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How to Free Up Space on Your Phone Fast

Deleting apps, clearing cache, and adding more storage can help

By Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen Writer Swansea University, Staffordshire University Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on July 27, 2022 Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section What's Taking Space 3 Quick Steps to Clear Storage Step-by-Step: Clear Storage Without Deleting Everything Auto Manage with Storage Manager Why Internal Storage Fills Up Frequently Asked Questions

What to Know

Free up space by tapping Settings > Storage > Manage Storage.Delete unwanted apps, photos, and videos to create more space.Add a microSD card to expand your storage needs. This article teaches you how to find what's taking up space on your Android phone and how to remove it, thereby freeing up space.

First Find Out What' s Taking Up Space on Your Phone

If it feels like your phone is constantly running out of storage space, it's important to know what files are taking up so much space. Here's where to look to find out just how much storage space you have and what type of files are using it up. Android's Storage Manager can be slightly different depending on the Android phone, but the basic principle remains the same. Tap Settings. Tap Storage. Tap Manage Storage to view what files are stored on your phone, delete files, move them to other forms of storage and so forth.

3 Quick Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Your Phone

There are a lot of different ways in which you can free up storage space on your phone. Here's a look at some of the best ways to do so. Delete apps on your phone. If you've installed many apps on your phone but never deleted any of them, you can soon run out of storage space. Delete the ones you never use. It's always possible to reinstall them via the Google Play Store at a later date if you decide you need them again. Clear the Cache Data. If you have an older Android phone, cache data can accumulate fast. This data is dealt with differently via Manage Storage with newer Android phones but if you have an older device, try clearing the cache to free up more space. Move files to an SD card. It's possible to add a microSD card in most Android phones to expand your storage needs beyond what internal storage offers. Once you've done so, move files and pictures to the SD card to free up storage space.

How to Clear Storage Without Deleting Everything

One key reason why many users run out of storage space on their phones is that they take many photos and videos. Understandably, you don't want to delete these precious memories, but there is another way. Here's how to back up your photos with Google Photos. Tap Photos. Tap your Google Profile picture. Tap Turn on Backup. Choose what quality you want the photos saved at, then tap Confirm.

How to Use Storage Manager to Automatically Manage Your Phone

If you'd prefer to leave your phone to manage its files by itself, it's possible to use tools such as Storage Manager to keep your phone working well. By doing so, your photos and videos will be removed after a set length of time, so make sure to back up your photos and videos via Google Photos. Here's where to find it. Storage Manager may be called something slightly different depending on the Android phone you use, but the principle remains the same. Tap Settings. Tap Storage. Toggle Storage Manager on. Storage Manager is a replacement of Smart Storage from earlier Android versions. Tap Storage Manager. Tap Remove Photos & Videos to toggle the length that photos are stored for.

Why Is My Internal Storage Always Full on Android

If your Android phone seems to always run out of space, there are many reasons why. Here's a look at some of the key reasons behind it. You have limited storage space. If your Android phone has a small amount of internal storage space, it can be a battle to have enough free space to install system updates. That's where having external storage via a microSD card can help a lot.You have a lot of apps installed. If you have many apps installed, you can run out of storage space fast. It's a particular problem if you have many high-end games installed too.You take a lot of videos. Many Android phones can take 4K videos now, which soon adds up fast. Consider lowering the resolution of the photos and videos you take to free up more room. FAQ How much phone storage do I need? It entirely depends on your needs. If you don't use many apps and don't take many photos or videos, you might get away with having just 64GB. But if you take lots of videos, download a lot of music, and play many video games, you want at least 128GB. Heavy phone users may want to look at 256GB and even 512GB storage options. Keep in mind that a phone's operating system uses up a lot of space, so you're getting less than the storage advertised when you buy a new device. How do you free up storage space on an iPhone? Unlike Android phones, iPhones don't come with an expandable SD card slot. If you want to create more space, you need to get rid of files you no longer need. Go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage, and you can get recommendations for freeing up space, along with a list of apps and how much storage they're using. Offload or delete apps you don't use anymore, backup your videos and photos to iCloud, or perhaps delete those old books you're not reading to free up some space. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Free Up Space on Android Phones How Much Storage (in GB) Do I Need In My Phone? How to Set an SD Card as Default Storage in Android 10 Ways to Speed Up a Phone That's Running Too Slowly How to Clear Your iPhone Cache How to Delete Apps From Your iPhone How to Clear Cache Data on Your Android How to Clear Cache on an iPad How to Fix It When WhatsApp Images and Videos Are Not Showing in Gallery How to Move Apps to an SD Card on Android Why Does My Phone Keep Freezing? How to Check Your Google Storage Quota How to Clear the Cache on a Fire TV Stick 6 Things That are Taking up Too Much Space on Your PC How to Expand the Storage on Your iPad How to Delete Apps on an Android Phone Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies