Apple’s newest devices feature gargantuan storage capacities. The iPhone XS, for instance, carries as much as 512 GB. For some, this might mean never having to worry about running out of space again. But for those of us with the older models, lacking storage space continues to be a common problem. So how do you get more storage out of your iPhone?
Photos and videos often hog storage space. You can resolve this issue by transferring them to iCloud. Deleting old text messages and downloaded content like movies and podcasts, offloading unused apps, and clearing caches helps free up space as well. Apple also offers upgraded iCloud storage plans.
Having too little storage on your phone limits its performance and bar you from certain tasks. However, there’s multiple ways to free up space on your iPhone without having to delete everything. Let’s take a look at some potential solutions.
Ways to Clear Out Your iPhone Storage
Here are a few tips to help you free up some storage on your phone. There is no specific solution that works for everyone. Plus, you don’t have to follow the tips as outlined — it’s a matter of personal preference.
Delete Old Texts
By default, your iPhone will store all your messages forever. But who wants to read through a conversation from years ago? Text messages containing attached videos, photos, and files can consume a huge chunk of your phone’s valuable space. A quick way to free this space is by deleting texts you no longer need.
Here’s how to delete a single conversation:
- Open your Messaging App.
- Select and hold a conversation you want to delete.
- Choose ‘Delete’ from the pop-up menu.
Note: This method also works for third-party apps like Telegram and WhatsApp.
If you want to save time, you can delete several conversations at a once by doing the following:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select ‘General,’ then ‘iPhone Storage.’
- Scroll down to ‘Messages.’ Your phone will display a breakdown of the largest conversations with their attached media files and amount of space occupied.
- Select ‘Edit’ and choose the conversations you wish to delete.
- Select ‘Delete.‘
You can also change your message settings to allow your phone to delete old texts after a certain period.
Here’s how:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select ‘Messages,’ then ‘Message History.‘
- Select ‘Keep Messages.‘
- Change the amount of time that your phone will keep messages (30 days or 1 year) according to your preferences.
Of course, some messages are precious regardless of how old they are, and you may be reluctant to clear them out. No worries: Apple allows you to store a copy of your messages in iCloud. You can view these messages using other devices but under the same Apple ID.
Here’s how to enable iCloud for Messages:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select your profile, then ‘iCloud.’
- Slide the toggle next to ‘Messages.’
Once iCloud has acquired all your messages, it will start deleting those on your phone and free up some space. You can always re-download and view your messages from iCloud.
Delete Apps You Don’t Use
It’s also worth getting rid of apps that you hardly use, like the kind you opened a month ago and never looked at again.
Here’s how to delete apps you don’t use:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select ‘General,’ then ‘iPhone Storage.’
- Once the apps load, they’ll appear according to their size, from the largest to the smallest. Under each app, you can see the last time you opened the app.
- If an app is consuming a lot of space and you hardly use it, consider Deleting or Offloading it.
What’s the Difference Between Deleting and Offloading an App on an iPhone?
When you offload an app, you remove it from your phone but leave behind all its data. If you decide to reinstall it in the future, you’ll regain all your data and continue where you left off. Offloading an app is a good choice when:
- You plan to reinstall the app again in the future.
- The app is large, but its data consumes very little space.
Deleting an app removes the app and all its data from your device. It’s an excellent choice if you have no plans of reinstalling the app and where the app’s data is larger than the app itself, like Spotify.
Delete Duplicate and Burst Mode Photos
Photos will clog up a lot of your phone’s storage. While you don’t necessarily need to wipe your entire photo library clean, there are a few things you can delete. They include:
- Screenshots that you no longer need.
- Similar photos, like numerous selfies you took before deciding on what to post.
- Duplicate photos, like photos you downloaded multiple times.
- Blurry photos.
To delete these photos:
- Open the Photos App.
- At the Library tab, tap ‘All Photos.’
- Select the photo you wish to delete. Slide your finger across the photos to select multiple ones.
- Once done, tap on the Trash button.
- Tap ‘Delete Photo’ to confirm.
Your deleted photos will move to the Recently Deleted album, where your phone will store them for 30 days before permanently deleting them. You can empty the album to clear this space before the 30 days.
Move Your Photos to iCloud
You can also send your photos to iCloud before deleting them from your device. This way, you can always download and view them at a later date.
Here’s how to move photos to iCloud:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select your profile, then ‘iCloud.’
- Select ‘Photos,’ then enable ‘iCloud Photos.’
- From the same menu, enable ‘Optimize iPhone Storage.’ This setting allows your device to save small files locally and the full-resolution ones in iCloud. You can download them from iCloud at any time.
Delete Downloaded Offline Content
Downloaded movies, music, and podcasts are a great companion during a long flight or boring road trip. But once you’re back home, offline content chews up several gigabytes of your phone’s storage.
Chances are you won’t listen to a podcast twice. So, an excellent way to find yourself tons of space is by deleting offline content.
How to Delete Downloaded Netflix Videos
- Open the Netflix app.
- Scroll to ‘Downloads.’
- Select the Pencil icon at the top right corner of the screen.
- Select the red X to delete a video.
How to Delete Downloaded YouTube Videos
- Open the YouTube app.
- Scroll to ‘Library.’
- Select ‘Downloads,’ then the three dots icon next to the video you want to delete.
- Choose ‘Delete from downloads.‘
How to Delete Downloaded Spotify Playlists and Podcasts
Deleting downloaded music may not make a huge difference, but it’s still a great way to get that extra space. You can take advantage of Apple Music and Spotify and stream your music instead. Alternatively, you can listen to the songs linked to your iTunes account and stored in iCloud.
- Open the Spotify app.
- Select ‘Library.’
- Select ‘Music,’ then ‘Playlists.’
- Downloaded playlists are marked with a green arrow. Select the green arrow to delete playlists.
- A confirmation message will pop up. Select ‘Remove.’
How to Delete Downloaded iPhone Music
- Open the Settings app.
- Select ‘General,’ then ‘iPhone Storage.’
- Look for the Music app select it. If your music library is huge, chances are that it will be at the top.
- Select ‘Edit‘ and remove music by hitting ‘Delete.‘
If you store your downloaded music on Spotify, you’ll need to delete them from there (check the previous steps). You can also delete other downloaded content from any other apps.
Clear Your Cache
Cache is data that apps and websites use to help them work more efficiently. When you use many apps and load numerous web pages, caches can clog up your device’s storage. Consider clearing out your iPhone’s internet browser’s cache to free up some space.
How to Clear Out Safari’s Web Cache
- Open the Settings app.
- Select ‘Safari.’
- Select ‘Clear History and Website Data.‘
How to Clear Out Google Chrome’s Web Cache
- Launch Google Chrome.
- Select the three dots at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose ‘History.’
- Select ‘Clear Browsing Data.’
- Checkmark the three categories: ‘Browsing History,’ ‘Cookies and site data,’ and ‘Cached images and files.’
- Select a time range and tap ‘Clear Browsing Data.‘
What Happens When Your Storage Is Full on an iPhone?
When you run out of space, you will be notified that your storage is almost full. After that, you won’t be able to download and install new apps, take photos and videos, update your iOS, sync media files, or perform any task that requires space. You’ll need to free up some space first before proceeding.
How Do I Find Out What Uses the Most Storage on My iPhone?
What’s taking up the most space on your phone? Knowing this will help you know the best course of action to take. To see how much storage you have left on your phone:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select ‘General.’
- Select ‘iPhone Storage.‘ You might have to wait a bit for the breakdown of your storage to be calculated.
Once the screen is fully loaded, it’ll display a list of all the media and files on your phone (apps, media, iOS, Photos, and System Data) with their corresponding storage capacities. Photos and videos are almost always the ones with the biggest chunk.
You can connect your iPhone to your Mac or Windows to get a more in-depth breakdown of the phone’s storage. You’ll see how much storage each category consumes. Your iOS will also recommend the best thing to do, like, deleting duplicate photos.
Can You Add More Storage to an iPhone?
The physical storage space on your iPhone is fixed. That said, iCloud gives you 5GB of free cloud storage for your files, videos, and photos. But if this isn’t enough, you can upgrade to Apple’s premium iCloud+ subscription service. In return, you get more storage and features such as “Hide My Email” and “iCloud Private Relay.”
You can choose among three plans: iCloud+ with 50GB storage, iCloud+ with 200GB storage or iCloud+ with 2TB storage. Of course, these plans will cost you an additional fee, but for some, they might be worth it.
More Space, More Freedom
Now that you have that extra storage space, you can update your apps, iOs and sync your media files. No more nagging notifications that your storage is almost full. If you do everything and the space left is still not enough, that probably means it’s time to upgrade to a better iPhone. The iPhone XS (on Amazon) is a great place to start.