Before we had 1TB storage iPhones (iPhone 13 Pro Max), the biggest iPhone storage capacity users could have was 8GB (the first iPhone). If we were in the year the first iPhone came out, 8GB is probably more than enough for music and low-quality photos and videos.
But in 2022, a 1TB iPhone is easily filled up by 1080p@60fps videos and HDR photos. Put some mobile games on top of that, and a 1TB iPhone will start giving your iPhone storage warnings. We can’t even begin to fathom what an 8GB iPhone can bring (or can’t bring).
As your trusted iPhone repair experts, it’s necessary for us to help you maximize your iPhone’s storage and avoid missing photo ops.
Here’s a list of five ways to free up space on your iPhone:
- Check which unused apps are taking storage space
You might have iPhone apps that you used only once that are taking storage space but aren’t actually useful to your daily smartphone use. Fortunately, you can easily check this by going to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
In there, you’ll see a breakdown of file types and apps that take space. Since newer iOS versions have the “Recommendations” section that’ll give you tips on how to free up space, you can follow those and get a few good GBs.
Alternatively, you can scroll down and view the list of apps and figure out which ones you don’t use and how much space they’re taking. If you don’t use them at all, just remove them, especially if they’re taking a lot of space that you can use for other stuff.
- Back up your photos and videos in iCloud
Each iPhone comes with a free 5GB iCloud storage users can take advantage of to back up files on their iPhone. It works for anything you store inside your iPhone, even emails. The free iCloud storage is perfect for storing photos and some videos. However, if your iPhone’s gallery is heavy, you might need to purchase additional iCloud storage.
To check if your iCloud backup is turned on, go to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud.
As an alternative, you can use Google Photos. It offers free 15GB worth of storage you can use to back up your iPhone’s photos and videos. This means you can keep your gallery’s content and still save iPhone storage.
- Delete music you stopped listening to
Your music taste might have changed over the years, but you forgot to refresh your Apple Music’s contents. Since most songs average about 20MB per file, having a hundred songs you don’t listen to takes around 2GB of iPhone storage you can use to store other files.
Fortunately, it’s easy to delete songs on your iPhone. Go to Settings > Music > Downloaded Music. Tap “Edit” at the top right corner and tap “-” to delete a music file.
Alternatively, you can turn on “Optimize Storage” to let your iPhone delete music that you haven’t played in a while. You can find this option in Settings > Music > Optimize Storage. Tap the toggle and turn it green.
- Delete old downloaded videos from Netflix or YouTube
Both Netflix and YouTube have offline downloads that take space on your iPhone storage, especially if the videos you’ve downloaded have piled up. They can take significant space if you continue downloading them without deleting old ones.
To delete downloaded videos in streaming apps, launch them and go to the downloaded videos section. Delete what you don’t watch anymore, and you should get free space to store other files.
- Delete old messages
It’s possible that your iPhone’s messages from the start are still in your phone and taking a lot of space. That includes media such as audio messages, photos, and videos sent over the Messages app.
You can manually delete messages from your Messages app or go into Settings > Messages. Tap “Keep Messages” and change it to 30 Days or 1 Year. Either option will delete messages received and sent based on your choice. This can save you significant iPhone storage since piled-up messages can take space.
