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 its advisable to clear browser cache and try again.
If you do not want to clear the cache and quickly check the updates version of the webpage then you can also use Incognito mode in Google Chrome (Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + N). However, clearing 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 page, errors while loading a web page etc.
In addition to clearing the cache, you can optionally clear cookie information which stores setting for a website, Information about your Sign-ins to different websites, past website visits information, your internet browing activity etc.
Let’s see how you can clear Cache in Google Chrome
- Launch Google Chrome and Click on Three vertical dots
on the top right hand corner of the browser. - Click on More tools then click on Clear browsing data.
You can also use a shortcut to directly launch Clear browsing data window by press Ctrl + Shift + delete after launching Google Chrome.
Click on Advanced Tab.
Select Time Range – 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 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 Google Chrome browser cache.
| Tip |
|---|
| You may want to keep the Browser history and Download history information as it provides history of your visited websites and downloads. If thats the case then you can uncheck these two checkboxes. Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files should be checked and then click on Clear data. |
Keep the rest of the checkboxes at their default selection.
You can visit Clear browsing data window again by using a shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Delete and check that Browsing History is showing none. Cached image and files, cookies etc. are deleted.
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 profiles then the cache location for your profile will be different. You need to find your profile folder under User data folder and inside that Google chrome user Profile find 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
New Location of Google Chrome Cookies file on your PC
Google Chrome now stores cookie information in Cookie file under %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Network folder.
Unable to clear Google Chrome Cache
If you have tried to clear Google Chrome Cache using clear browsing data window 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 Cache folder.
Steps:
- Close all Google chrome browser windows.
- Go to Location %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache (If you want to delete cache of another Google Chrome user profile then find cache folder under that location).
- Delete Cache Folder.
- Re-Launch Google Chrome browser.
- Cache folder will get re-created again automatically in the background.
Disadvantages of Clearing your 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 next time onwards.
- If you delete all Cookie Information and other site data which 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 one time hassle but as the information is saved again, from next time onwards browser will remember this data and populates from saved cookie information.
More Information
For More Information: https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2109.txt
Conclusion
Google Chrome Cache should be cleared time to time to reduce the number of issues 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 images and files and cookie information is enough to fix all issues which are related to internet browser cache.
