7 Proven Ways to Free Up Space on iPhone and iPad

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You are trying to download a new game on your iPad or you take your iPhone out of your pocket to take a photo, and you see the hated message: "There is almost no space." Needless to say how annoying it is. Let's better tell you what can be done so that the next time it will not appear soon.

Reboot the device

You might be surprised, but a regular reboot also helps to clear up disk space. And the thing is that during startup, iOS deletes caches and temporary files. Restarting your iPhone or iPad is easy: just hold down the Power and Home buttons until you see an apple on the screen.

Removing caches through settings

Some applications allow you to remove cached data from system settings. Unfortunately, iOS does not distinguish which of them implement this feature, so you have to go to each and check for yourself.

Go to Settings → General → Storage & iCloud Usage and click Manage. Then, one by one, select each application in the list and check how much space is taken up by the data that is stored in it. For example, my Safari reading list swelled to 140 megabytes, which can be cleared without any consequences. We press "Change" and mercilessly delete. We do the same with other applications (this is exactly what you can do with "Music", "Video", "Podcasts").

Removing caches through the cleaning function in applications

Yes, the applications of bona fide developers provide such a function. Tweetbot is an example.

During the day, a huge amount of media flashes in your feed, which are deposited in the cache. For convenience, the developers have provided the ability to easily clean it. You can also delete the cache in the VK client, Pocket and other applications that actively download files from the Internet.

Reinstalling Applications

If you see in the storage usage statistics that the application takes up a lot of space, but you cannot clear the cache separately, you will have to delete it along with the application.

Just uninstall and reinstall the app and the problem is guaranteed to go away. Just remember to save the content from the application before deleting it. It is convenient to reinstall it from the Purchase tab in the App Store. And in order not to later remember the location of the icons on the desktop, take a screenshot before deleting.

Reset settings and content

Yes, you read that correctly. Sometimes it's easier to start from scratch than to spend time looking for space eaters. In the end, there is nothing wrong with completely erasing data: applications can be quickly reinstalled, and contacts, calendars, notes, etc. will be pulled from iCloud.

If you decide to take such a step, go to "Settings" → "General" → "Reset" and feel free to click "Erase all content and settings." Yes, I almost forgot: never restore your device from a backup! Be sure to set it up as new, or else the garbage that takes up space will move back.

Cleaning with special utilities

Don't want to bother? Well, there is a way for you too. These are special cleaners and file managers for iOS devices with a corresponding function. I can name at least four such utilities:

• PhoneClean;
• PhoneExpander;
• iFunBox;
• iMazing.

Choose any, connect your iOS device, scan the file system and remove all unnecessary junk.

Something else and preventive measures

And now how to avoid fast memory filling. I’m not urging you to turn off everything and everyone, but giving up features you don’t use would be smart, right?

• Disable storage of HDR originals (Settings → Photos & Camera → Keep Original).
• Clear your Safari history and cookies (Settings → Safari → Clear History and Site Data).
• Turn off VoiceOver Enhanced Speech (Settings → General → Accessibility → VoiceOver → Speech).
• Disable system languages that you are not using (Settings → General → Language and Region).
• Leave background refresh only for the applications you need (Settings → General → Content Refresh).
• Delete the used mail accounts and add them again.
• Clear Siri's cache by disabling and re-enabling Siri in Settings.
• Delete the Recently Deleted album in the gallery.
• Change the video recording quality to 1080p 30 fps or 720p 30 fps.

That, perhaps, is all. Hopefully these tips will help you free up a couple of gigabytes and keep them busy.