One common issue you may face with apps is a message on your phone which states that they are being ‘cleaned’.
If you are wondering what this means then you have come to the right place because that’s exactly what we’re going to be looking at today, in addition to examining how you can make them stop doing this. Let’s get started.
Facebook app says cleaning – What it means
If you get a message on your phone that says that the Facebook app – or any other app for that matter – is being cleaned, then it basically means that your phone is doing everything it possibly can to restore some storage space to your device.
If an app is being ‘cleaned’ then it means that any additional data that has been gathered while you’ve had the app is being deleted.
If the data was left to build up too much, then you may eventually find that you can’t open Facebook. So, cleaning apps makes sure there’s more available device storage space on your device.
While this can be annoying because it will make the app temporarily unusable, it could be a blessing in disguise due to a couple of reasons.
Firstly, this will help to remove any bugs on the Facebook app, meaning if you were previously encountering glitches then they will be gone once the ‘clean’ has been completed.
Secondly, storage space will be freed up meaning that you will be able to download more apps or store more photos/videos on your device.
One of the main downsides to the Facebook app being cleaned is that it may well mean that when you next go to use Facebook, you will have to enter in all of your login details again.
This is because it clears your temporary files and stored cache files. These temp files are saved to make tings quicker when you revisit a website or app.
This won’t be a recurring issue though, so once you’ve done this once you will be all set to continue using the Facebook app like you always have done.
Facebook app says cleaning – how to prevent this from happening
The best way to prevent the Facebook app from ‘cleaning’ is to ensure that you keep on top of you available storage space.
It’s very easy to forget that your device has limited storage space considering how much they can now handle, and for many people you probably won’t get close to hitting your limit, but for others it can be a concern.
Your phone should automatically notify you when you are getting close to reaching your limit, however by this point it is probably too late and app cleans have probably already taken place. Instead, you should manually keep tabs on your available storage by taking the following steps:
On Android
- Navigate to the settings app.
- Select either ‘device care’ or ‘device management’. This will depend on the make and model of your Android device.
- Scroll down until you see storage and then select it.
- You will now be brought to a page which shows how much storage space you have left. From here, you will be able to make the decision about how you can free up some space, whether it be deleting certain apps or clearing the cache on Facebook.
On iOS
- Navigate to the settings app.
- Select ‘General’, followed by ‘iPhone Storage’.
- Similarly to the Android page, you will be able to see on this page how much storage space you have left. Your iOS device will also offer up recommendations to you on how you can free up some space, allowing you to execute these recommendations with a simple click of a button. Alternatively, you can take matters in to your own hands and go on an app deleting spree.
How to manually ‘clean’ an app
Now that you know what it means when you receive a message saying that an app is being cleaned, you may well want to know how you can manually go about doing this.
If you use an iOS device, then the process is as simple as deleting the app from your device and then going to the App Store to redownload it again.
You could also do this on an Android device, or you could follow these steps:
- Navigate to the settings app.
- Select either ‘device care’ or ‘device management’. This will depend on the make and model of your Android device.
- Scroll down until you see storage and then select it.
- Select ‘apps’.
- Select the app that you wish to ‘clean’ and then select ‘clear cache’. This provides the exact same functionality as a clean.
Cleaning apps is pretty straightforward, and though the cleaning process can be a little frustrating at times, it’s worthwhile.
Conclusion
We’re all well aware of how powerful mobile phones and tablets are these days, to the point where we are almost view them as unbreakable.
We are prepared to download an endless amount of apps on to them, with no consideration for how that might impact the devices performance. The more storage you take up on your device, the higher the risk of app issues.
To conclude, if you receive a notification to say that the Facebook app is being cleaned then the first thing you should do is head to the storage section of your device and free up some space.
Failing that, then you may well just have to accept that a selection of your apps will go through an automatic clean to deal with the demands you are putting on your device’s available storage.
