How to Clear YouTube Cache and Improve Performance
YouTube, a globally acclaimed video streaming platform, offer users an abundance of content, ranging from music videos and documentaries to tutorials and comedy skits. But, there are times when users encounter issues such as sluggish loading, annoying buffering, frequent glitches, and even errors – negatively affecting user-experience. This can occur on any device, be it a computer or smartphone.
If you are struggling with these issues, this piece serves as a comprehensive guide on improving your YouTube performance by clearing your YouTube cache and resetting any recommendation by deleting YouTube history. All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
Clearing YouTube Cache on Android Devices
If you have the YouTube app installed on your Android device, the process to clear the YouTube cache is pretty straightforward. Simply navigate through your Android phone’s settings and follow these steps:
- Launch the ‘Settings’ app on your Android device.
- Select ‘Apps’ or ‘Applications’ – this will pull up the list of apps.
- Scroll to find the ‘YouTube’ app and tap it to open the app options.
- Choose ‘Storage’ or ‘Storage & Cache’, which will display the storage settings for the YouTube app.
- Click on ‘Clear Cache’ to erase the YouTube app’s temporary data.
Your app might encounter slight issues, which can be fixed by this method. Remember, this approach will not reset your recommendations or preferences as such information is stored with your YouTube account, not your device.
If the problems persist, consider uninstalling and reinstalling the app. This will also refresh the app and delete cached data. To do this, long-press the app icon and drag it to the ‘Uninstall’ option. To reinstall, simply visit the Google Play Store, search for YouTube and install.
Clearing YouTube Cache on iPhone Devices
If you’re using iOS and would like to clear YouTube cache, the process is a little different as iOS doesn’t let you erase cache manually. Instead, you have to delete the app and reinstall it from the App Store. Follow these steps:
- Find the YouTube app on your home screen or in your app library.
- Hold the app icon until you see an options menu.
- Select ‘Remove App’ or ‘Delete App’.
- Confirm deletion. This step will delete the YouTube app and all its associated cache data.
- To reinstall, open the App Store, search for YouTube, and tap the cloud icon or ‘Get’ button.
Clearing YouTube Cache in Web Browsers
Clearing the browser’s cache varies depending on the browser in use. Below are detailed procedures for some of the most popular browsers:
Google Chrome
- Launch Chrome and click on the three-dot (hamburger) icon located at the top-right corner.
- Select ‘More tools’ then click ‘Clear browsing data’. This will open a new tab with various options.
- Choose a time range. Select ‘All time’ to delete everything.
- Tick ‘Cookies and other site data’ and ‘Cached images and files’. You can also consider ticking other boxes to erase additional data types like browsing history or passwords.
- Click ‘Clear data’.
Firefox
- Open Firefox and click on the three-bar icon located on the top-right corner.
- Go to ‘Options’, then click ‘Privacy & Security’ from the left sidebar.
- Scroll to ‘Cookies and Site Data’ section and click ‘Clear Data’.
- Tick ‘Cookies and Site Data’ and ‘Cached Web Content’. For offline visit data deletion, tick ‘Offline Website Data’ box.
- Click ‘Clear’.
Microsoft Edge
- Launch Microsoft Edge and click on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner.
- Click ‘Settings’ then select ‘Privacy, search, and services’ from the left sidebar.
- Under ‘Clear browsing data’ section, click ‘Choose what to clear’.
- Select a time range. Select ‘All time’ to delete everything.
- Tick ‘Cookies and other site data’ and ‘Cached images and files’. For additional data types, tick the corresponding boxes.
- Click ‘Clear now’.
Adapter must cross-check that the process to delete cache is followed correctly – any mistake might lead to critical data loss.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
| Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| Will Clearing YouTube Cache Affect My YouTube Premium Subscription? | No, your YouTube Premium subscription will not be affected by clearing the YouTube cache. Your subscription is linked to your YouTube account, not your device or browser. |
| Will Deleting YouTube History Affect my YouTube Music Preferences? | Yes, deleting YouTube history will affect your YouTube Music preferences. YouTube Music uses your YouTube history to customize music recommendations and playlists. If you delete your history, your YouTube Music preferences get reset making YouTube Music less precise and relevant for you. |
Conclusion
YouTube is a versatile platform that allows you to watch videos across various genres. But sometimes, due to cache data accumulation or the influence of your user history, you may face issues. Cache data being a type of temporary data improves YouTube’s speed and responsiveness but can become a problem for performance when they overflow.
To fix these issues, you could clear your YouTube cache or delete your YouTube history for a fresher, more diverse experience. Removing YouTube cache can help cope with minor issues such as slow loading, buffering, and glitches. Deleting YouTube history can reset your user recommendations, providing you with a more diverse and rewarding YouTube exploration.
