Understanding force stop and cache clearing on Android: Is it necessary?

Given that most of us use Microsoft Windows regularly, we’re all familiar with that life-saving Ctrl+Alt+Del shortcut that we use to kill wayward apps. The Android equivalent of this process is Force Stop and Cache Clearing.

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The main reason why there isn’t a Windows-like Task Manager shortcut is that the Android OS is designed on a different platform than Windows, and has a different approach to handling apps.

Why and when to use ‘Force Stop’

One can think of an app like a package of instant noodles. It’s a package of data and instructions that needs to be processed in a specific manner, just like your noodles contain ingredients and a recipe that you need to follow.

Sometimes, the CPU in your phone can get stuck when processing an app. This can be for any number of reasons including bad code, corrupt data, and more. When it happens, the app freezes i.e. it stops responding. This can be inconvenient in that you can’t access the app, but on top of that, the app will be using up resources even in its frozen state, leading to problems with system stability and slowdowns. 

Android is usually good at shutting down such errant apps, but when it can’t we need to step in and manually disable the app.

To Force Stop an app, simply head to Settings > Apps > Select the relevant app > Tap ‘Force Stop’. The app will now be forcibly stopped and restarted.

Why and when to use ‘Clear Cache’

Any running app needs some space to temporarily store data while it’s running. When you open a webpage in Google Chrome, for example, the site data including images, text, cookies, etc. need to be stored while you’re on the page. This temporary storage is called a cache.

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Over time, the size of this cache keeps increasing. Apps are meant to store data in cache temporarily, but sometimes they may choose to keep that data for longer to improve performance or because of a coding error. Whatever the case, sometimes this cache can grow so large that it occupies an inordinate amount of space on your phone.

While you will not need to manually delete cache very often, if you find an app acting up or that your phone is suddenly running out of storage, you might want to check on your app cache and delete the cache of the errant app. To do this, you head to Settings > Apps > Select the relevant app > Tap ‘Clear Cache’.

The process varies slightly between devices. Please note that clearing the cache in certain apps essentially resets them and you could lose login information, save data in games, and more, causing a great deal of inconvenience.

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‘Force Stop’ and ‘Clear Cache’ are extreme measures that only need to be taken when an errant app is creating a significant amount of trouble while you’re using your device. Normally, Android keeps track of such apps and disables them or clears cache by itself as needed. It’s good to be aware of such tools as Force Stop and Clear Cache, but do exercise caution when using them.