Mac is a very advanced computer that takes care of many processes and itself automatically. But this does not mean that you can not interrupt these processes and help out your Mac – this will ensure that your Mac will run smoothly for years and years to come.
One of the most effective ways to keep your Mac clean and running as fast as possible is a cache cleanup that is performed consistently.
Here we want to explain how to perform different types of cache cleaning on your Mac: user caches, system caches, Safari, Firefox, and Chrome caches. These old files do no good; they just keep cluttering your macOS from the inside, so we are going to go in more detail about removing all those unnecessary files.
Table Of Contents
Removing User Caches
User catches are the ones that make the most clutter in the insides of your precious Mac, so these should be the ones that you should be most concerned about and willing to get rid of them first.
If you can save lots of time by unlocking your back by simply activating Bluetooth and wearing the Apple Watch, that means you want your Mac to function fast as well. It is both fascinating and scary, but some apps and tools can create more than gigabytes of cache files. Therefore these files are taking up space of your CPU memory and making your Mac run slower.
To do the user cache cleanup manually, you need to find a hidden Library folder in your Mac’s user folder. This hidden library contains all the cache files that have been created by the applications you have or had in the past on your Mac.
We recommend deleting all of the files that you can find in these two folders: /Library/Caches and ~/Library/Caches. Just remember that you only need to delta the files that are inside those folders but not the folders themselves. And to be sure that all the cache files are gone for good, go to your Trash Can and empty.
Deleting System Caches
System cache files are created by your current macOS, no matter the version you are using. And there is not much influence that you have on the cache files – they have nothing to do with the apps that you use and how often you use them. Although these files usually take less space than user cache files do.
If possible, it is recommended to use an automated tool for deleting system cache files, like CleanMyMac, to make sure everything goes according to the plan, and you don’t accidentally delete files you actually need for the normal functionality of your Mac.
But if you decide to still go ahead and try the manual way, you need to go to ~/Library/Caches and click the Enter button to enter the files inside the folders. These files should be named com.apple, and we strongly recommend backing them up just in case. Go into these folders and delete the files. After, clear your Trash Can.
Getting Rid of Safari Caches
To delete cache files and cookies on your Safari browser, open the browser itself. Now, click on the tab that says “Advanced” and choose the “Show Develop” menu. After, on the menu, go to the “Develop” option, and simply choose Empty Caches.
You can also delete Safari caches by using the Terminal, but this option requires programming skills and is more difficult than this method.
Eliminating Firefox Caches
After you open your browser, click on the hamburger icon on the top right. Choose the Preferences option from the menu. Click Privacy & Security, find Cookies and Site Data at the end of the list, hit Clear, and click Clear Data option.
Now, make sure you check all of the Cached Web Content and then click Clear to delete all the cache files on your browser.
Saying Goodbye to Chrome Caches
We are going to explain the easiest and fastest way to remove the cache files from your Chrome browser without any struggle. After you have opened the browser, click the three-dot icon that is located on the upper right corner of the browser. Click on the Settings option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the menu until you see an option that says “Advanced”. You can also use the Command + Shift + Delete command to perform the same action. Then just click on “Clear browsing data”, deselect all and choose only Cached images and files. Now click Clear data, and you are finished.