Running out of space on your iPhone or iPad? Struggling with snapping a quick photo, downloading that must-have app, or keeping your iOS up to date ? We’ve got you covered with these low-effort, high-impact tips to free up storage. Follow this guide to clear your iPhone storage.
Why has my iPhone storage reached full capacity ?
The accumulation of photos, videos, unnecessary files, system data, and app data can exacerbate this common issue. Understanding the root causes behind your iPhone’s storage limitations is the first step toward regaining control and optimizing your device’s storage for a smoother, more efficient user experience.
How to check my iPhone storage ?
To check and manage storage on your iPhone, you have to go to your Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
This should appear :
- At the top of your screen, there’s a colorful bar that shows how much space is left, how much is used, and what’s using it. If you want to take new photos and add apps without any problems, make sure you have at least 2GB of free space.
- Below, you’ll find a list of your apps sorted by the space they use. You can tap on each app to see how much space is taken up by the app itself and how much is used by its documents and data
How to free up space to clear your iPhone storage ?
Most likely, your iPhone is already carrying a lot of unnecessary clutter, but here’s the silver lining: this means you can free up a good amount of space without deleting the things you want to keep. Let’s walk through the step-by-step process of clearing storage on your apple device.
Use a cloud storage service (iCloud) to back up your photos and videos
Your iPhone or other Apple devices have limited storage capacity. By using Apple’s iCloud, you can free up space on your device without permanently deleting your photos. iCloud allows you to optimize your device’s storage by storing high-resolution photos in the cloud while keeping smaller, device-friendly versions on your device. Please note that, the first 5GB of iCloud storage is free, but if you need more, there are paid plans available.
Clean up your Apple photo library to clear your iPhone storage
You may not want to use a cloud storage service like Apple’s iCloud and it’s fine. You can delete your photos and videos manually. The Photos app often uses more space than we realize. Clearing out old photos from your iPhone will help free up storage space and keep your photo library organized. Here’s how you can get rid of old photos :
1. Open the Photos App: Launch the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Select Photos: In the Photos app, navigate to the “Photos” tab at the bottom to view all your photos organized by date.
3. Choose the Photos to Delete: Scroll through your photos and select the ones you want to delete. To select a photo, tap on it. You can continue to tap on more photos to select multiple ones at once.
4. Delete the Selected Photos: Once you’ve selected the photos you want to delete, tap the trash can icon located at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
5. Confirm Deletion: A confirmation message will appear, asking if you want to delete the selected photos. Confirm by tapping “Delete X Photos,” with “X” representing the number of photos you’ve selected.
6. Check the “Recently Deleted” Album: Deleted photos are not immediately removed from your device. They are moved to the “Recently Deleted” album, where they are retained for 30 days before being permanently deleted. If you want to recover any accidentally deleted photos or ensure they are deleted permanently, go to the “Albums” tab and select “Recently Deleted.” Here, you can choose to recover or delete photos within the 30-day period.
By following these steps, you can efficiently free space in your iPhone.
Remove old text messages from your IOS device to clear your iPhone storage
1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Delete any old conversations that you no longer need.
Additionally, if you want your iPhone to handle message deletion automatically, here’s what you can do:
3. Go to your iPhone’s Settings.
4. Scroll down and select « Messages”.
5. Tap on “Message History.”
6. Under “Keep Messages,” you can choose from options like keeping messages for 30 days, one year, or indefinitely (forever). Select the option that suits your preference.
Follow Apple’s recommandations
To access Apple’s recommendations follow these steps :
- Settings
- General
- iPhone Storage
You will find useful recommandations given by Apple.
Get rid of apps you don’t use to clear your iPhone storage
To remove apps you no longer use :
1. Touch and hold the app icon you want to delete.
2. The app icons will start to wiggle, and a menu will appear.
3. Choose the ‘Remove App’ option to complete the deletion process.
Clear app cache to clear your iPhone storage
Clearing app cache and other app data can help free up storage space on your iPhone and improve the performance of individual apps. Here’s how to do it:
1. Open Settings: Launch the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll Down: Scroll down and find the list of apps installed on your device.
3. Select App: Tap on the specific app for which you want to clear the cache.
4. Clear App Cache: In the app settings, you may find an option to “Offload App” or “Delete App.” This will clear the app’s cache along with the app itself. Confirm this action if prompted.
Clear safari cache to clear your iPhone storage
Clearing your Safari cache is a straightforward process that can not only free up storage space but also improve your browsing speed and enhance your privacy by removing stored data that websites and advertisers use to identify you. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Access iPhone Settings: Start by accessing your iPhone settings.
- Locate Safari: Scroll down the list of settings until you find “Safari,” then tap on it.
- Clear History and Website Data: Inside the Safari settings, look for the option labeled “Clear History and Website Data.” Tap on this option.
- Confirmation: A confirmation message will appear, asking if you want to proceed. Confirm your action by tapping “Clear History and Data.”
That’s it! Your Safari cache is now successfully cleared, helping improve your browsing experience and protect your privacy.
Clear iPhone Mail Storage with Cleanfox
Cleaning your mailbox can be an important part of clearing storage, especially if you have a significant amount of email data. Here’s how to clean your mailbox in single click by using Cleanfox, an app that allows you to delete numerous emails and useless newsletters :
1. Download Cleanfox and install the application
2. Start Cleanfox
3. Choose the mailbox to be analyzed
4. Run the analysis
5. Choose between deleting the emails or unsubscribing from newsletters.
The software will perform a comprehensive scan of your messages, identifying outdated emails, spam, and bulky newsletters.
Cleanfox organizes your emails by sender and offers the option to delete or unsubscribe from them. With this tool, you can effortlessly clean your mailbox with just one click which will help you save space on your phone.
FAQ – More infos to help you free up space !
To check your iPhone’s storage usage, navigate to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. At the top, you’ll find a visual representation with a color-coded bar displaying your available space, used space, and the primary categories consuming storage. Typically, the largest culprits are Photos and Apps, but this may vary depending on your usage patterns.
Clearing the cache in your browser or apps can serve a dual purpose on your iPhone. It not only frees up storage space but can also, particularly when experiencing performance issues, enhance speed and overall performance by eliminating redundant app data.
A frequent cause of this problem is related to the ‘Recently Deleted’ album within the Photos app. This album serves as a safeguard, allowing you to recover deleted photos and videos within a 30-day window from the time of deletion.
If your iPhone says “Storage Full,” start by deleting unused apps, clearing Safari data, and removing unnecessary photos and videos
Unfortunately, you can’t increase internal iPhone storage but you can get a free storage service to gain space like iCloud.
