Easy Ways to Free Up Storage on Your iPhone

No matter how many pictures of happy memories or movies you have on your iPhone, running out of storage can be a major inconvenience. It prevents you from installing updates, downloading apps, or even taking new photos and videos. Additionally, your phone may begin to crash more frequently. Luckily, there are several options to free up space on your phone without deleting anything or spending money.

Clearing Large Files and Cloud Alternatives

If you’re not ready to part with your large files, such as movies and music albums, and don’t want to pay for cloud storage, there are other options. One option is to purchase a new phone with more storage, but this can be costly. Instead, you can take advantage of certain iOS features to optimize your iPhone’s storage without deleting anything or spending any money.

Optimize Your iPhone Photos and Videos

If you’re running out of storage space on your device, but don’t want to lose your precious memories or funny memes, there’s a way to optimize your photos and videos. By default, every photo and video you take on your iPhone is saved in full resolution, which can be a space hog. To free up some space, head to Settings > Photos and turn on Optimize iPhone Storage. This will transfer your full-resolution files to iCloud and keep smaller, lower-resolution versions on your device. You can still access the high-resolution files whenever you need them by downloading them from the Photos app.

Offload Your Biggest Apps

It’s common to have many apps on your iPhone that you rarely use, but they take up valuable storage space. To free up some space without losing your apps permanently, you can offload them. To see which apps are taking up the most space, go to Settings, then General, and then iPhone Storage. Note that you can’t offload built-in apps like Photos and Messages. However, you can offload other apps that you don’t use frequently. Simply tap on the app you want to offload and select “Offload App.” This will remove the app from your device while keeping the documents and data saved. If you need temporary storage for a software update, you can offload multiple apps until you have enough space. To restore an offloaded app, redownload it from the App Library or your home screen.

By optimizing your photos and videos and offloading unused apps, you can significantly increase the available storage on your iPhone. These built-in iOS features allow you to make room for software updates, capture more photos and videos, and download additional apps without having to delete anything or make any additional purchases.

For more tips on freeing up storage on your iPhone, check out our guide on easy tricks to free up space and the best cloud storage options available in 2023.