By ShowMeStepByStepPublished Updated
Based on a video by Payette Forward.
Your iPhone's System Data section keeps growing because Safari, Chrome, and social apps cache everything to feel faster. The result is 10-50 GB of stuff you can't see. Apple's own support article on this is vague and most YouTube videos try to upsell you on cleanup software you don't need. Here's the real list - all built into iOS, all free, takes about 5 minutes.
Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Wait for the bar at the top to load, then scroll all the way down past every app to System Data. If it's over 10 GB, your caches are out of control. Tap System Data to see Apple's vague 'caches, logs, and other resources' line - that's what we're cleaning up.
Settings > Safari > scroll down > Clear History and Website Data. Pick 'All History' for the time range, leave 'Close All Tabs' enabled (recommended), and tap Clear History and Data. This is the single biggest cache reduction on most iPhones.
Step 2 doesn't catch everything. Go back to Settings > Safari, scroll all the way to the bottom, tap Advanced. At the top of that screen tap Website Data. You'll see exactly how much each site has cached - tap Remove All Website Data to wipe it. Long-time Safari users often have 500MB+ stored here.
Tip
Re-clear this every couple months. The number rebuilds fast - even if you cleared it yesterday, it'll be back to 100+ MB within a day of normal browsing.
If you use Chrome at all, this matters - Chrome's cache on iOS can be huge. Open Chrome, tap the 3-dot menu in the bottom-right, scroll down, tap Clear Browsing Data. Make sure 'Cached Images and Files' is checked (the others are optional). Tap Clear Browsing Data, then confirm.
A restart flushes a chunk of temporary RAM-cached data. On Face ID iPhones: hold Volume Down + Side button until 'slide to power off' appears. On Touch ID: hold the Side button. Slide to shut down, wait 10 to 15 seconds, then hold the Side button again to power back on.
Tip
This isn't permanent - the caches rebuild over the day. Pair it with the Safari/Chrome clears for the deepest cleanup.
Settings > General > iPhone Storage > tap any app from the list > Offload App > Offload App. The app icon stays as a faded placeholder, your documents and login state are kept, but the app bundle (the heavy part) is wiped. Tap the icon later to reinstall and pick up exactly where you left off.
Tip
Best candidates: games you played once, social apps you opened twice, anything with a downloaded library inside it.
Open the App Store. Tap any of the bottom tabs - Today, Games, Apps, Arcade, or Search - 10 times in a row. Just keep tapping the same tab. There's no visible feedback, but the cache is cleared. Apple has never documented this; it's been a known iOS trick for years.
Each social app stashes media. The biggest offenders: Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat. For Twitter: tap your profile photo > Settings and Support > Settings and Privacy > Accessibility, Display, and Languages > Data Usage. Tap Media Storage > Clear Media Storage. Then Web Storage > Clear All Web Storage.
Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat have similar Settings > Data sections - poke around if you have one of those apps; clearing the media cache often frees 200MB+.
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