5 ways I speed up my Android phone beyond clearing system cache - all for free

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Smartphone launch season is back, and I'm finding myself answering the question of "Should I upgrade?" from family and friends all over again. Typically, I would advise them to clear the cache of their popular apps and services first. The system-wide wipe helps remove excess (and temporary) files, making devices run a little smoother.

Also: Slow Android phone? My 4-step refresh routine can speed it up fast

But sometimes, simply clearing your Android or iPhone cache isn't enough, as my mom's now seven-year-old Samsung Galaxy S10 is proof of. If you ever find yourself in a similar position, consider my other checklist of small tweaks that can make a big difference.

For this list, I'll be focusing on Android phones , with advice applicable to models from Samsung, Google, and Motorola.

Clearing your app cache is one thing, but getting them to run like new may also require clearing app data. In a sense, this is like uninstalling and reinstalling an app without going through the friction of the Play Store; it'll reset the service to its initial state, likely requiring you to log in again, and hopefully remove any lingering bugs and glitches.

You can clear any app's data by long-pressing the app on the home screen (or through the app settings), tapping "Storage," and then "Clear data."

It never hurts to pause or remove apps that you no longer use. Hibernating them can potentially speed up your phone -- and free up local storage. One way to do this is to go through your app drawer and remove services you use infrequently, if at all.

Also: Android backups count toward your 15GB Google storage limit now - how to check your settings

You can either hibernate them by opening the app settings and tapping "Force Stop," or uninstall them altogether. Force-stopping the app removes any background processing and activity until you reopen it.

It helps that most Android phones automatically detect infrequently used apps and hibernate them for you. Just make sure to enable the feature in your device's storage or power management settings.

One of the first things I do when setting up a new Android phone is reduce the animation scale in the phone's developer options. You can access the hidden menu by tapping your phone's build number (found on the system software page) seven times, or until the "Developer Options enabled" message appears.