iPhone Storage Full? How to Free Up Space on iPhone

Have you noticed that your iPhone is not as efficient as before, especially with the unending alert 'Storage is nearly full!'? This means you need to free up space on your iPhone; delaying it is not advised.

This article discusses in detail why iPhone storage gets filled up and provides a step-by-step guide to free up space on iPhone. Let's begin by looking at why iPhone storage gets filled up.

Why Is iPhone Storage Full?

It is possible to retain some things (apps, images, videos, games, and many more) on your iPhone at the expense of your storage space. Always have this in mind for every file or app you decide to keep; your storage space reduces.

You can check iPhone storage through the Settings App. Select General > iPhone Storage, to see a graph displaying the amount of free space on your iPhone. In addition, system data (logs, caches, and other resources needed for your iPhone to function) can also take up space on your device.

Sometimes, you experience this 'iPhone Storage full' because you are stuck with an older iPhone model. Newer models have enormous storage capacities to retain most of your system data. In the next section, you will learn practical ways to free up space on the iPhone.

How to Free Up Space on iPhone? [Step by Step]

The next question is how to free up space on the iPhone since every file or application continually expands and consumes storage. Even with an enormous storage capacity, the iPhone will still be filled. Some of the ways to free up storage space include:

• Method 1. Delete or offload large apps
• Method 2. Delete photos or videos
• Method 3. Clear Safari's cache
• Method 4. Automatically delete old text messages
• Method 5. Delete attachments in Messages

Let's take a deep dive by looking at these methods.

Method 1. Delete or offload large apps

You can delete or offload large applications, especially if they are redundant, by following the steps below:

Step 1. Open "Settings."

Step 2. Click "General."

Step 3. Tap "iPhone Storage."

Step 4. Wait for the applications to load. The resulting display will sort the applications from largest to smallest.

Step 5. View Last Used to see the last time you used the application.

Step 6. Tap to see the Application size and data it is storing.

Step 7. Choose whether to offload or delete the application with all its data.

Method 2. Delete photos or videos

Although you can conserve space on your iPhone by enabling High-Efficiency mode for iPhone 7 or later, you sometimes need to delete photos and videos manually. Here's how to do it:

Step 1. Open Photos, then go to Library.

Step 2. Select "All Photos," then tap Select at the top-right corner.

Step 3. Select videos and photos to delete.

Step 4. Tap the trash can icon.

After the process, photos and videos remain on your phone for one month before they are removed.

Method 3. Clear Safari's cache

Other times, you can free up space from your browser's cache. This deletes all temporary internet files and login details of all the websites you are logged into. In addition, all cookies will be deleted. Here's how to clear Safari's cache:

Step 1. Open "Settings" and tap Safari.

Step 2. Then, tap "Clear History and Website Data."

Step 3. Select "Clear History and Data" in the pop-up, and that's it.

Method 4. Automatically delete old text messages

Usually, text messages only take up a little space, except you have images and other media. In addition, iPhone offers an excellent way to delete old text messages automatically. Here's how to go about it.

Step 1. Open the Settings application.

Step 2. Tap "Messages."

Step 3. Select "Keep Messages."

Step 4. Tap either 30 days, one year, or Forever to select a specific time to keep messages before they are deleted.

Step 5. Select "Delete" to get rid of them or Cancel to keep them.

Method 5. Delete attachments in Messages

Finally, your iPhone Messages store videos and images that can take up a lot of space. To delete these attachments in Messages, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Go to "Settings."

Step 2. Select "General," then select "iPhone Storage."

Step 3. Scroll down to choose Messages and then tap "Photos and Videos."

Step 4. Tap Edit at the top-right screen corner, and select the photos you want to delete.

Step 5. Tap the trash can Delete icon at the right corner to remove unwanted photos in the Messages app.

Conclusion

Your iPhone storage gets filled because you need to learn how to free up space on your iPhone. You can delete or offload large apps, delete photos or videos, clear Safari's cache, automatically delete old text messages, and even delete attachments in Messages. Detailed steps have been provided to guide you irrespective of your chosen method.

FAQs

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions to help you.

1. Why is iPhone storage full when I have iCloud?

This is due to the previous backup setting made in your previous iPhone, which often does not remove duplicates.

2. Why is my storage full when I deleted everything?

Your storage is full after deleting everything because of system data (logs, caches, and other resources needed for your iPhone to function); you may have to clear out the iPhone cache to resolve this.

3. How do I move storage from iPhone to iCloud?

Under Settings, tap the Apple ID name on top. Then tap iCloud on the next screen, after which you select "iCloud Backup." Toggle on the iCloud Backup Switch.