Apps
Signal Desktop
Signal Desktop stores Chromium network disk cache files in Cache/Cache_Data and, on Windows, a GPUCache used by Electron for rendered assets and GPU-accelerated resources. These caches hold things like HTTP response bodies, image and sticker thumbnails, attachment previews, compiled rendering data, and GPU shader-related blobs so chats, media, and interface elements load faster. Kudu removes only those disposable cache files when they become oversized or stale, without touching message history, linked-device data, contacts, settings, or encryption keys.
Why clean Signal Desktop?
- Corrupted Chromium disk cache entries can make attachment previews, profile photos, or stickers fail to load even though the messages themselves are still present
- An oversized Cache_Data folder keeps old downloaded media responses around, so Signal Desktop uses far more disk space than expected and may feel sluggish when opening busy conversations
- Stale cached web assets after a Signal Desktop update can cause missing interface graphics, blank panes, or a slow first launch while Electron falls back and rebuilds them
- On Windows, GPUCache data from a previous graphics driver version can be invalidated, leading to black flashes, blank conversation areas, or flickering until the GPU cache is regenerated
- Bad cached attachment responses can leave you repeatedly seeing failed or incomplete previews for images and files until the local cache is cleared and fetched again
- When the cache directory contains too many old entries, scrolling media-heavy chats can trigger extra disk churn and noticeable pauses as Electron searches and evicts cached items
What gets cleaned
Cache paths Kudu targets
Windows
%AppData%/Signal/Cache/Cache_Data |
%AppData%/Signal/GPUCache |
macOS
~/Library/Application Support/Signal/Cache/Cache_Data |
Linux
~/.config/Signal/Cache/Cache_Data |
Frequently asked
Common questions about Signal Desktop
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