Phone Storage Full? Free Up Space
“Storage almost full” and you can't take photos or install updates? Here's how to find what's using the space and clear it without losing anything important.
See what's taking up the space
Go to Settings › General › iPhone Storage and wait for the bar to load. Apps are listed biggest first, and suggestions at the top can free space in one tap.
Go to Settings › Storage (on Samsung: Settings › Device care › Storage). It shows how much space apps, photos, videos and other files are using.
Photos, videos and messaging apps are almost always the biggest. That's where to start.
FIXFree up space, easiest first
Stop once you have enough room.
Turn on iCloud Photos in Settings › your name › iCloud › Photos and choose Optimise iPhone Storage. Full-size originals stay in iCloud and the phone keeps small versions. You may need more iCloud storage for a big library.
Open Google Photos, make sure backup is on (your profile picture › Backup), then tap your profile picture › Free up space. It removes copies that are safely backed up.
In Settings › General › iPhone Storage, tap an app you rarely use and choose Offload App (keeps your data) or Delete App. Turn on Offload Unused Apps to do this automatically.
Touch and hold an app on the home screen and tap Uninstall. In the Play Store, tap your profile picture › Manage apps & device › Manage to sort apps by size. Some phones can also archive unused apps, which removes the app but keeps your data.
- In Settings › Apps › Messages (on older iOS, Settings › Messages), set Keep Messages to 1 year. In iPhone Storage › Messages, review large attachments.
- WhatsApp: go to Settings › Storage and data › Manage storage to delete big videos and forwarded files. Turn off automatic media downloads too.
- Other chat apps like Telegram and Messenger have similar storage settings.
iPhone apps don't have a simple “clear cache” button. Offloading and reinstalling an app (step 2) clears its cache. In Safari, go to Settings › Apps › Safari › Clear History and Website Data.
The free Files by Google app has a Clean tab that finds junk files, duplicates and old downloads. For one app: Settings › Apps, choose the app, then Storage & cache › Clear cache.
Streaming apps like Spotify, Netflix, YouTube and Podcasts keep downloads for offline use. Open each app's downloads section, or its settings, and remove what you've finished with.
Deleted photos stay in Photos › Albums › Recently Deleted for 30 days and still use space. Open it, tap Select, then Delete All.
Google Photos keeps deleted items in Collections › Bin (or Trash) for up to 60 days. Empty it to free the space now.
- If “System Data” or “Other” is huge, restart the phone; much of it clears itself.
- For lasting space, back up and move photos off the phone to a computer or external drive, or buy more cloud storage.
FAQCommon questions
What is “System Data” or “Other” storage?
Caches, logs, temporary files and parts of the operating system. It shrinks and grows on its own. Restarting, and clearing app caches, usually brings it down.
Will deleting photos from my phone delete them from iCloud or Google Photos?
Usually yes, if sync is on: deleting from the phone deletes everywhere. Use iPhone's Optimise Storage or Google Photos' Free up space instead, which remove only the local copies.
Does a full phone run slower?
Yes. With almost no free space, phones struggle to install updates, take photos and run apps smoothly. Aim to keep at least a few gigabytes free.
Should I buy more iCloud or Google storage?
If your photos and videos are the problem and you want to keep them all, it's the simplest fix. Plans start small and cheap.