Apps, movies, and photos quickly fill up an iPhone’s storage capacity. There are still a few ways to make room on your iPhone even if using an SD card won’t allow you to expand its internal storage.
This blog is meant to tell you all about how to free up some space on your iPhone if your internal storage is full.
Delete Unused iPhone Apps
To effectively manage and create free space on your iPhone, navigating to the Settings > General then tap iPhone Storage section gives you a comprehensive overview of how much free space is there and how much space is being utilized on your device.
This section neatly organizes apps by the quantity of storage they consume, allowing you to identify which applications are taking up most of the room on your iPhone.
By selecting an app, you’re presented with its detailed storage information, where you’re faced with two key actions: Offload App or Delete App.
Tap Delete App will uninstall or delete apps and all its associated data from your device, which is akin to removing it from the Home Screen.
On the other hand, select Offload App option discards the app’s main files while preserving your personal data. For example, Music app like Apple music eats most space on your iphone then other like podcast app etc.
This feature is particularly beneficial for temporarily removing large apps or games you intend to reinstall in the near future, thereby freeing up crucial storage space without losing important information.
This method proves essential in managing your iPhone’s storage effectively, ensuring you have enough free space for your needs.
Begin by evaluating apps you infrequently use, possibly ones that haven’t been opened in months. These are the easiest choices for offloading or deletion, acting as quick wins in your quest for more storage.
Follow these strategies while removing or deleting the apps.
Offload unused apps: deleting apps that are seldom used offers an immediate opportunity to declutter your iPhone’s storage.
Delete unnecessary files: Within apps like Messages or Music, removing unneeded content such as large iMessage attachments or unused songs can help reclaim valuable space.
Uninstall completed games: Given their large file sizes, removing games you have finished can significantly increase available space, often more so than purging photos and videos.
By following these steps and strategically managing your phone’s storage through the settings app, you can effectively free up space on your iPhone. This approach allows you to maintain a leaner, more efficient device, ensuring you always have enough room for the things that matter most.
Enable “Offload Unused Apps”
This feature, found in the Settings app under General and then iPhone Storage, automatically removes apps that you haven’t used in a while. This can help free up space without losing any important data.
This feature will erase all app’s data which you rarely or not have used in long time, this is available in General’s Storage settings menu just below storage stats.
What data it deletes?
It deletes or offload data of all apps that you rarely use, for example if you rarely use apps like Google maps or any third party apps, Then it will detect and ask you to enable it to save more space on your iOS Device.
Delete Old Photos and Videos
Photos and videos often constitute a significant portion of the storage space on iCloud storage. Initiating this process by eliminating duplicate or low-quality images with a photo management app can significantly streamline your library.
When manually sifting through the Photos app, it’s crucial to sweep the Recently Deleted folder, as failing to do so can result in ostensibly deleted photos and videos still occupying space.
Navigate to the Albums tab, proceed to Recently Deleted, select the items;
hit the ellipsis icon, and tap Delete All to thoroughly clear this space;
Additionally, activating iCloud Photos can shift your media files to cloud storage, markedly conserving space on your device. To further optimize your iPhone storage, go to settings > Photos > ‘Optimize iPhone Storage,’ thereby ensuring your device maintains more free space.
An alternative strategy is to transfer photos and videos to your computer, utilizing it as the primary storage backup. Subsequently, removing these files from your iPhone can significantly augment available space.
By implementing these methods, users can effectively manage and enhance their iPhone storage capacity, making room for new apps, updates, and media without compromising on device performance.
Avoid Taking HDR Photos and Videos
no amount of space is too much space if you are clicking HDR photos and videos. Capturing stunning visuals in High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode with your iPhone can significantly enhance photo and video quality by offering greater detail and color.
However, it’s important to note that these HDR images and videos generally consume more storage on your device compared to standard-resolution media.
For users of the iPhone 13 and newer models looking to save space, there is an option to disable HDR video recording to manage iPhone storage more efficiently. This can be done by navigating to Settings > Camera > Record Video and toggling off HDR Video.
For owners of the iPhone 11 and earlier, HDR video recording is not a feature, but you can still manage storage by disabling HDR for photos through Settings > Camera, then toggling off Smart HDR.
It’s advisable to refrain from selecting the HDR icon in the Camera app to ensure you’re not inadvertently filling up your iPhone’s storage space.
Remarkably, it is specifically with the iPhone 12 models that Apple provides the flexibility to disable both HDR photos and videos, a handy tip for users aiming to free up more space on their iPhones.
By applying these adjustments, users can effectively manage their device’s storage, allowing for a more optimized experience without sacrificing the quality of their media library.
This approach to managing HDR settings is particularly beneficial for individuals looking to maximize their available storage space while still enjoying the high-quality camera capabilities of their iPhone.
Optimize Your iPhone’s Messaging Apps
The accumulation of SMS, iMessage, and unchecked spam messages can significantly contribute to the storage space being occupied on your iPhone. Within the Messages app, there’s a mechanism to automatically delete these messages after a certain period.
By navigating to Settings > Messages > Keep Messages, you can select to keep messages for either 30 days or 1 year, moving away from the default Forever option.
Upon selecting a timeframe, confirm your choice by tapping Deleteon the popup.
This method is instrumental in managing your iPhone storage by keeping unnecessary message accumulation at bay.
Similarly, optimizing storage on third-party messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, can be a powerful strategy to create more space on your iPhone. Begin by assessing the storage usage for each message thread through WhatsApp > Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage.
Here, you can view all media sorted by file size within each chat and selectively choose to review large attachments and delete large attachments.
Furthermore, within any chat conversation, by tapping on your contact’s name and scrolling to Clear Chat, you can erase all previous messages exchanged with that person.
This step effectively enables you to manage iPhone storage, offering a pathway to free up space for more critical applications and data.
By following these recommendations for managing your Messages app and third-party messaging applications, you can significantly enhance your iPhone’s storage situation.
This approach champions the efficient usage of your device’s capacity, allowing for a streamlined experience that maximizes available space without compromising the essential aspects of your digital communication.
Clear System Data and Other Storage
The “System Data” and “Other Storage” categories visible on the iPhone Storage screen essentially show how much data is there on your storage accumulated as cached data.
When these cache files cumulate to substantial volumes, it becomes imperative to explore strategies for clearing out this non-essential data to reclaim precious space on your iPhone.
Adhering to the guidance provided earlier for app offloading and managing photo libraries can substantially increase the free space available on your device.
However, for users facing critical storage shortages or those in immediate need of additional space to accommodate new apps or save extra photos, a practical solution is to tap clear browsing data. You must choose to clear Safari’s cache.
It can be achieved by navigating through Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data, where you should select “All history” and tap “Clear History.”
This action should be replicated for other installed browsers to optimize the storage efficiency of your iPhone.
This method aligns with optimal practices for how to create free space on iOS devices, effectively managing iPhone storage, and ensuring an efficient utilization of space by offloading unused apps and deleting unnecessary app data.
Conclusion
In conclusion, diligently managing your iPhone’s storage by employing strategies such as offloading unused apps, deleting old messages, optimizing photo storage, and clearing browser cache, including Safari cache and history, can significantly enhance your device’s performance.
By navigating through Settings > General > iPhone Storage, you can gain insights into how much storage each app uses, and decide which data or apps to offload or delete.
Utilizing iCloud Photos or Google Photos can free up tremendous amounts of space previously occupied by your photo library, while also ensuring your memories are safely backed up.
Regularly reviewing and deleting large attachments in messaging apps, and being mindful of the storage consumed by social media apps and other third-party applications, are key practices in maintaining optimal storage levels.
Additionally, clearing system data and other storage can reclaim space that seems to be consumed by invisible files. Whether it’s by tapping ‘Clear History and Website Data’ in Safari’s settings, or selecting ‘Offload App’ for rarely used applications, the goal is to maximize the efficiency of your iPhone’s storage capacity.
Engaging with these practices not only secures more free space on your device but also contributes to a smoother, faster, and more enjoyable iPhone experience.
Remember, managing your iPhone storage effectively is a continual process that requires periodic attention to ensure your device remains speedy and responsive.
