The iPhone cameras have taken a significant leap, allowing everyone to take professional-quality photos. However, this perk comes with a trade-off – storage space. High-resolution media consumes a substantial amount of space, and although iCloud storage can be used, it has its limitations. In this article, we provide ways to clear storage on iPhones and achieve a clutter-free device.
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How to Free Up Memory on iPhone?
Your iPhone might be filled with unnecessary items that could take up valuable space. It is crucial to identify and manage these items. Follow these steps to check and manage storage on your iPhone:
- Access the Settings menu and select General, then tap on iPhone Storage.
- At the top, you will find a color-coded bar indicating the remaining space, occupied space, and its allocation. Typically, the largest categories include Photos and Apps, although this depends on your usage.
- Below, you will see a list sorted by their storage usage. Tapping on each app reveals the space occupied by the app itself, as well as the app’s Documents and Data.
#1 Remove or unload unnecessary apps
To remove unwanted apps from your device, navigate to the storage page and locate the apps you no longer utilize. Tap on them and choose the “Delete App” option. Keep in mind that any purchased app can be re-downloaded at no additional cost from the App Store.
If you wish to delete apps directly from the home screen, press and hold your finger on the app you want to remove. A prompt will appear, offering you the choice to delete, share, or edit your home screen. Simply tap “Remove App.”
Alternatively, if you want to temporarily disable an app without losing its settings, such as when making space for an iOS update, Apple provides the option of offloading them. These apps will remain on your home screen, but you will need to tap on them to re-download and access their features. To offload an app, locate it on the storage list, tap it, and select “Offload App.”
#2 Get rid of duplicate files
This procedure is a little more complicated since to clean up more memory on your device you need to find those same duplicates. To do this, it is best to use the CleanUp app, which searches not only exact copies but also similar images. That is, this storage cleaner app can find a series of photos that are almost identical to each other and delete unnecessary ones. Smart cleaning technology allows you to get rid of temporary files, cache, downloaded files, etc. The application can also boost your phone by compressing large videos and photos. Sometimes this can save up to 20% of the device’s total memory.
#3 Clear browser cache
To ensure optimal performance, it is important to clear the cache in your browser. If you frequently browse the web using Safari or Chrome on your iPhone, unnecessary data like caches can take up valuable storage space. You’d be surprised by the amount of space you can free up just by clearing your browser cache.
For clearing the cache in Chrome, you can follow these steps:
- Open Google Chrome on your iPhone.
- Tap on Options, and then select Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Privacy and Security.
- Tap Clear Browsing Data.
- Select the specific data you want to clear, and then tap Clear Browsing Data.
#4 Delete old messages
If you want to clear up some space, delete all texts like “running late” or “What do you want for dinner?” unless you have sentimental or legal reasons to keep them. If you often send videos, photos, or audio files through Messages, deleting these texts will free up even more space.
For those who enjoy taking risks, you can set texts to automatically delete. Simply go to Settings > Messages > Message History and select the option to keep messages for either 30 days or one year.
#5 Delete offline content
Every day, you probably consume a plethora of content – videos, music, podcasts, and more. And if you save that content offline, accumulating a heap of leftovers, apps such as YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify likely occupy numerous gigabytes of storage on your iPhone. So why squander space on old Lost episodes and a forgotten playlist you no longer listen to?
#6 Upload your photos to iCloud
If you have gigabytes and gigabytes of photos, signing up for iCloud Photos can drastically reduce the space they occupy on your iPhone, saving you a lot of storage. Enabling this feature is worthwhile, as it allows you to automatically upload and store your entire photo library in iCloud, providing access to your photos and videos across all your devices. However, there is often a misconception about the benefits of iCloud Photos. This service is incredibly useful, so make sure to take advantage of it.
#7 Reduce video resolution
Newer iPhones give you the option to reduce video quality. As shown in the screenshot, recording a minute of 4K video can take up 400MB of space on your iPhone, so it’s best to avoid that. By default, the iPhone sets the video quality to 1080p HD at 60 fps, but you can economize further by recording at 720p HD and 30fps: just 40MB per minute instead of 90MB. To change these settings, go to Settings > Camera > Record Video.
Conclusion
You can’t even imagine how quickly small crumbs of data turn into gigabytes and tens of gigabytes. Take preventive measures and periodically unload your smartphone so that it remains responsive, has a longer battery life, and allows you to navigate its surroundings more easily.