How to Clear Cache on iPad Without Deleting the Wrong Data

Open Settings, choose Apps > Safari, then tap Clear History and Website Data. This removes Safari history, cookies, cached files, and other browsing data, so websites may ask you to sign in again even though passwords stored in the Passwords app remain available.

1. Save unfinished work in open Safari tabs.
2. Open Settings from the Home Screen.
3. Select Apps, then Safari. On older iPadOS versions, Safari appears directly in the Settings column on the left.
4. Tap Clear History and Website Data.
5. Choose a time frame if one is available, select the tab-group options you want, and tap Clear History to confirm.
6. Return to Safari and reload the website that was failing.

That is the broad reset. Apple explains the current options in its Safari history and cache instructions↗, including a useful distinction that is easy to miss: clearing Safari history, cookies, and browsing content does not erase AutoFill information.

A gray button usually means there is no history to remove. Screen Time web-content restrictions can disable it too, so check Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions before blaming Safari.

One broken website does not justify wiping every saved session. Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced > Website Data, find the individual domain, swipe left, and tap Delete; its stored content disappears while unrelated websites keep their cookies and login state.

Open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, select Delete Browsing Data, and choose Cached Images and Files. Leave Passwords and Autofill Data unselected unless you mean to remove those records, because Chrome presents several very different kinds of stored information in the same dialog.

1. Open Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu, then Delete Browsing Data. In some Chrome versions, this command sits under History.
3. Tap Time Range and choose the period covering the loading problem.
4. Select Cached Images and Files.
5. Select Cookies, Site Data only if you accept being signed out of websites.
6. Deselect Browsing History, Saved Passwords, and Autofill Data if those items must remain.
7. Tap Delete Browsing Data, then confirm.
8. Reopen the affected page.

The labels matter. Cached images and files are disposable downloaded copies used to speed up browsing, while cookies can hold a saved session, site preferences, and shopping-cart content; removing both is a reasonable fix for a page serving stale content, but clearing only the cache causes less disruption.

Force-closing Chrome is different. Swiping it away in the app switcher stops the running process, but it does not automatically delete browser content, cookies, or history.

Offload the app first if you need space but want to preserve its documents. Delete and reinstall it only when retained data appears to be causing the fault, or when offloading does not recover enough storage.

1. Open Settings > General > iPad Storage.
2. Wait. The app list and storage figures may take a while to finish loading.
3. Select the troublesome app.
4. Compare App Size with Documents & Data.
5. Tap Offload App if the application itself is large and its documents must stay.
6. Tap Reinstall App when the control becomes available, or select the retained icon on the Home Screen.
7. If the fault remains, return to the storage page and choose Delete App. Confirm only after checking that important content is synced, exported, or backed up.

The distinction is blunt. Apple's iPad storage documentation↗ says offloading frees the space occupied by an app but keeps its documents and data, whereas deleting removes the app and its related data, which can include local projects, downloaded media, game saves, preferences, and login state when the developer has not synced them elsewhere.

Check inside the app before doing either. Controls commonly sit under Settings, Storage, Data, Downloads, or Manage Storage, and a streaming app may let you remove several gigabytes of downloaded episodes without touching its account information.

Messaging, music-production, and drawing apps deserve extra caution. Their Documents & Data figure may represent conversations, samples, or artwork rather than disposable cache files.

Restarting is worth one try when an app is frozen or a background process is stuck, but it is not a general cache purge. It does not erase Safari history, Chrome cookies, or an app's persistent documents.

Skip cleaner apps. iPadOS isolates each app's storage, so a third-party utility cannot roam through every private directory and clear everything; use the browser controls, the app's own storage menu, or Settings > General > iPad Storage instead.