Help Guides
How do I free up storage on my phone?
A phone that keeps saying "storage full" is stressful, especially when you cannot take a photo or install an update. Here is what actually takes the space, and how to clear it safely, in the right order.
Photos and videos are almost always the reason. Before you delete anything, know this: if iCloud Photos or Google Photos backup is on, deleting a photo on your phone also deletes it from the cloud and from every device signed in to the same account. So first turn on the setting that keeps full-size photos online and small copies on the phone. Then clear old messages, downloads, and apps you never use. Most phones recover several gigabytes in about ten minutes.
Worried about deleting something important? That is a sensible concern. We do this in homes across Durham Region every week, we check what is backed up first, and we can handle the whole thing during a visit. Give us a call.
Read this before deleting any photos
iCloud Photos on an iPhone, and Google Photos with backup turned on, are syncing services. They keep your phone and the cloud matched. That is wonderful if you lose the phone, because everything comes back on a new one. But it also means the opposite: delete a photo on the phone and it disappears from the cloud, and from your iPad or computer if they are signed in to the same account. It sits in a Recently Deleted or Trash folder for a short while, and then it is gone everywhere.
An independent backup is different. It is a separate copy that does not change when your phone changes, such as photos copied to a computer or an external drive. If you plan to delete a lot of photos or videos, make that kind of copy first. Our guides on copying photos to a computer and backing up phone photos walk through it.
Work through these in order
iPhone: turn on Optimize iPhone Storage
Open Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud, then Photos. Make sure syncing is on, and choose "Optimize iPhone Storage". Full-size photos and videos stay in iCloud and the phone keeps small versions, which frees up a lot of space without deleting a thing. You still see every photo as normal. This needs enough iCloud space to hold your library. The free 5 GB is rarely enough, and the 50 GB plan costs a few dollars a month.
Android or Google Photos: back up, then Free up space
Google Photos works differently, so here it is on its own. Open Google Photos, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, then Backup, and turn it on. Wait until it says backup is complete. Then tap your profile picture again and choose "Free up space". This removes only the copies on the phone that are already safely in Google Photos. They stay in Google Photos and you can still see them in the app. If you use Google Photos on an iPhone, the same steps work.
Make a real backup, then delete old videos
A single minute of video takes up about the same space as one hundred photos. If steps 1 and 2 did not free enough space, copy your photos and videos to a computer or external drive first, then open your photos app, sort by video, and delete the clips you do not need. Remember that a synced deletion is a deletion everywhere. Finally, empty the Recently Deleted or Trash folder to actually reclaim the space.
Remove apps you do not use, carefully
Look for anything you have not opened in six months. Old games, trial apps and extras that came pre-installed are the usual suspects. Some apps keep your data in an account and some keep it only on the phone, so check before deleting. Apps you sign in to, like email, banking and WhatsApp, usually bring everything back when you reinstall. Games, notes apps and some health or budgeting apps can lose everything. On iPhone, open Settings, General, iPhone Storage, tap the app and choose "Offload App". That removes the app but keeps its data, which is the safe choice if you are not sure.
Would you rather we do this for you?
We clean up phone storage during visits across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby and Oshawa. We check what is backed up first and will not delete anything without asking you.
Book a VisitClear app caches
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and news apps quietly stash copies of images and videos to feel faster, and this can grow to several gigabytes per app. On Android, open Settings, Apps, tap the app, then Storage, and choose "Clear cache". Do not choose "Clear data", which wipes the app's settings and logins. iPhone has no clear-cache button. Some apps offer it in their own settings, and Safari has one under Settings, Safari, Clear History and Website Data. Deleting and reinstalling an app also clears its cache, but only do that once you have checked the app keeps your data.
Clear out old messages
Text messages from years ago, especially ones with photos and videos attached, quietly eat up storage. On iPhone, go to Settings, Messages, then set "Keep Messages" to 1 Year instead of Forever. Older messages clean themselves up. On Android, the Messages app has a similar setting under its menu. WhatsApp is a storage hog of its own: open WhatsApp, Settings, Storage and Data, Manage Storage, and you can remove the biggest files from specific chats without losing the conversation.
Empty the Downloads folder and offline media
Every PDF you opened from an email, every receipt you saved, and every photo someone sent in a group chat ends up in Downloads. Open the Files app on your phone, tap Downloads, and delete anything you no longer need. Then check music, audiobook and podcast apps. A few downloaded playlists can reach several gigabytes. Find the Downloads or Offline section in the app and remove anything you have already listened to. It stays available to stream.
Restart the phone
After clearing space, turn the phone completely off, wait a minute, and turn it on again. Some storage does not get properly counted until the phone restarts, and a restart also clears part of the mysterious "Other" or "System" category that both iPhones and Android phones show. If that category is still huge afterwards, that is worth bringing up on a visit.
When to call us instead
Call us if your phone says there is no space to even install an update, if you are not sure whether deleting something will lose the original, or if you have tried the steps above and it has not helped. These are common requests we handle as part of phone help visits, and we will not delete anything without checking with you first.
Get help today
We will free up your phone storage properly, back up anything at risk, and leave the phone running well.
Get Help TodayFAQ
Common questions about phone storage
- Why does my phone say storage full when I have hardly any apps?
It is almost always photos and videos. Years of photos, especially video clips, can take up more space than everything else combined. Turning on iCloud's Optimize iPhone Storage or Google Photos' Free up space usually solves it without deleting anything.
- If I delete a photo on my phone, is it still in iCloud or Google Photos?
No. iCloud Photos and Google Photos keep your phone and the cloud matched, so a photo deleted on the phone is removed from the cloud and from your other signed-in devices too. It sits in Recently Deleted or Trash for a short while and is then gone. Copy anything you want to keep to a computer or external drive before deleting.
- If I delete an app, do I lose everything in it?
Some apps keep your data, some do not. Apps you sign in to, like email, banking and WhatsApp, usually bring everything back when you reinstall. Games, notes apps and some health or budgeting apps can keep their data only on the phone. Check before deleting, or use Offload App on iPhone, which keeps the data.
- Does clearing an app's cache delete my login or messages?
No. The cache is temporary copies of images and data the app downloaded to feel faster. On Android, Clear cache is safe. Clear data is different and wipes the app's settings and logins, so leave that one alone.
- Can you do this for me?
Yes. Freeing up phone storage is one of the most common things we handle during a visit. We check what is backed up first and never delete anything without asking.