Cache acts as a temporary data store for frequently used data on websites or apps. This cache, however, can slow down your device if it gets large. That’s why it is recommended that you clear your Mac cache frequently. Additionally, doing so can help clear up issues or bugs. This guide shows you how to clear cache on a Mac running macOS Monterey 12.0.1.
- Open the Finder app from your Dock.
Open the Finder app located on your macOS Dock - With the Finder app open, look for the Go option in the top menu bar.
Look for the Go option in the Finder app’s menu bar, which you can find in the top left corner of the screen - Click on Go and then select Go to Folder at the bottom of the options list.
Click on Go and then select Go to Folder at the bottom of the options list. - A form will appear that allows you to search for a specific folder name. We want to navigate to our Cache folder, so in that form input, type ~/Library/Caches and press Enter.
In the form input that appears, type ~/Library/Caches and press enter. - This will take you to your Mac’s cache folder containing temporary files stored by apps. Every application will store its cache in this folder, including web browsers such as Safari.It’s usually safe to delete all folders within the main cache folder to clear all your cache. However, if you want to delete the cache of a particular app, you can delete the folder corresponding to the specific app within the cache folder.Note: some apps might have a “com.” extension at the beginning of the name.
The cache folder contains all the caches stored by your computer’s applications. For example, if you want to delete the cache stored by Google’s apps, such as Google Chrome or Gmail, you can delete the Google folder located in the primary cache folder.
You can delete Google’s cache by deleting the Google folder from the cache folder.
How to clear Safari cache on Mac
If Safari is running slower than usual, it might be time to clear your browser cache. You can do this by deleting the “Safari” folder from your Mac’s cache folder using the method above. However, as a browser, Safari also allows you to delete its cache internally. Follow these steps:
- Open the Safari app from your Dock.
Click on the Safari icon located in your macOS Dock - Go to the top menu bar with Safari open and click on the Safari option.
Click on the Safari option next to the Apple logo on Safari’s menu bar - Select Preferences from the drop-down list of options that appears.
Click on the Preferences option in the options list from Safari’s menu bar. - In the dialogue box that appears, select the Advanced tab.
Click on the Advanced tab in the Safari’s Preferences - Navigate to the bottom of the dialogue box and check the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
Check the Show Develop menu in menu bar in the Advanced tab of Safari’s Preferences. - Close the Preferences box. A Develop option will now appear in Safari’s menu bar.
The Develop option will appear in Safari’s menu bar - Click on the Develop option and select Empty Caches from the options list. This will clear all caches stored by the Safari browser.
Click on Empty Caches from the drop-down list in Safari’s Develop options.