Hot answers tagged

18 votes

How can I make an Android app "forget" that it installed on my phone before?

tl:dr; addressing OP's question - sorry, no way AFAIK. From Android 10 onwards normal apps can't access IMEI number. Revised answer with additional inputs from Izzy (thanks) How do apps (Google or ...
beeshyams's user avatar
  • 39.8k
10 votes

Clear cache for specific site on Chrome for Android?

From the overflow (3 dots menu) Settings → Site settings → tap All sites → choose your site →clear and reset From Chrome help Cached images and files: Chrome remembers ...
beeshyams's user avatar
  • 39.8k
8 votes
Accepted

Are offline google maps used device wide?

Unfortunately, there is no cross-app sharing of map information. Firstly, there is a privacy concern - If Google allowed other apps to know your Google Maps offline areas (or infer them, for that ...
IanS's user avatar
  • 206
6 votes

What is Dalvik cache?

Found very insightful information on dalvik-cache at stackoverflow from reputed sources(Google's employees who worked on Dalvik virtual machine platform). Below is the summary of it, more from ...
AADAndroidEnthusiasts's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Is there any benefit to wiping Dalvik Cache after rooting my phone?

As you mentioned you're using Magisk for root, I'm assuming you're running on Android 5 or up. The answer would be no. You can safely ignore the "Wipe Dalvik Cache" after OTA updating and re-rooting. ...
iBug's user avatar
  • 7,585
4 votes

Clear Caches from ADB?

If you have root access, Using adb you can clear cache. rm -r /data/dalvik-cache rm -r /cache/dalvik-cache
Seo Shark's user avatar
4 votes

How can I make an Android app "forget" that it installed on my phone before?

I don't know exactly how each app implements this but I wold assume that they use the ANDROID_ID. Each app gets an ID that does not change. ANDROID_ID is a random number generated on first boot after ...
Robert's user avatar
  • 18.5k
3 votes

Android App Cache Security

The "cache" of an app is just a directory inside that app's data directory in /data/data, so there are no special security implications compared with the app's general data. The cache directory has ...
Dan Hulme's user avatar
  • 34.8k
3 votes

Use sd card as internal storage and stop writing to internal memory for good

Eureka! Here is how I've done it: SD card partition and format Unsure about which partitions I would have been able to relocate, I decided to recreate my sd card with the exact same layout of my ...
Claudio's user avatar
  • 231
3 votes

Does an Android Factory Reset also clear the cache partition?

Yes, a factory reset clear's the cache, dalvik cache, along with the user data. <string name="factory_reset1">Wipes Data, Cache, and Dalvik</string> The information on factory reset is ...
Bo Lawson's user avatar
  • 2,558
3 votes
Accepted

`Wipe Cache` option missing in Google Pixel 2! (A/B device)

Your device doesn't have /cache partition Reasons /Cache partition is not required to be as big on devices which have A/B partition catering to seamless updates since it doesn't need to store OTA ...
beeshyams's user avatar
  • 39.8k
3 votes
Accepted

How can I sort applications by cache size?

Elixir 2 offers this feature. Install and launch that app, go to Applications, click the four horizontal line at the top, and choose Cache size under Sort By. Note: tapping on Cache Size causes my ...
Firelord's user avatar
  • 24.7k
3 votes
Accepted

DNS queries are cached permanently, how to reliably clear DNS cache on Android 7+?

HOW DNS QUERY AND CACHING WORKS? Mostly I find that subsequent DNS lookups are always just for mymovies and never again for mymovies.home NOTE: Just to make sure, check that .home search domain is ...
Irfan Latif's user avatar
  • 19.7k
3 votes

How can I make an Android app "forget" that it installed on my phone before?

You might need to use a completely different Google account to sign into your phone. It would be interesting to see if a friend is able to log in to their account using your phone; but before risking ...
MonkeyZeus's user avatar
2 votes

Clear cache and data of Download Manager

In Android 9, go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Info. Select 3 dots in upper-right and Show System. Download Manger should show in list now.
Gilligan's user avatar
  • 121
2 votes
Accepted

Cache size exceeds phone capacity

I fully agree the storage screen shows "incoherent data" (more cache used than there's storage available), so it must have miscalculated. As your device is already complaining about "low storage", I ...
Izzy's user avatar
  • 90.5k
2 votes

How can I make the Gmail app consume less space?

In Gmail's menu open Settings, tap an e-mail account, and decrease the "Days of mail to sync" setting. You can also hit "Manage labels" there to stop syncing certain labels altogether if desired. ...
Matthew Read's user avatar
  • 50.5k
2 votes
Accepted

How can I force a complete new sync of my Google contacts to my phone?

What I did: I removed my Google account from my phone, then deleted all data of the Apps: Contacts, Contacts Storage and Google Contact Sync, rebooted the phone and added my Google account again. ...
Peter T.'s user avatar
  • 203
2 votes
Accepted

Can I safely delete .facebook_cache folder if I don't have a Facebook app installed?

Quoting from Mathew Read's answer here Cache is temporary files. One example might be thumbnails for contacts in a social media app. These can be cleared without any major effect — the app can just ...
beeshyams's user avatar
  • 39.8k
2 votes
Accepted

How long does it usually take to erase cache?

Why flash cache? Just erase or format would be enough. Comment made me curious - care to share for what reason erase is unusable? Either way it should only take a few seconds. Try flashing some ...
Andy Yan's user avatar
  • 9,474
2 votes
Accepted

Is WebView localStorage stored in the app cache?

The app cache helps the app run faster. Every time an app loads some data (like images and so on) it gets stored in the app cache. If the user opens the app again, this data is not reloaded. It is ...
papakias's user avatar
  • 539
2 votes

What is CCleaner for Android referring to by "Hidden Cache"?

Other apps mention that as well, e.g. the cleaners of Avast and AVG – so it seems this isn't specific to the app. I would guess they refer to the apps' "private cache" (i.e. a cache directory inside ...
Izzy's user avatar
  • 90.5k
2 votes

Exclude an Android/data folder from cache cleanup

There is not an Android built-in feature to exclude a folder from scan. Hiding a folder may be useful but in this case the folder will be created again. So using an app called Clean master lite you ...
CheckYourSec's user avatar
2 votes
Accepted

How can I identify the cache if I see its name? One name is suspicious

First, I have no affiliation with the app SD Maid. Without root the app SD Maid can show you the emulated path and name of its public cache of user installed apps. Within the apps settings menu Go ...
Bo Lawson's user avatar
  • 2,558
2 votes

Should I clear my Gallery Data?

Data store by the gallery apps are thumbnails it generates to preview the pictures and videos. The Gallery app can be considered as a movie theater where you go to watch a movie (in your case, viewing ...
Reddy Lutonadio's user avatar
2 votes

What exactly will clearing storage cached data do?

It will clear the caches of all your apps. It's the same data you can clear by tapping the Clear cache button on the App info page for each app in Application Manager, except this clears the cache for ...
Adi Inbar's user avatar
  • 1,393
1 vote
Accepted

How to clear cache of Android's built-in podcast player?

Settings -> Apps -> Search 'Google PodCast' -> Storage -> Remove data / cache (I have Android version 9)
Sangwoo Oh's user avatar
1 vote
Accepted

Recover photos from Google Photos cache

You're best option is to try recovery software such as Recuva or EaseUS Data Recovery on one on the SD cards which once contained the deleted photos. The chances of recovering your data this way are ...
Sam Denty's user avatar
  • 578
1 vote

Can I safely delete .facebook_cache folder if I don't have a Facebook app installed?

I had this directory, too. I discovered pictures in it (everything except the journal file) are created when a map thumbnail is opened in Whatsapp after giving it storage permissions. You can ...
Scrooge McDuck's user avatar
1 vote

Can't install apps!! OUT OF SPACE error!! HTC DESIRE 626

(from an Android 4.4.4 user on a Nexus 7 2013) I began to have this problem after installing the Xposed module "XInstaller". I uninstalled that module and everything went back to normal. Important: ...
Hypocritus's user avatar

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