Has your TikTok app been slowing down or using more storage space than usual? Before you consider uninstalling it, the problem might simply be an overloaded cache. Understanding how to clear TikTok cache is essential because cached files, although designed to make the app run smoothly, can accumulate over time and eventually cause performance issues.
Thankfully, clearing the cache is a quick fix that frees up storage and ensures TikTok runs smoothly again—without affecting your saved videos, settings, or personal preferences. Whether you’re using an iPhone, Android phone, or tablet, this guide walks you through the straightforward steps to get your TikTok app back to peak performance in just a few taps.
What is TikTok cache?
A TikTok cache is a temporary storage area that keeps data and media files, helping your app run smoothly by loading content quickly and reducing data usage. TikTok caches elements like videos, images, user profiles, and the app layout, allowing the app to display these quickly without fetching them repeatedly from servers.
Over time, however, a buildup of cached files can slow down your device and cause the TikTok app to lag or even crash. Regularly clearing your TikTok cache is essential to maintaining optimal performance and safeguarding your privacy. Additionally, it’s important to be mindful about the content you share and store on TikTok to protect your personal information.
What Exactly Happens When You Clear Your TikTok Cache?
Clearing your TikTok cache essentially acts like refreshing your app, removing temporary files and stored data from your device. This quick and simple process serves several useful purposes:
- Frees Up Storage: It helps reclaim valuable storage space on your device, ensuring TikTok doesn’t unnecessarily occupy excessive room.
- Boosts Performance: By clearing out accumulated temporary files, you eliminate potential clutter that could be slowing down the app, enhancing overall performance.
- Improves Privacy: It deletes cached personal data, including login tokens and user-specific browsing and search history, enhancing your online privacy and reducing the likelihood of tracking or data misuse.
However, keep in mind that clearing the cache will temporarily remove your login information, requiring you to log back into your account. While the initial load times may slightly slow as the app rebuilds the cache, your subscriptions, comments, uploaded content, and saved or liked videos remain completely intact. Clearing your TikTok cache is entirely safe and beneficial for both privacy and device performance.
How To Clear TikTok Cache?
TikTok’s in-app
A portion of TikTok’s cache can be cleared directly from the app, eliminating the need to navigate through your device’s settings. This in-app method is especially useful for iOS users, as iPhones and iPads do not provide a manual cache-clearing option in system settings. Instead, iOS automatically manages unnecessary files to free up space.
Follow these steps to clear the TikTok cache from within the app:
- Open the TikTok app.
- Tap Profile in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap the menu icon (three lines) in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings and privacy.
- Under Cache & Cellular, choose Free up space.
- Tap Clear next to Cache, then confirm by selecting Clear again.
This simple process helps free up storage while keeping your app running smoothly.
On Phone
Clearing TikTok’s in-app cache is different from clearing the app cache through your device settings. The in-app cache only removes a small portion of the overall cache, while the main cache stored by your device’s operating system includes additional temporary files such as launch data and background processes.
To free up more space and resolve performance issues, you may need to clear the device-level cache as well. On Android, this option is available in the app settings. Additionally, you can choose to clear the app data entirely, which removes all saved account information and resets TikTok to its default state. While your account remains intact, you will need to log in again to access your content.
On Desktop
TikTok’s website stores cache data within your browser, which you can clear through your browser’s settings. Since browsers cache data from multiple sites, clearing it forces your browser to re-download necessary files the next time you visit those pages. You can typically find the cache-clearing option in the settings menu of your browser.
You may also notice an option to clear cookies. Cookies store login credentials and website preferences. Removing them will log you out of TikTok and reset any custom settings. In Google Chrome, click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner, select Clear browsing data, and choose to delete both cached images and files as well as cookies and site data. These steps apply to both desktop and mobile versions of the browser.
How to Free Up TikTok Storage Without Deleting the App
If you’ve cleared TikTok’s cache but still notice it taking up excessive storage space, don’t rush to delete it just yet. One common reason for increased storage usage is the accumulation of drafts.
When a new filter or trend goes viral, many users experiment with creating videos but may not be ready to post them. Over time, these drafts can pile up, with some users storing dozens or even hundreds of videos. Since drafts are saved directly on your device, deleting unused ones can help free up valuable space.
While the cache enhances your TikTok experience by speeding up load times, allowing it to grow unchecked can slow things down. Be mindful of how many drafts you keep and the number of videos you download. To maintain optimal performance, clearing your TikTok cache once a month is a simple yet effective way to keep the app running smoothly.
Wrapping up
Clearing your TikTok cache is a quick way to free up storage, boost performance, and enhance privacy—without affecting your saved videos or settings.
To optimize storage further, manage your drafts and downloads. A simple habit of clearing your cache monthly ensures a seamless TikTok experience without slowdowns or unnecessary clutter.