How to Clear the Mac Mail App's Cache
Like most apps, the Mail app on your Mac has a cache. It uses this cache to save emails you've read recently, so it can load those emails faster the next time you need them.
But if you use the Mail app a lot, or have the app synced with a lot of different email accounts, that cache might balloon in size. When that happens, the Mail app will slow down. Luckily, it doesn't take much work to reset that cache.
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How to clear the Mail app's cache on your Mac
To clear the Mail app's cache, you're going to need to delve into your Mac's internal files, which are usually kept hidden.
1. Fully close the Mail app.
2. Open up a Finder window and click Go at the top of the screen, and then Go to Folder…
3. In the text box that appears, type ~/Library/Mail and then press the Return key. This will bring you to the folder that your Mail app stores all its data in.
4. Once there, find the folder that's named V, followed by a number. In current versions of macOS, this will likely be V8 or V9.
5. Delete this folder by right-clicking it and selecting Move to Trash.
This will delete all the emails that your Mail app has saved in the cache.
The next time you open the Mail app, it'll redownload your messages from scratch and recreate the "V" folder.
William Antonelli
Tech Reporter for Insider Reviews
William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped grow Tech Reference (now part of Insider Reviews) from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at wantonelli@insider.com. Read more Read lessncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyowcidnKxnpJqwqXvAqaelnV2irqq4jJyjnpmiYrCir8ee