➤How to clear your Mac's cache? 🕹

Summary

> What is caching?
> Why delete the cache?
> What to delete?
> How to Clear Your Mac's Cache
> The Best Apps to Delete Mac Cache

Do you experience some latency when using your Mac? Your applications no longer work as usual?

If after turning your machine back on or checking its activity monitor, it is still idling, then we advise you to take a look at its cache. The latter allows you in particular to protect yourself when you surf the net, by preventing certain sites and application developers from obtaining confidential information about you.

Before explaining how to empty this folder, it is essential to know what it contains, what it is used for, how useful its deletion is to you, and why you should be careful about what you delete.

What is caching?

Cache represents files that your Mac stores in order to speed up various usage processes.

You've probably heard of web browser caching before. This is data that is downloaded and saved on your computer so that the next time you visit that same site, its page will load faster.

The problem is that it includes cookies and tracers, which can therefore transmit to advertisers confidential information (e-mail address, telephone number, etc.) concerning you, for example.

Then there are two other types of cache. the app cache, sometimes called user cache, is data associated with your apps. If you're playing on your Mac, then they can take up a lot of storage space. And the system cache, it is created by macOS to help your machine run smoothly. As it is linked to the operating system, we do not recommend erasing it, unless you are using specific software.

Why delete the cache?

There are several reasons for clearing Mac cache. Often users want to reclaim a few gigabytes of storage.

However, you should know that deleting it will not necessarily free up space, because your Mac will create a lot of its cached files again.

Another reason may be troubleshooting, so as to fix a latency issue or a bug. This is probably the last possible scenario, after restarting the program in question, restarting your Mac, and possibly removing and reinstalling the program.

Finally, you can come to erase the cache in order to secure your personal data, and thus ensure a certain confidentiality when you surf the Net.

What to delete?

Many files are useful to your Mac, so you should never delete all your cache.

If you're considering such drastic action, then you'd probably be better off resetting your Mac entirely before reinstalling macOS.

Deleting an application-related cache can also cause problems. Some of them store important information about your user profile. It can also be annoying to lose important documents or projects saved in Photoshop or Premiere Pro, for example.

So it seems primordial back up everything before starting this process.

Among what is acceptable to delete, we are thinking above all of files relating to programs that you no longer use or that have even already been deleted.

How to Clear Your Mac's Cache

The process differs depending on the type of cache you want to clear. Before you begin, feel free to check your storage directly on your Mac. To do this, click on the Apple, ago in About this Mac, finally go to Storage.

This walkthrough takes you through the distribution of storage on your Mac, as well as showing where there are files to eliminate or move to iCloud.

Clear the browser cache

The method here depends on the browser you are using, whether Safari, Chrome, Firefox Or other.

If you are on Safari, then the process is as follows:

Open Safari.
In the menu bar, click Safari, And then Preferences.
Go to Advanced.
Tick on Show the development menu.
Visit Privacy Policy.
Go to Manage website data...
Select the data of your choice, then click on Remove. If you want to get rid of them all, then choose Delete everything.

To complete your cleaning, why not also free yourself from cookies by following these steps:

Open Safari.
In the menu bar, click Safari, And then Preferences.
Go to Privacy Policy.
Select on Manage website data.
Visit Delete everything.
Select Block all cookies.

Clear system cache

Now, let's see how to clear the system cache. Before you start, make a backup in case something goes wrong! To do this :

On Finder, go to Go.
Choose Go to folder.
Type the command /Library/Caches
Press Starter.
Select each file by simultaneously pressing Ctrl + A.
Copy everything.
Go back to Library.
Create a new user cache folder, then copy all files

So, in case you eliminate important files, then you can go back. Next :

Open the Finder.
Click on Go > Go to folder...
type /Library/Caches/, then double-click it.
Open each folder and choose the items to delete.
Finally, drag the caches into the trash.

Again, keep in mind that this is a long process and can also be very risky.

Clear the cache of a program

In addition to regaining space, you can clear an app's cache if the app isn't working properly. Be careful all the same, because it can also have the opposite effect if you offload the files necessary for its smooth running.

For this reason, we again recommend backing up your system before you start removing. Then do the following:

Open Finder.
Click on Go > Go to folder...
type Library/Caches/, then double-click it.
Open each folder and choose the items to delete.
To do this, drag the caches into the trash.

Again, if you're not sure what you're doing, then we recommend using a dedicated utility.

The Best Apps to Delete Mac Cache

We offer you an overview of the best cleaning programs for Mac, allowing you to free yourself from the cache files of your computer.

CleanMyMac X

MacPaw's CleanMyMac X ($39,95/year) refers to a database to securely clear your cache.

To enjoy it on 5 devices, you can also buy it for € 89,95. On the other hand, be aware that with its free version you will not be able to erase anything.

On CleanMyMac X, click System Junk.
Click on the button Scan to start scanning your system.
Once completed, a message indicating the space that can be freed will appear.
This includes user cache files, system log files, language files, document versions, user log files, and system cache files.
Click on See the details, then deselect anything you prefer to keep.
Go to Clean.

And just wait for CleanMyMac X to clean your system.

MacCleaner Pro 2

Nektony's MacCleaner Pro is another solution, quite similar to CleanMyMac X. It's available in a 7-day free trial version, which by the way offers a nice selection of important features. Its Pro upgrade costs €48,95.

Clear your cache like this:

Open Mac Cleaner Pro.
Click on Clean up the Mac.
Select the files or folders of your choice
Press Clean and To confirm.
Then click Revision.
End with Clean and enter your password.

CCleaner

There is also a free version of CCleaner that you can download from the CCleaner site.

Open CCleaner.
Allez Applications.
Click on Analyze to find out which files to delete.
Click on Start cleaning. You may need to install a helper tool, in which case enter your password.

To finish, just wait for the app to do its removal job.