When to Clear Your Cache — and When You Definitely Shouldn’t
When to Clear Your Cache — and When You Definitely Shouldn’t Last updated: 2026/02/06 Many users delete their browser cache the moment something “feels wrong.” But cache plays an important role, and deleting it too often can slow things down or even break certain web apps. As someone who builds Web tools and has manually cleared Safari cache hundreds of times while debugging, here’s a practical guide on when you should clear your cache — and when you absolutely shouldn’t. When You SHOULD Clear Cache 1. When a Website Update Isn’t Showing If HTML, CSS, or JS changes aren’t appearing, cache is almost always the reason — especially on iOS Safari, which holds onto files aggressively. Icons not updating CSS changes not appearing JavaScript still running old code For developers: clearing the cache for only the affected domain is the most effective approach. 2. When a WebClip (Home Screen Icon) Refuses to Update iOS uses a separate “shadow cache” for WebClip icons, which is NOT cleared by normal cache deletion. To fix this, go to: Settings → Safari → Advanced → Website Data → Delete the specific domain. This method has a 100% success rate during development. 3. When a […]