Why you needn’t bother with apps to clear RAM on your smartphone

April 17, 2016 07:07 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 01:00 pm IST

There are many RAM clearing apps out there that offer a miracle cures for your memory problems. Once installed they do a great shows with wheels turning a colours changing, with your RAM apparently breathing free after being choked by Facebook and Whatsapp.

But do they actually make a difference?

These cleaning apps themselves end up taking too much space in your smartphones and often slow down the performance. There are many unnecessary pop-ups or notifications and on top of that it drains the battery.

The latest Android operating system is designed to use up most of the RAM in your smartphone. And that is not a bad thing. RAM is a really fast memory, unlike your SD card or hard drive, and can react faster to your demands. Leaving RAM unused is in fact a waste.

After the system, graphics and other essential stuff are loaded, the phone fills up the remaining RAM with the apps which are frequently visited and keeps them open in the background for quick reaction the next time you open the app. The memory management in Android is now good enough to optimise RAM usage when you switch between apps. It will automatically close apps if it requires space.

There are also settings which can guide the OS on how much RAM to use, leaving the rest free.

RAM can also be cleared manually, although it will result in resetting and restarting of running apps.

To clear RAM

1. Hold down your home button for a few seconds.

2. On the screen that appears, tap the pie chart button.

3. On the next screen, tap the button saying RAM

4. Next screen gives you the option to clear RAM.

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