What happens if I clear Facebook data?

Table of Contents Show

How to clear your Facebook app cache
Clear an overloaded cache to improve Facebook performance
What to Know
What Happens if You Clear Cache in the Facebook App?
How Do I Clear My Cache and Cookies on Facebook?
Is It OK to Clear Data on Facebook?
What do I lose if I clear Facebook data?
Does clear data delete everything?
Should I clear Facebook data on my phone?
Is it OK to clear data?

As you use the Facebook app, it stores files to reference later. The data is stored in the app’s cache, saving you time performing specific actions. However, you might want to clear the Facebook app cache due to storage concerns or if you’re having problems using the app. Here’s how to delete the Facebook app cache.

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QUICK ANSWER

To clear the Facebook app cache, go to Settings-->Apps and notifications-->See all apps-->Facebook. Tap on Storage and cache and then select Clear cache.

How to clear your Facebook app cache

On your phone, go to Settings–>Apps and notifications–>See all apps and tap Facebook. Open Storage and cache and select Clear cache.

If you’re clearing the cache for troubleshooting, you might want to tap Clear data. Keep in mind that the steps might differ depending on your device. You are looking for the Apps section in the phone’s settings menu.

Read more: How to find and add friends on Facebook

FAQs

Clearing the cache resets the app so that it will remove your login information and other temporary files. You will need to sign in to your Facebook account again.

Clear an overloaded cache to improve Facebook performance

Updated on April 24, 2022

What to Know

Clear your Facebook app from within via Settings & privacy > Settings > Permissions > Browser.
If you're using a web browser, you can clear the browser’s cache to get rid of Facebook's temporary data files.
Your user profile, photo albums, post history, and friends lists are not affected when you clear the cache.

This article explains how to clear the cache for your Facebook account.

What Happens if You Clear Cache in the Facebook App?

As you use Facebook (Or most social media platforms and web browsers, really), the various posts you make or interact with, photos you view or upload, and videos you share or watch are stored in the background to make everything load faster the next time you check these posts and pieces of media out. Over time, that data can build up and will start to take up more and more storage space, or possibly even cause Facebook to perform slower.

Clearing your cache removes that data that’s being stored in the background, effectively giving you a clean slate the next time you use the service. This may result in posts taking slightly longer to load up at first (because with no stored data it’s functionally like you’re viewing them for the first time again).

How Do I Clear My Cache and Cookies on Facebook?

Clearing your cache from the Facebook app itself is very straightforward and requires only a few steps.

If you’re using Facebook from a web browser (either on your phone or on your computer), you’ll need to clear your browser’s cache in order to clear Facebook’s.

Open the Facebook app and tap Menu icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen (it looks like three lines).
Scroll down and tap Settings & privacy.
Tap Settings.
Scroll down to the Permissions section and tap Browser.
Tap Clear under Browsing Data to clear your app’s cache.

Is It OK to Clear Data on Facebook?

It is completely okay to clear your Facebook cache. In fact, it’s recommended you do so semi-regularly (roughly once a month or so) as it will keep your storage space relatively free, and help to prevent Facebook from slowing down.

Clearing the cache is also often the remedy for issues like posts not displaying properly, updated profiles not appearing to update, and more. This is because some stored data may have become corrupted for one reason or another, and clearing those corrupted files out will force Facebook to replace them.

Your Facebook profile will not be affected by clearing the cache—all of your albums, lists, photos, posts, and so on will not be deleted or removed.

If you use Facebook on a browser and clear your browser’s cookies (which is separate from your browser’s cache), you’ll need to log back into your Facebook account.

FAQ

How do I clear notifications on Facebook?
To clear a single notification, first, go to the website or open the app and select the Notifications (bell) icon. Then, select the three-dot menu. Select Remove this notification to delete that one. You'll have to clear all of your notifications individually, but you can choose Turn off these notifications to stop additional ones from coming in. Go to Settings > Notifications to disable specific types of alerts (for example, "People You May Know."
How do I clear my Facebook search history?

You can delete Facebook searches both in a web browser and in the app. On the website, go to Account > Settings & Privacy > Activity Log > Search History and click Clear Searches in the upper-right corner. In the app, select the Search icon (magnifying glass) > Edit > Clear Searches.

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What do I lose if I clear Facebook data?

Many users worry that clearing data for Instagram and Facebook apps will delete their accounts. However, that's not true. You will only be logged out from your accounts on these apps by clearing data. That's because the data from such social media apps is stored in the cloud and not on your phone.

Does clear data delete everything?

Clear cache: Deletes temporary data. Some apps can open slower the next time you use them. Clear data storage: Permanently deletes all app data. We recommend trying to delete from inside the app first.

Should I clear Facebook data on my phone?

The cache is a collection of small files that Facebook stores to improve user experience on mobile. Sometimes the app collects corrupt cache data and leaves you with issues like feed not loading pictures, notifications not working, and more. You should clear the Facebook cache on Android and iPhone.

Is it OK to clear data?

You should clear cached data on Android periodically, depending on how heavily you use your Android device. Obsessively clearing your Android cache would be counterproductive, since the point of saving temporary files is to make your regular app experience smoother.