can clean its cache. Start Safari, and go to Preferences -> Advanced. Make sure that the option 'Show Develop menu in menu bar' is checked. After enabling it, click 'Develop' from the top menu, and press 'Empty Cache.' Restart the browser to complete the cleanup.

Clearing the Google Chrome Cache

Open Chrome, and go to Preferences -> Advanced. Select the 'Privacy and Security' menu, and then click 'Clear browsing data.' Select the types of data you want to be cleaned – typically, you need to remove 'Cached image and files' for the best results.

Clearing the iTunes Cache

The cache of iTunes can take a surprisingly large amount of space, and clearing it periodically is recommended. To do this, open iTunes, and go to Preferences -> Advanced. Press the 'Reset Cache' button and restart the application.

Cleaning the macOS Cache

The system cache should not be neglected, but we advise you to be careful with the types of files you delete. If you are not familiar with the purpose of various applications, then we would not advise you to complete this task manually. To locate the macOS cache, go to Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder. Type in~/Library/Cachesand press Go.

This directory contains the cache folders for various system processes and applications – delete the contents of the applications whose cache you want to clear. For example, you can manually remove the caches of Safari, iTunes, Spotify, Firefox, Chrome and other applications from here.