What Happens When You Clear Outlook Cache

Before we show you how to clear Outlook cache, you should first learn the implications of it. Clearing Outlook cache doesn’t affect your existing email inbox, calendar, or contacts. It won’t touch any of your personal data or attached files too. The option simply deletes small files collected by Outlook. The email app collects such files to save your recipient email addresses to show suggestions during email drafting and improve overall app performance. Sometimes, Outlook collects corrupt files on your Windows, Mac, or Android phone. You may run into Outlook problems in such cases. When you clear the Outlook cache, the application automatically creates them the next time you open it. It’s one of the proven methods to free up space on your desktop and fix performance issues.

Clear Outlook Cache on Windows

Microsoft is readying a new Outlook experience on Windows 11. But it’s far from over. If you face frequent glitches and issues on Outlook for Windows, use the steps below.

  1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run menu.
  2. Type the command below and press Enter.
  3. Open the RoamCache folder.
  4. Select all the files from the following menu. Right-click on them and click Delete. Open the Recycle Bin and completely remove all the cache files.

Clear Auto-Complete Cache

Outlook saves your recipient email addresses to auto-complete their email ID in the app. If you simply want to clear the auto-complete cache or stop the behavior, use the steps below.

  1. Launch Outlook on Windows.
  2. Click File in the top left corner.
  3. Select Options.
  4. Open Mail.
  5. Uncheck the Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines.
  6. You can also click the Empty Auto-Complete List option to delete the existing list. From now on, Outlook won’t save your recipient email addresses in the app.

Clear Outlook Cache on Mac

Microsoft offers a capable Outlook app on Mac too. Here are the steps to clear Outlook cache on macOS.

  1. Open Finder on Mac.
  2. Press Command + Shift + G and search for ~/Library/Caches. Hit Return.
  3. Right-click on a folder named com.microsoft.Outlook and move it to Bin. If you can’t find the Outlook folder in Finder, use a third-party app to clear the app cache. There is no drought of such capable apps on Mac. Among them, CleanMyMac X is our go-to pick due to its sleek user interface and neat add-ons to keep your Mac running smoothly. Here’s how you can use it to clear Outlook cache.
  4. Purchase CleanMyMac X from the official website. The software costs $29 as a one-time purchase.
  5. Open CleanMyMac X and select System Junk from the sidebar.
  6. Run a scan and check User Scanned Files. Hit Review Details.
  7. Uncheck everything except Microsoft Outlook.app Cache. Select Clean at the bottom. Download – CleanMyMac X

Clear Outlook Cache on Android

You can clear Outlook cache on Android too.

  1. Long-tap on the Outlook app icon and hit the (i) button.
  2. It opens the app info menu.
  3. Open Storage and cache.
  4. Tap Clear cache. After clearing the cache, you may notice slow Outlook performance initially. It’s an expected behavior since Outlook is collecting cache from scratch.

Enjoy a Smooth Outlook Experience

We recommend clearing the cache of your frequently used apps on desktop and mobile. It frees up some space and takes care of performance issues in no time. If you want to clear cache on Facebook Messenger, check our dedicated post to learn more.