Free up storage space on iPhone or iPad

If you experience low storage errors or inability to download apps or documents, clear up storage by following this guide.

Prerequisites: Basic navigation of iPhone/iPad settings

Difficulty Level: Member • Nerd • Platypus

Estimated Time: 5-15 minutes

Expected Outcome: More storage space is now available

Tools Required: iPhone or iPad, patience 

Steps to Perform 

1. See what’s taking up so much space on your iPhone by going to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. 
   
2. Enable Recommendations. Check to see if you have Recommendations in the iPhone Storage menu and enable them. 
   (Note: Certain recommendations will make unwanted changes to your phone. Make sure to read their description before enabling them.)
   
3. Delete large and unused apps by selecting one from the list at the bottom of the iPhone Storage screen, then tap Delete App. You can also delete apps from the home screen by pressing and holding an app you want to delete until it begins to jiggle, tap the “X” on the top left of the app, then click Delete on the confirmation pop-up.
   
4. Offload large apps by tapping on one from the iPhone Storage screen and then click Offload App.
   (Offloading apps lets you reduce the size of an app, without losing any documents or data associated with it. It saves it in the cloud and to download it back to the phone, just click on it from the home screen)
   
5. Delete downloaded music by going to iPhone Storage > Music and tap Edit, tap the red minus sign and then Delete. 
   
6. Store photos on the cloud by going to Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos and make sure the slider next to iCloud Photos is green.
   
7. Turn off photo streaming by going to Settings > Photos then toggle off the Upload to My Photo Stream button.
   
8. Only save HDR-quality photos by going to Settings > Camera and toggling the Keep Normal Photo button off.
   (When you have the Keep Normal Photo option enabled, a normal version of the photo will be saved to your phone along with an HDR one. Disabling this feature will prevent photos from taking up double the amount of necessary space.)
   
9. Delete content stored in Messages (Top Conversation, Photos, Videos, GIFs and Stickers, and Other) by going to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Messages. Select a category then click Edit, choose the item or items that you want to delete, and then tap the Trash icon in the top right corner of your screen.
   
10. Clear your browser cache by going to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data. You can delete website data individually or choose to Remove All Website Data.
    
11. Delete old voice notes by opening the Voice Memos app and tapping Edit, then select a recording you want to remove and hit Delete.