Quick Tip: File and Folder Thumbnail Cache Images in Windows
If you’ve ever used a cleanup tool or dug around in your system to free up space, you might have encountered something called a “thumbnail cache” or “thumbnail images.”
When these cleanup programs recommend removing the thumbnail images, it reminds me a lot of how they recommend removing Cookies.
I find this deceiving because they just want to show you anything that COULD be cleared, to impress you. Look at everything it found! Ugh.
The larger the number of total files and storage space to be cleared, the more effective they are, right?
At first glance, these can seem like junk files taking up space for no reason. But before you hit delete, let’s talk about why they’re not as disposable as they seem.
This is an AI audio overview generated by NotebookLM by Google
What Are Thumbnail Images?
Thumbnail images are those little previews of files and folders in File Explorer. When browsing through your pictures or documents, instead of just seeing file names, you get a quick look at what’s inside—a small preview of an image or a frame of the video. These thumbnails save you from opening every single file to figure out what it is.
Click Image To View Larger Version
Why Thumbnail Files Aren’t Junk
While it’s tempting to think of them as clutter in the way System Cleanup programs present it, thumbnails serve a practical purpose.
When you delete the thumbnail cache, Windows doesn’t say, “Oh well, guess we won’t use thumbnails anymore.”
Instead, it rolls up its sleeves and regenerates them as soon as you start browsing your files in that folder again, or any folder where you've chosen that particular layout.
This means two things:
1. It’s not helping system performance. Deleting thumbnails doesn’t free up significant resources or make your computer faster. In fact, the opposite can is true because your system will need to spend extra time creating those thumbnails from scratch the next time you open a folder when the thumbnail cache is cleared.
2. They take up minimal space. Thumbnail cache files are pretty tiny. They don’t eat up gigabytes of storage, so clearing them won’t magically give you loads of extra room on your hard drive.
In Conclusion
Thumbnail images are more like helpful assistants than freeloading junk files. They make your experience smoother by letting you preview files at a glance, and they’re lightweight enough that they barely leave a footprint on your storage.
So, the next time you’re cleaning up your computer, feel free to skip deleting those thumbnail files. Your system will thank you—and so will your future self when you’re not stuck waiting for Windows to recreate everything.
Got any questions about file management or system performance? Let me know in the comments or send me a message—I’m happy to help!
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