Updated August 2026 · Now sourced to Google's own troubleshooting, update and storage pages, read on 19 August 2026 · one menu path corrected, and Google's own ordering noted where it differs from ours
Force stop the app first, because it costs you nothing and often works. Then clear the cache, because that throws away temporary files and leaves you logged in. Update the app next, because the bug may already be fixed. Only clear data if those fail, because that one signs you out. If several unrelated apps broke at once, fix the shared component instead. Data checked: 19 August 2026.
An app slams shut the moment you open it, or the "keeps stopping" message returns on a loop. Annoying, and usually fixable in a few minutes. The trick is to work in order, from the fixes that cost you nothing to the two that sign you out and wipe your settings. Most of the time the gentle ones work and you never reach the others.
One thing worth setting straight before the steps: when an app crashes, your phone is almost never broken. It is usually a corrupted cache, an out-of-date app, low storage, a permission the app needs and does not have, or the system killing the app to reclaim memory. There is also a case where the app is fine and something underneath it is not, which is why several unrelated apps sometimes die at once. That one has its own section, because nothing else on this page will fix it.
A note on the menu paths below, because it saves frustration. Google does not publish exact per-device steps for most of this. Its own troubleshooting page repeats the caveat plainly: "Settings can vary by phone. For more info, contact your device manufacturer." The paths here are the common ones and they match stock Android and recent Samsung One UI closely, but if a menu does not match your phone, use the search box inside Settings rather than hunting the tree. Google also notes that "some of these steps work only on Android 8.1 and up."
Google's order, and ours
Google's own troubleshooting page for an installed app that is crashing, will not open or will not respond, splits the work into two stages. Step one is "Restart and update": restart the phone, check for Android updates, update the app. Step two is "Check for a larger app issue": force stop the app, clear its cache and data, sync the device with Google servers.
This page deliberately uses a different order from Google's, and it is worth knowing why. Google leads with restarting and updating, which is sensible advice and often works. We lead with force stop and cache clearing because those cost you absolutely nothing and take seconds, whereas a system update needs Wi-Fi, charge and time. Both orders reach the same place. If you would rather follow Google's, restart the phone and check for updates first, then come back to the table. What neither order should do is start with the fixes that sign you out, which is why clear data sits near the bottom here.
Google also gives a piece of method that is easy to skip and genuinely useful: "After each step, restart your phone to see if it fixed the issue." Changing five things at once tells you nothing about which one mattered.
Always first. One try tells you what you need to know
A force stop kills the app's process, and if the app is stuck in a bad state that alone can fix it. It is worth being precise about why it beats swiping the app off the recent-apps screen, because the usual explanation is wrong.
Swiping from Recents kills the process too. Google's own API documentation treats the two as the same event. Its ApplicationExitInfo reference lists a single reason code covering both: a process "was killed because of the user request, for example, user clicked the 'Force stop' button of the application in the Settings, or removed the application away from Recents." So "swiping leaves bits running" is not the difference.
The real difference is what happens afterwards, and Google documents it in the Android 15 behaviour changes. Force stop puts the app into a stopped state meant "to keep apps in this state until the user explicitly removes the app from this state by directly launching the app," and, from Android 15, "the system also cancels all pending intents when the app enters the stopped state." That is the useful part for a misbehaving app: it stays stopped, and its queued alarms and background triggers are cleared, rather than the app quietly waking itself a minute later.
Open Settings, then Apps, tap See all apps if you need to, pick the app, then tap Force stop and confirm. Reopen it. This loses nothing: no login, no settings, no files. It is the right first move every single time.
If the app crashes again immediately, move on rather than repeating it. One attempt tells you what you need to know. Google's page adds the sensible endpoint here: "If problems continue after you've force stopped the app, you could need to contact its developer."
Crashing, laggy, or showing stale content
The cache is a pile of temporary files the app keeps so it can load faster. When one goes corrupt, the app can choke on it. Clearing the cache throws those away and nothing else. Google's description of the action is exactly one line: it "deletes temporary data," and "some apps may be slow the next time you open them" while they rebuild it.
In practice you normally stay signed in and your settings survive, because logins and preferences are stored as app data rather than cache. Worth knowing that Google does not actually promise that: its page says only what clearing the cache deletes, not what it preserves. The distinction almost never bites, but an app that kept its session token in the cache would be the exception.
Go to Settings, Apps, then the app, then Storage, which may read Storage and cache, and tap Clear cache. On Samsung phones the menu is usually labelled just Storage. Reopen the app. Reach for this when an app is laggy, showing stale or wrong content, or crashing for no obvious reason. Because it costs nothing, there is no reason to skip it, and if it works you are done.
One expectation to set, in Google's words: clearing cache is not a permanent fix for a full phone. Google notes you "temporarily free up space when you clear cached data. This is a short-term solution. Over time, cached data will build up again." So if you are clearing caches to reclaim storage rather than to fix a crash, you are treating a symptom, and the storage section below is the better answer.
Before anything drastic. Often the actual fix
A crash is often a bug the developer has already fixed. Google's flow for this is exact, so it is worth following as written: "Open the Google Play Store app. At the top right, tap the profile icon. Tap Manage apps and devices. Under Updates available, choose to update all apps or a specific app."
While you are there, update Android System WebView and Google Chrome too, since a great many apps lean on those to show web content inside themselves. Both update constantly: at the time of this check, each carried a Play listing updated the same day.
There is a second kind of update most people never look at, the Google Play system update, which patches core components separately from your main Android version. Google's own update page documents where to find it: open Settings, tap About phone or About tablet, then Android version, where you will see your Android version, Android security update, Google Play system update and build number. To actually install pending software, Google's path is Settings, then System, then Software updates.
Two prerequisites Google states that catch people out. Before updating: "Connect to Wi-Fi" and "Charge your device to at least 75%." Updates that appear to be stuck are often just waiting on one of those. Google adds that if a download starts and does not finish, "your device will automatically try again over the next few days," so a failed update is not usually something you need to chase.
You are down to a few hundred megabytes free
Apps need free space to write temporary files, save state and update themselves. When storage is nearly full, apps start failing in ways that look random. Check under Settings, then Storage, to see what is using space; Pixel phones surface "Free up space" suggestions in the same place, and Google keeps a guide to freeing storage for the details.
Clear out videos you have already backed up, offload large games you are not playing, and delete downloads you forgot about. Then retry the app.
Our rule of thumb, not Google's: aim to keep a couple of gigabytes free. Google publishes no free-space threshold for healthy operation, so treat that figure as newsroom experience rather than a vendor specification. What Google does document is the failure mode: it has a dedicated path for a "not enough space available" notification during updates, which is the clearest sign that storage is your actual problem rather than the app.
Crashes on a specific action, like opening the camera
Some apps crash the instant they try to do something they are not allowed to do. A camera app with no camera permission, a maps app with no location, a messaging app with no storage access: the app asks, is refused, and falls over rather than handling the refusal gracefully.
Go to Settings, Apps, then the app, then Permissions, and compare what is granted against what is denied. Turn on the ones the app genuinely needs for the thing you are trying to do.
Grant only what makes sense. A wallpaper app has no business reading your contacts, and refusing that will not break it. If a permission request looks wrong for what the app is for, that mismatch is worth taking seriously rather than tapping through, and our guide to removing malware covers what to do when it is more than a bug.
Only after a cache clear failed
This is the one to be careful with. Clear data, sometimes labelled Clear storage, resets the app to how it was the day you installed it. You will be signed out. In-app settings, preferences and any progress not backed up online are gone. For a game with no cloud save that can mean starting over; for a banking or messaging app it means signing in and setting it up again.
It does not touch photos, videos or files saved to your phone's gallery or general storage, which live separately. But anything the app kept inside itself is wiped.
So why do it? Because a deeply broken app state that survives a cache clear usually does clear with a data wipe. Reach for it when the app keeps crashing after you cleared the cache, sticks in a sign-in loop, refuses to sync, or reopens broken after an update. Before you tap: know your login details, and be sure anything you care about is backed up. The path is Settings, Apps, the app, Storage, Clear data.
The case nothing else fixes
If several unrelated apps start crashing in the same hour, your email, your bank, a shopping app, all closing within seconds of opening, the problem is almost certainly not those apps. It is a shared layer beneath them, and no amount of clearing individual app caches will touch it.
Two usual suspects. Android System WebView, which Google's own Play listing describes as "a pre-installed system component from Google that allows Android apps to display web content," carries 4.3 stars from 9,415,371 reviews and 10B+ installs. Google Play services, which an enormous number of apps rely on to run in the background, shows 4.3 stars from 44,547,722 reviews and 10B+ installs on its Play listing. Both were last updated on the day of this check, which is the point: these components change constantly and independently of your Android version.
This is not hypothetical, and the best evidence is in Google's own source history. On 23 March 2021 a wave of Android apps began crashing worldwide. The cause was not the apps and not anyone's phone: it was a configuration pushed to WebView. Google's emergency commit that night says so in its own words, disabling the offending code because it "is known to put WebView into a bad state from which it cannot recover," landing the change, in the committer's phrasing, "as a mitigation." The test note is the giveaway about the trigger: "locally installed this and it correctly ignores the bad seed (no crash)." A bad seed is a server-pushed setting, which is why the failure arrived for people who had changed nothing.
The practical lesson is the one this section opens with. When many unrelated apps break at once, looking harder at any individual app is the wrong move.
The fix runs in that order. First open the Play Store and update Android System WebView and Google Chrome, since a newer version often already contains the correction. If no update is offered yet, clearing the cache for Google Play services is the safe next step: Settings, Apps, See all apps, Google Play services, Storage and cache, Clear cache. That clears temporary files without signing you out of anything.
Rolling WebView back is a genuine option and a genuine trade-off, so treat it as a short-term measure. You can uninstall WebView updates from its Play Store page to return to an older build, which is a well-known workaround when a bad release is breaking apps. Understand what you are doing, though: WebView renders web content inside other apps, so an older version means older security fixes. Let it update again once a corrected release lands, rather than leaving it rolled back and forgetting.
One app still broken after everything above
Before you do this, know that reinstalling costs you the same as clearing data: you will be signed out and local settings will be gone, so have your account details ready. It is the second fix on this page that loses anything.
If a single app still misbehaves after everything above, uninstall it and install a fresh copy. That clears a corrupted install and gives you the current version in one move. Touch and hold the app icon and tap Uninstall, or remove it from Settings and Apps, then reinstall from the Play Store. For most apps with cloud accounts, your real data returns when you sign in.
A restart of the phone before reinstalling is worth a try first, since it clears memory and stuck background processes that no per-app setting will reach. If the trouble is broader than one app, our guides to a slow phone and battery drain cover the neighbouring symptoms, the Play Store guide covers a Store that will not cooperate, and if the phone will not start at all, that is a different problem.
Yes. Clearing the cache only removes temporary files the app built to load faster. You stay logged in, your settings stay, and your saved photos and files are untouched. The app rebuilds the cache next time you open it. It is the safest fix on the list, so try it before anything heavier.
Clear cache removes throwaway temporary files and costs you nothing. Clear data resets the app to a fresh install: you are signed out and any in-app settings or unsynced progress are erased. Neither deletes photos or files saved to your phone's general storage. Use clear cache first, and only clear data if the crash survives it.
Because the fault is probably not in those apps but in a component they share, most often Android System WebView or Google Play services. Google describes WebView as "a pre-installed system component from Google that allows Android apps to display web content," so a bad release can affect anything that displays web content inside itself. Update WebView and Chrome from the Play Store first.
Google documents it under Settings, About phone or About tablet, then Android version, where it is listed alongside your Android version and security update. To install pending software, Google's path is Settings, then System, then Software updates. Menu wording varies by manufacturer, so search inside Settings if it does not match. Checked 19 August 2026.
Google publishes no threshold, so treat any specific number as a rule of thumb rather than a requirement. Ours is to keep a couple of gigabytes free. The reliable signal is behavioural: if you are down to a few hundred megabytes and apps are failing in ways that look random, storage is very likely the cause.
It works as a short-term measure and it is a well-known workaround, but understand the trade-off. WebView renders web content inside other apps, so running an older build means running older security fixes. Try updating WebView and Chrome first, since a corrected release is often already available, and if you do roll back, let it update again once the fix lands.
No. Clear data wipes what the app stored inside itself, including your login and in-app settings, but photos, videos and files saved to your phone's gallery or general storage live separately and are not touched. That said, anything an app kept only inside itself and never synced is gone, which is why it is worth checking before you tap.
If one app alone is still broken after a reinstall, Google's advice is to take it up with whoever made it: "if problems continue after you cleared the app's cache and data, you could need to contact its developer." If instead many apps are affected, or the phone itself is unstable rather than one app, the problem is a level up and our guides to a slow phone and to a phone that will not turn on are the better starting points.
Checked 19 August 2026: this page gave confident menu paths for a troubleshooting sequence without citing a single source, so it is now checked against Google's own pages for app troubleshooting, updates and storage. The substance held up well. The safe-to-risky ordering, the cache-versus-data distinction and the point that several apps crashing at once means a shared component are all sound, and the cache and data explanations are more useful than what Google publishes for consumers, which treats "clear the app's cache and data" as a single step. Three things have changed. The menu path for the Google Play system update was wrong: this page had it under Security and privacy, then System and updates, whereas Google documents finding it under About phone, then Android version, and installing pending software under System, then Software updates. Google's own two-stage ordering, which leads with restarting and updating rather than force stopping, is now stated alongside ours with the reason for the difference, rather than this page implying its order is the only one. And the free-space rule of thumb is now labelled as ours, because Google publishes no such threshold. Two of Google's own prerequisites for updating have been added, connecting to Wi-Fi and charging to at least 75 per cent, along with its caution that clearing cached data is "a short-term solution." One further correction, to a justification rather than a fact: this page said force stopping beats swiping an app off the recent-apps screen because swiping "often leaves parts running." Google's own API documentation contradicts that, logging both actions under a single reason code for a process "killed because of the user request." Force stop is still the better move, but for the reason Google documents separately, that the app stays in a stopped state and its pending intents are cancelled. The claim that clearing the cache keeps you signed in has also been softened to what it is, a reliable expectation rather than something Google states. A fix table, an "Our answer" capsule, a dated verification box and this changelog are new. Corrected within the day: this rewrite initially dropped the previous version's claim that a shared-component failure "has happened before on a large scale," on the grounds that no Google source could be found for it. Half of that was over-cautious. The incident is real and documented in Google's own Chromium source history, in an emergency commit dated 23 March 2021 that disables code known to put WebView "into a bad state from which it cannot recover"; that account is now quoted and linked. What remains removed, because it could not be verified, is the separate claim that Google shipped fixes for such failures "more than once." Clearing the cache for Google Play services is also presented as a common step rather than as Google's documented advice, since Google's consumer help pages could not be reached to confirm the latter.
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