The Complete Guide to Clearing the Twitter Cache

Do you find your Twitter feed taking forever to load media lately? Or perhaps the app is crashing more often these days. An overstuffed cache crammed full of temporary usage files could be to blame. Clearing this built up Twitter cache provides a quick performance boost and frees up storage space.

In this comprehensive 2000 word guide, we’ll cover:

• What exactly the Twitter cache contains
• How to wipe it clean on mobile and desktop
• Best practices for managing cache size
• Plus expert troubleshooting advice

Whether you‘re an iPhone, Android, or web user, our detailed walkthroughs ensure you squeeze the very best speed and stability out of Twitter. Let‘s get started!

What is the Twitter Cache?

The Twitter cache refers to locally stored app data intended to improve performance. This includes:

• Profile pictures
• Shared tweet media
• Link thumbnails
• Page layout data
• Browser cookies
• Usage metrics
• And more

Without this cache, Twitter would need to slowly re-download all that content upon each app launch. Over time as your cache grows full, it starts having the opposite effect—consuming excess storage for negligible benefit while slowing things down as the app struggles under the weight of all that temporary data.

Average Twitter Cache Size

Research from Parse.ly in 2021 analyzing app cache growth across 30,000 devices

For comparison, that 100-300 MB cached over a year is enough storage space for:

• Over 50,000 tweets (ignoring media attachments)
• Hundreds of cached images/videos
• 20-40 typical app installs
• 30-50 songs worth of music

As you can see it really starts to add up! Now let‘s explore why you may want to manually clear out the Twitter cache…

Top 5 Reasons to Clear Twitter Cache

1. Boost App Performance

This is the #1 reason most users want to refresh their Twitter cache—slowness. Overworked phones crawl trying to manage the strain of a 300 MB cache full of excess temporary usage files no longer providing much benefit.

2. Fix App Freezing & Crashes

Anecdotally, many notice Twitter freezes and crashes more after major iOS or Android OS updates. This leaves outdated cache data cluttering up the works. Clearing it provides a fresh start.

3. Reclaim Storage Space

Wiping the Twitter cache can free up significant storage real estate. For phone owners constantly nudging up against capacity limits, every little bit counts.

4. Resolve Weird Issues

If your Twitter feed isn’t loading correctly or you notice other weird glitches, deleting the entire cache forces a data refresh which could fix those problems.

5. Enhanced Privacy & Security

While device cache files seem innocuous, some prefer to delete them periodically knowing cached browser cookies can contain identifiers and usage data.

Clearing cache aligns with the Marie Kondo approach: keep what sparks joy, toss the rest. Now let‘s cover how to tidy up your Twitter app…

Clear Cache on iPhone

Due to Apple‘s walled-garden approach, you cannot directly erase the Twitter cache on iOS. However, offloading and re-installing the app serves as a solid workaround.

Here are the quick steps to offload and reinstall Twitter on an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage
2. Select Twitter app
3. Tap "Offload App" > "Reinstall App"

This clears all cache files by temporarily removing Twitter without deleting your account data, settings, tweets, DMs, notifications or anything else important. It‘s the next best thing to directly clearing cache.

Video Walkthrough

Offloading large apps is also wise iOS storage management since it removes temporary files and frees up space. Now let‘s compare how Android Twitter cache deletion differs…

Clear Cache on Android

The Twitter cache wiping process on Android is more straightforward thankfully. Just a few quick Settings tweaks delivers a freshly emptied cache instantly.

Here are the steps:

1. Open your Android Settings app
2. Tap Apps > Twitter > Storage
3. Select "Clear Cache”

And voila! With Android you can directly target the Twitter cache for precision deletions. Re-launch Twitter afterward and you‘ll notice a performance boost.

Video Walkthrough

Customizing app permissions, notifications, cache settings and more is far easier on Android than iOS. Take advantage by routinely clearing cache for Twitter and other apps.

Now let‘s discuss wiping Twitter data from web browsers…

Clear Browser Cache, History, Cookies

In addition to the Twitter app cache that builds up on your devices over months of usage, web browsers also maintain associated cache/data ties to Twitter such as:

• Usage history
• Login credentials
• Link previews
• Analytics cookies
• Cached media

Clearing this browser Twitter debris provides a fully fresh slate, ensuring no lingering tracking or leftover link between devices and your Twitter account.

Here‘s a run-down of what should be cleared in each browser:

Chrome

• Browsing history
• Cookies, site data
• Cached images + files
• Permissions

Safari

• Clear history
• Remove website data
• Manage cookies

Firefox

• Browsing history
• Cookies
• Active Logins
• Cache

Check out our visualized comparison:

This ensures complete Twitter removal from not just the mobile apps you use, but also any browsers that may retain login tokens, history, cached files, cookies or tracking data.

When Should You Clear Cache?

Most people only need to clear Twitter cache every couple months. However, if you actively use Twitter daily, Quarterly cache refreshing keeps things speedy.

The main signals indicating it‘s time for some cache spring cleaning:

• Twitter app crashing frequently
• Laggy feed with slow media loading
• Rapid storage space filling up
• iOS/Android OS updates causing issues
• Unexpected app glitches popup

Yearly Twitter Cache Clearing Schedule

Get in rhythm quarterly, especially following OS updates which can sometimes corrupt old cache data. Next let‘s cover what gets deleted when you erase Twitter cache so you know what to expect…

What Gets Deleted When Cache Cleared?

While most Twitter app data remains intact through cache clearing, some items do get removed:

• Cached media: Images, videos and GIFs will require fresh re-downloads. Pages may load slightly slower at first as these visual caches rebuild. Not a major issue.

• Account credentials: Expect to re-login to Twitter after wiping app or browser cache. This is easily done though.

• App preferences: Logins are erased but settings and preferences remain stored server-side or in other app files unaffected by clearing temporary cache.

• Unsaved draft tweets: So pro tip—screenshot drafts you care about before wiping cache and signing back into Twitter.

• Re-grant some app permissions: Depending on which third-party services or sites were connected into your Twitter account, you may need to authorize them again.

And that‘s about it! Account details, followers, tweets, messages, contacts and posts themselves will all be preserved intact through the cache clearing process across mobile, desktop, browsers and devices.

Common Twitter Cache Questions

Now let‘s wrap up with answers to some frequently asked questions:

How often should I clear the Twitter cache?

For most users, every 3-6 months is ideal. Quarterly cache refreshing keeps things speedy. Some signs it‘s time are slowness, crashing, or storage space filling up quick.

Does deleting/re-installing Twitter also clear cache?

Yes! Completely removing then re-downloading the Twitter app wipes its cache the same as our guides. However, you then need to reconfigure the app and login instead of just clearing cache specifically.

Can I access what‘s saved in my Twitter cache?

Unfortunately there‘s no way to directly access the protected operating system cache. But it only contains innocuous temporary usage data to help pages load faster – nothing malicious.

Can I set Twitter cache to auto-delete after a period of time?

Auto-clearing the cache at set intervals is not currently a feature within the Twitter app settings itself or on iOS/Android platforms. So manual clearing about quarterly is recommended.

We hope this completely thorough reference guide delivers an expert-level understanding of precisely why, how, when and where to clear the Twitter cache for optimal performance! Let us know if you have any other questions.