Find out how to delete the Facebook app cache on your iPhone or iPad to fix several issues and also free up local space.
The Facebook app itself is about 400 MB, but its documents & data size can grow manyfold (you can see it in iPhone settings; steps below). This happens due to cached files and other locally stored data on your device, which improves loading speed and overall performance. But since these are temporary files, you can safely clear them to free up space on your iPhone.
Secondly, deleting the Facebook app’s cache can also help if it doesn’t load all content quickly, the app stutters as you scroll through it, some content, like photos, fails to load, video playback is laggy, and so on.
Now, unlike Android, where pretty much every app supports clearing the cache in storage settings, there is no such system-wide option on iOS.
That’s why some app developers, like Slack and Spotify, have added a dedicated clear cache option. But Facebook is yet to do that. Therefore, to clear its app cache, you’ll have to do a fresh install. Let me walk you through all the steps.
Clear Facebook app cache on iPhone or iPad
1) Open the iOS Settings app and tap General.
2) Tap iPhone or iPad Storage, and wait for it to load.
3) Select Facebook from the list of applications.
4) You can now see the app size and the documents & data size for this app. Tap Delete App to remove everything (don’t use the Offload App option, as it will only delete the app, not its local data). Rest assured, your Facebook profile, photos, videos, posts, likes, and everything else will remain as they are because these are saved on Facebook’s servers, not your phone.
5) Now, restart your iPhone or iPad.
6) Install the Facebook app again from the App Store.
7) Log in to the app (if prompted), and you’ll find your profile as before. But now you should have recovered a meaningful amount of free space on your iPhone and also fixed any app issues. Remember that the app cache will be rebuilt as you use Facebook on your iPhone. And you may need to repeat this process after a few weeks or when the app doesn’t work properly.
Clear the in-app browser cache of the Facebook browser
When you tap a website link on Facebook, it opens in the in-app browser (and doesn’t automatically open Safari or the default browser). This behavior is consistent with other social media sites like X, which also have their own built-in browser.
If you want to clear the cache of Facebook’s in-app browser, here’s how to do that:
1) Open the updated Facebook app on your iPhone, tap the hamburger icon in the top right corner, followed by Settings and privacy > Settings.
2) Tap Browser under the Preferences heading.
3) Tap the Clear button next to Cookies and cache and confirm.
Also, check out: 10 tips to secure all your social media accounts