If an app is not behaving the way you expect it – white screen when you open it, freezes every now and then, etc a basic troubleshooting fix is to clear the app cache or app data or both.
Clear app cache vs app data
App cache is the temporary data stored on your device that is used by an app in doing its tasks. Over time, apps may accumulate a lot of temporary data in its app cache which could cause issues like slow responses, freezing up, or would just not start.
Clearing the cache app means deleting the temporary data so that the app can work on a clean space.
App data means the settings, preferences or account information stored by the app in order to work properly. Clearing the app data is just like resetting it to default settings as if the app has just been installed.
You would need to provide your login information, give or deny permissions to access your data or device components, all over again after clearing the app data. So you may need to take note of the settings of an app before you clear its app data.
How to clear cache app or app data
- Go to the Settings Menu.
- Click on Apps.
- Find the All tab or All apps (if it doesn’t show you all apps by default)
- Choose an app that you want to clear the cache or data.
- Click the button Clear Cache. For devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or newer you’ll need to click on Storage and then Clear Cache.
- To clear the app data instead of the cache, simply select Clear Data/Storage instead.
Once done, you can relaunch the app and see if it works better. Again, you may need to re-enter your account information and give it permissions upon launch.
Hopefully this will fix your app troubles.