Your Mac is a wonderful device and allows you to do great things. To help load websites faster it uses something called cache. This is technical data your Mac remembers and loads instantly when you revisit a site. For the most part, cache is a good thing but there can be times when it becomes a hindrance, making your Mac laggy and unusable.

If you’re noticing that some websites are taking their time to load, it could be that the cache files are outdated and slowing it down. So what to do about it? The easy answer is to clear the cache files from your Mac. And here is how you do that.

Clearing the Cache

Cache is stored under three categories. They are:

  • Browser cache
  • System cache
  • App or user cache

You can clear cache manually or use automated tools. In all instances, it is a good idea to back up your files in case something goes wrong.

Manually Clearing App (User) Cache

To manually clear cache follow the steps below:

  • Open Finder
  • Select Go>Go Folder
  • Type ~/Library/Cache and press Enter. You’ll find a list of folders.
  • Do not delete the folders but go into each one and delete the files.

Deleting System Cache

There is a danger with system cache that you may delete vital system files. So always back up before you manually delete cache of this kind.

To delete system cache simply:

  • /Library/Cache (Note, this is the same as app cache deletion but without the ‘~’)
  • Again don’t delete the folders but the cache files inside. Careful not to delete system files.
  • Empty trash.

Clearing Internet Cache on the Mac

Internet cache deletes your internet history as well as freeing up memory. So win-win!

Each browser has different ways of deleting the internet cache. Let’s start with Safari.

Safari

  • Go to preferences
  • Select Advanced tab
  • Enable show develop menu
  • Go to Develop section in the menu bar
  • Click Empty Caches

Chrome

  • Click on Chrome’s setting icon and choose Settings
  • Click History and then Clear browsing data
  • Ensure cached images and files are selected
  • Choose ‘the beginning of time from the drop-down
  • Click ‘Clear Browsing data’ to purge it all

Firefox

  • Click History>Clear Recent History
  • In the Time range drop-down select Everything
  • Click Details and select Cache only
  • Click Clear Now

Automating Cache Clearing

If this sounds like a bit of a hassle you can use tools to automate the tasks. There are several good apps that can do the job. They work simply by scanning all your folders and bringing the cache files into one place. You can then review and remove with a few clicks. This saves you time, leaving you free to get on creating on your Mac.

If you’ve noticed a dip in your Mac’s performance, clearing your cache files is a good first step. It’s relatively easy to do especially with a dedicated app. With fewer files to handle, your Mac becomes faster and more of a joy to use.