“App keeps stopping” on Android: what it means and how to fix it
An app that “keeps stopping” is crashing the moment it opens (or seconds in). Android is deliberately vague, but the causes cluster tightly: a corrupted cache, the app and its data disagreeing after an update, a broken system component the app depends on, or the phone running out of room. Work through them in order — most cases end in the first three steps.
The fix, in order
- Restart the phone. Genuinely first — a wedged process or a half-applied update often clears with a reboot.
- Clear the app's cache (not its data). Settings → Apps → the app → Storage → Clear cache. Cache is disposable working files; clearing it loses nothing but the crash's favourite fuel. Try the app again.
- Update the app — and Android System WebView. In the Play Store, update the crashing app. Then search the Play Store for Android System WebView and Google Chrome and update both: when WebView breaks, dozens of unrelated apps crash together (this caused a famous worldwide incident in March 2021). If updates just installed and crashes began, the reverse applies — uninstall updates for WebView (Settings → Apps → Android System WebView → ⋮ → Uninstall updates) until a fixed version ships.
- Check storage. A phone with a few hundred MB free makes apps fail in strange ways. Settings → Storage: free up space (a gigabyte or more) and retest.
- Clear the app's data (the reset button). Same screen as step 2 → Clear storage / Clear data. This resets the app to first-run: accounts and local content in it will need setting up again — that's why it comes after cache.
- Uninstall and reinstall the app from the Play Store. This replaces a damaged install wholesale.
- Install system updates (Settings → System → System update) and repeat step 3 — app, WebView, Chrome, and the OS move as an ecosystem.
Skip the “phone cleaner” and “crash fixer” apps. They can't repair another app's data or Google's components; at best they duplicate the cache-clearing step above, at worst they're adware. Every fix on this page is built into Android and the Play Store.
Read the pattern — it names the culprit
- Many apps crashing at once → WebView/Chrome component (step 3). Almost diagnostic.
- One app, right after its update → the update vs its old data: clear data (step 5) or wait for the developer's patch.
- One app, always at the same action (opening a specific file/photo) → that content is corrupt, or the app has a bug with it; report it with the steps to reproduce.
- Crashes everywhere, plus slowness and heat → storage full or failing hardware; free space first, then a factory reset as the last resort (after backup).
If it still happens
Boot into Safe Mode (hold power → long-press “Power off” → Safe mode): if the app works there, another app is interfering — security/overlay/cleaner apps are the usual suspects; remove recent additions. If a single app still dies after reinstall and data clear, the developer needs the report: Android's crash dialog “Send feedback” includes the stack trace, which is the one thing no forum can guess for them.
Common questions
Will clearing data delete account or photos? Clear cache never does. Clear data resets that app's local state — sign-ins, settings, and anything stored only inside the app. Cloud-backed content (Google Photos, synced messages) returns on sign-in; purely local app data does not.
Why did half the phone's apps crash on the same day once? Android System WebView is shared by most apps that display web content. One bad WebView update (March 2021) crashed apps across millions of phones simultaneously — and one WebView fix healed them all.
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