How to Clear YouTube Cache and Downloads on Your Phone

To clear YouTube's cache on Android, go to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Storage & cache > Clear cache; on iPhone there is no per-app cache button, so you either delete saved downloads inside the app or offload YouTube via Settings > General > iPhone Storage > YouTube > Offload App. This guide is for anyone whose phone is suddenly low on space and who suspects the YouTube app is quietly hoarding cached videos and offline downloads.

TL;DR

  • On Android, clear YouTube's cache in one tap: Settings > Apps > YouTube > Storage & cache > Clear cache.
  • On iPhone, iOS has no "clear cache" button; remove Downloads inside the app, then Offload App to reset the cache without losing your account.
  • Saved offline videos (Downloads / Premium downloads) are usually the biggest chunk, not the cache itself.
  • Clearing cache is safe and never deletes your watch history, subscriptions, or playlists, those live on Google's servers.
  • A storage tool like Cleanor can show you that YouTube is the culprit and help you reclaim the photos and duplicates eating the rest of your space.

Why does YouTube take up so much storage?

The YouTube app stores two different things on your phone. The first is the cache: thumbnails, partial video buffers, and temporary data the app keeps so feeds load fast. The second is Downloads, full videos you (or YouTube Premium's Smart Downloads) saved for offline viewing. People are often shocked to see YouTube using several gigabytes, and almost always it is downloads, not cache.

A quick way to see the split before you touch anything:

Data type What it is Roughly how big Safe to clear?
Cache / temp Thumbnails, buffers A few hundred MB Yes, always
Downloads Offline videos Can be several GB Yes, but you lose offline copies
App itself The installed app ~300-500 MB No, keep it
Account data History, subs, playlists Stored on Google Not on your phone

If you want a deeper breakdown of these mystery categories across your whole phone, see which app is using the most storage.

How do I clear YouTube cache on Android?

Android gives you a real cache button, so this is the fast path:

  1. Open Settings > Apps (on Samsung: Settings > Apps).
  2. Tap YouTube in the list. Use the search box if it is buried.
  3. Tap Storage & cache (Samsung labels it Storage).
  4. Tap Clear cache. This is instant and safe, it removes only temporary files.
  5. Avoid Clear storage / Clear data unless you are ready to sign back in, it resets the app to a fresh install.

Clearing cache will not delete your downloads or sign you out. The app simply rebuilds its temporary files the next time you open it. For the difference between these two buttons, read what is app cache and when is it safe to clear.

How do I clear YouTube downloads and cache on iPhone?

iOS does not let apps expose a "clear cache" button, so YouTube on iPhone handles this differently. Start with downloads, which are the real space hog:

  1. Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture (bottom right).
  2. Tap Downloads (visible if you have Premium or saved offline videos).
  3. Swipe left on a video and tap Delete, or tap the menu (three dots) > Delete from downloads.
  4. To clear the in-app cache without losing your login, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > YouTube and tap Offload App.
  5. Reinstall by tapping the app icon again, your downloads are gone but your account stays intact.

Offloading is the iPhone equivalent of "clear cache" because it removes the app's stored data while keeping documents and your sign-in. The heavier option, Delete App, wipes everything including downloads, then reinstall from the App Store. If your iPhone storage looks mysteriously full beyond YouTube, see what is system data on iPhone and Android.

How do I stop YouTube from re-filling my storage?

Clearing once helps, but Smart Downloads and large download quality settings refill the space within days. Tighten these settings:

  1. In the app, tap your profile picture > Settings.
  2. Tap Downloads.
  3. Turn off Smart downloads if you do not want YouTube auto-saving videos overnight.
  4. Lower Download quality to Standard (or Low) instead of HD, HD downloads can be 4-5x larger.
  5. Turn off Download over Wi-Fi only awareness is not enough; periodically open Downloads and delete what you have already watched.

Doing this once or twice a month keeps YouTube from creeping back to several gigabytes. If clearing space is part of why you are doing this, the 10% rule on whether freeing space speeds up your phone explains how much headroom actually matters.

Is it safe to clear YouTube cache and downloads?

Yes. Here is the honest breakdown of what each layer does:

What the OS does natively: Both Android and iOS already manage app caches automatically. iOS purges "purgeable" cache when storage runs critically low, and Android lets you clear cache per app on demand. Your watch history, subscriptions, playlists, and Premium membership are all stored in your Google account, not on the phone, so clearing local data never touches them.

What Cleanor adds: Cleanor does not reach inside YouTube to delete its cache, no third-party app on iOS can do that, because Apple sandboxes every app. What Cleanor does is show you, clearly, which apps and which photo/video files are actually eating your storage, so you stop guessing. It is strongest at the things that usually dwarf any app cache: thousands of duplicate and similar photos, screenshots, and large videos in your camera roll.

What it cannot do: No legitimate cleaner can delete another app's internal cache on iPhone, and you should distrust any iOS app that claims it can. On Android, the system clear-cache action is the real mechanism, an app just triggers it. For the wider truth about this category, read the truth about cleaner apps and whether they are safe to use.

FAQ

Does clearing YouTube cache delete my watch history or subscriptions?

No. Your history, subscriptions, playlists, and likes live in your Google account on Google's servers, not on your phone. Clearing the cache only removes temporary local files and the app rebuilds them. You stay signed in and nothing in your account changes.

Will clearing YouTube cache log me out?

Clearing the cache will not log you out on either platform. On Android, only Clear storage / Clear data signs you out and resets settings, Clear cache does not. On iPhone, Offload App keeps your login, while Delete App removes everything and requires signing in again.

Why does my iPhone have no "clear cache" button for YouTube?

iOS does not give apps a system-level cache button the way Android does. Apple expects apps to manage their own temporary data and the OS to purge it automatically when space is tight. To force a reset, use Offload App in Settings > General > iPhone Storage, which clears the app's data while keeping your account.

Do YouTube downloads count against my phone storage or my Google storage?

Offline downloads are saved directly on your phone's local storage, not in your Google account or Google One quota. That is why a few HD downloads can take several gigabytes off your device. Deleting them inside Downloads frees that space immediately and does not affect any cloud storage you pay for.

Free up the rest of your phone's space

Clearing YouTube's cache and downloads is a quick win, but on most phones the real space hogs are photos and videos, not app caches. If you want a clear picture of what is actually filling your device and an easy way to act on it, Cleanor shows your storage by category and surfaces duplicate and similar photos in a couple of taps. For a full walkthrough of reclaiming space the safe way, start with our guide on how to clean up phone storage.

Want to keep going? Two cornerstone reads pair well with this one: what should I delete first when storage is full and duplicate vs similar photos: what to delete to free up space.