How long are files usually kept in a browser’s cache? I’m wondering about the general population – how long would I need to wait to be reasonable certain that most people’s caches will refetch the file?
Share
Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
How long are files usually kept in a browser’s cache? I’m wondering about the general population – how long would I need to wait to be reasonable certain that most people’s caches will refetch the file?
It depends much on person, browser and settings.
Browsers usually reserve a certain amount of disk space, like 12 MiB, to this task. If a user stops using the browser it is indefinitely. If they uses the browser rarely, it will be until the expiration – either by internal policy or by HTTP headers. If they uses the browser heavily, it can be 12 minutes or even less.
I believe that it is hard to say ‘in general’ as I had a website on which 50% entries were from Firefox and 49% from Opera when IE at that point had over 75% market share. If the target audience of your site are users who use their browsers heavily, it can be very short. On the other hand if your site is only website visited it can be nearly never.