Google Play Services Data: How to Check, Manage & Clear
Managing Data Stored by Google Play Services
Your smartphone accumulates a significant amount of information through app usage, website visits, and search queries. While clearing the cache and data for individual applications removes this stored information, it necessitates a separate process for each app.
However, applications like Gmail, Search, Chrome, and the suite of Google Play apps are integrated within Google Play Services. This allows for centralized management of their caches and data. This article details how to manage data stored by Google Play Services on both Google-branded devices and Samsung devices.
On Google Devices
To begin, on a Google device – for example, a Nexus 7 – access the settings menu by swiping down from the top-right corner of the notification bar and selecting the “Settings” button.
Within the “Device” section of the “Settings” screen, select “Apps.”
The Apps screen is divided into three sections: “Downloaded,” “Running,” and “All”. Navigate between these sections by swiping the headings. Locate the “Google Play services” app under the “Downloaded” section – which is the default view – and tap on it.
On the “App info” screen for “Google Play services,” tap “Manage space” to access options for managing your Google Play Services account storage.
The “Google Play services storage” screen will appear. To manage the search data associated with your Google Play apps, tap the “Manage search data” button located under “Search Data.”
The “Search Data” screen displays a list of apps and their respective space usage. To clear the cache or data for a specific app, simply tap on the app’s name in the list.
On the “App info” screen, you can clear the app’s data by tapping the “Clear data” button within the “Storage” section.
A dialog box will appear, warning you that all of the app’s data will be permanently deleted. This action is generally not recommended unless you are resetting the app or uninstalling it.
NOTE: Resetting an app or uninstalling it are the only times this action is recommended.
If you confirm your intention to delete the data, tap “OK.” Otherwise, tap “Cancel” to retain the existing data.
To clear the cache for the selected app, tap “Clear cache” in the “Cache” section. No confirmation dialog will appear; the cache size displayed above the button will simply decrease.
Certain apps that integrate with Google Drive store files locally to enhance performance and enable offline access. To remove these files, tap the “Clear” button under “Local Drive storage.”
A “Clear all data” dialog box will appear, warning you about potential data loss if changes haven’t been uploaded to the Google Drive server. If you are prepared to delete these files, tap “OK.” This can be helpful when encountering synchronization issues with Google Drive.
To clear all data stored by “Google Play services” collectively, tap “Clear all data” under “Total storage.” A warning dialog will appear, indicating that all data for all “Google Play services” apps will be permanently deleted.
NOTE: This comprehensive data deletion is not generally recommended unless you are resetting or uninstalling apps.
Confirm your decision by tapping “OK,” or tap “Cancel” to preserve the existing data.
NOTE: If you utilize an Android Wear device, use the “Manage wearable storage” button to manage data replicated to your wearable.
Once you have finished clearing cache and/or data for “Google Play services,” tap the “Back” button on your device to return to the “App info” screen.
To clear the cache for all Google Play services apps at once, tap the “Clear cache” button on the “App info” screen for “Google Play services.”
On Samsung Devices
To access the “App info” screen for “Google Play services” on a Samsung device, swipe down from the notification bar at the top of the screen and tap the settings (gear) button in the upper-right corner.
On the “Settings” screen, select “Applications.”
The “Applications” screen will appear. Tap “Application manager.”
From this point forward, the procedure mirrors that of a Google device.
Furthermore, you can also clear your search and app history within the Google Play Store, your Google search history, and your browser history in popular Android browsers.