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Many users complain about having too little memory on their smartphones. Many iPhones only have 64 or 128 GB of storage space, much of which is already taken up by the operating system. And after a few months, the annoying message, “iPhone Storage full”, appears. What can you do then? These 5 tips can help you free up space on your iPhone.
Locate Large Files
First of all, you should get an overview of which files on your iPhone are actually taking up the most storage space. To do this, go to General → iPhone storage in Settings. You can see how much storage space each app uses here.
If you were to tap on an app, you can see exactly how much space the app itself requires and how much space is taken up by the app’s data. For Netflix or YouTube, this includes your downloaded videos. Other apps take up a lot of space here, even if you haven’t saved anything extra.
Empty the Cache
If an app takes up a lot of storage space even though you haven’t actually saved any data in the app, this is usually due to the cache. Cache comprises automatically saved data on your device by apps because you use them frequently. This means you don’t have to download it from the internet every time. However, some apps do not use your storage space sparingly. For example, CapCut, Snapchat, or OneDrive tend to balloon in size quickly.
With some apps, such as Telegram, you can clear the cache in the app settings. This removes this data and frees up storage space on your iPhone. Your data will not be lost. It will simply be downloaded again when required.
Unfortunately, other apps do not offer this option. The only option here is to delete the app in question and reinstall it. For apps in which you have not stored any data, this can be performed quickly. Take TikTok for instance: Delete the app, download it again, and log in again. Everything will be as before and you will have gained several gigabytes of storage space in some cases.
Delete or Swap Apps
Under the apps and their respective memory usage, you can also see when you last opened the respective app. If there is no value, it has not been opened for a very long time. Delete apps you no longer need from your device — you can also download purchased apps from the App Store later for free if required.
Do you still have personal data in the app? Then you can also remove the app instead of deleting it. The app icon will remain on your home screen, and user data will be saved in iCloud. If you were to click on the app again later, it will be downloaded again and the data restored.
Photos & Videos
The biggest memory hogs on most iPhones are photos and videos. Over the years, more and more memories accumulate that require storage. The easiest option would be to simply delete them. But who wants to part with their precious memories?
Only the cloud can help here. It frees up more storage space on your iPhone and also protects your photos in case your iPhone malfunctions or is stolen.
The most convenient way to back up your photos is via iCloud. In Settings, tap on your profile at the top, followed by “iCloud”, and then “Photos”. You can activate the “Sync this iPhone” switch here. All your photos will then be backed up to the cloud. Depending on the number of photos, this can take days to weeks. Your iPhone only backs up the photos if you are currently connected to Wi-Fi and are not using the device.
To free up memory on your device, you must activate the “Optimize iPhone storage” option. The iPhone will then only keep your photos in low resolution on the device and in full resolution in the cloud. Want an example? I have approximately 37,000 photos and videos that take up around 340 GB of storage space on the iPhone. After activating “Optimize iPhone storage”, they only take up around 12 GB on the device. As soon as I call up a photo, it is downloaded in a fraction of a second and displayed in full resolution. Only without an internet connection do you notice that the photos are not actually on the device.
As the storage space in the cloud is not free, it is still a good idea to tidy up the media library. In other words, remove duplicates or delete long videos. These take up the most storage space.
Reduce WhatsApp Memory
WhatsApp is installed on almost every iPhone. Large amounts of data accumulate over time that are often no longer needed as well. However, getting rid of your chats and memories completely is an option only for a few. This is completely understandable. Nevertheless, it can’t hurt to tidy up WhatsApp once in a while.
To do this, launch the app, click the gear icon at the bottom right, followed by “Storage and data”, and then “Manage storage”. You can see which chats and groups consume the most storage here. Click on the relevant conversation to delete photos and videos from it. All media are conveniently sorted by size. If you delete photos and videos, they will be removed from your chat history. If you have previously saved them in the gallery, they will remain there. Your chat partner will not notice that you have deleted them either.
