When you visit any web page via any internet browser for example Google Chrome, the information about the webpage is temporarily stored on your PC. This information contains Images, Audio Files, HTML pages, CSS styles, Javascript Files, etc. Cache saves bandwidth and loads web pages much faster during your next website visit.
If you are facing any issues with your internet browsing activity and the pages are not loading correctly or you see an outdated version of the website/web page, then it’s advisable to clear your browser cache and try again.
If you do not want to clear the cache and quickly check updated version of the webpage then you can also use Incognito mode in Google Chrome (Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + N). However, clearing the cache can help in resolving overall browser issues and can be tried as a troubleshooting step while fixing some of the common browser-related issues like outdated web pages, errors while loading a web page, etc.
In addition to clearing the cache, you can optionally clear cookie information which stores settings for a website, Information about your Sign-ins to different websites, past website visits information, your internet browsing activity, etc.
Table of Contents
Steps to clear cache in Google Chrome
- Launch Google Chrome and Click on Three vertical dots in the top right-hand corner of the browser.
- Click on More Tools then click on Clear browsing data.
Press Ctrl + Shift + delete to launch Clear browsing data page in Google Chrome.
- Click on the Advanced Tab and then select the Time Range for which you want to clear the cache. If you want to clear all cache information then select All time. All time is preferable and recommended selection and I generally go for this option most of the time.
- Select the checkboxes next to the options available to Clear / delete browser-cached information on your system.
- Browser History – These are the sites you have visited from the Google Chrome browser and are saved in the browser history for you. If you want to clear all browser history then select this checkbox.
- Download History – Download content history saved in your Google Chrome Browser.
- Cookies and other site data – Cookie Information about the website like login information, website settings, etc.
- Cached Images and files – When you visit websites, Images and files are cached on your system automatically to speed up the next load of the website. select this checkbox to clear this information from the Google Chrome browser cache.
You can uncheck Browser history and Download history checkboxes If you want to only delete Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
- Keep the rest of the checkboxes at their default selection.
- You can visit Clear browsing data window again by using a shortcut
Ctrl + Shift + Deleteand check that Browsing History is showing none. Cached images and files, cookies, etc. are deleted.
What is the location of Google Chrome Cache on your PC?
Google Chrome Cache Location:
Google Chrome stores cache information at %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache location. This is the default location of Google Chrome cache.
However, if you have created more than one Google Chrome user profile then the cache location for your profile will be different. You need to find your profile folder under the User data folder and inside that Google Chrome user Profile you will find a Cache folder.
%LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\<google chrome profile name>\Cache
Example: %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Cache
What is the new Location of Google Chrome Cookies file on your PC?
Google Chrome now stores cookie information in the Cookie file under %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Network folder.
How to delete Google Chrome cache folder in Appdata
If you have tried to clear Google Chrome Cache using the browser settings and it failed or it finishes successfully but still shows the same cache size. In that case, you can close all Google Chrome browser windows and simply delete the Cache folder.
Steps to delete Google Chrome Cache folder:
- Close all Google Chrome browser windows.
- Go to Location %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache (If you want to delete the cache of another Google Chrome user profile then find the cache folder under that location).
- Delete Cache Folder.
- Re-launch Google Chrome browser.
- The cache folder will get re-created again automatically in the background.
Disadvantages of clearing Google Chrome browser cache
- After you have deleted/cleared all browser-cached information from your system. Next time when you try to load any website it will be a bit slower to load as the cache system will build again from scratch. Once the information is cached, it will load fast from the next time onward.
- If you delete all Cookie Information and other site data that deletes your saved website sign-in information, then you will have to sign in to all the websites again and the website forms will not remember any saved information. Again this is a one-time inconvenience but as the information is saved again, from next time onwards browser will remember this data and populate it from saved cookie information.
More Information
For More Information: https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2109.txt
Conclusion
Google Chrome Cache should be cleared from time to time to reduce the number of issues that arise while browsing the internet. While clearing the cache you should decide if you need Browsing and Download history or not before deleting it completely.
If you do not want to delete browsing history and download history then uncheck the checkboxes next to it as by default they are selected. Even though you do not delete browsing and download history, clearing the cached image files and cookie information will fix browser-related issues most of the time.
