diff --git a/libraries/networking/src/FileCache.cpp b/libraries/networking/src/FileCache.cpp
index f0e568fcdc..43bab67ec7 100644
--- a/libraries/networking/src/FileCache.cpp
+++ b/libraries/networking/src/FileCache.cpp
@@ -285,10 +285,12 @@ void FileCache::wipe() {
 }
 
 void FileCache::clear() {
+    Lock lock(_mutex);
+
     // Eliminate any overbudget files
     clean();
 
-    // Mark everything remaining as persisted
+    // Mark everything remaining as persisted while effectively ejecting from the cache
     for (auto& file : _unusedFiles) {
         file->_shouldPersist = true;
         file->_cache = nullptr;
@@ -323,4 +325,4 @@ File::~File() {
 void File::touch() {
     utime(_filepath.c_str(), nullptr);
     _modified = std::max<int64_t>(QFileInfo(_filepath.c_str()).lastRead().toMSecsSinceEpoch(), _modified);
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}