Since the iPhone offers so many possibilities for entertainment and productivity, as well as a fantastic camera, it is likely that you run out of storage space very quickly. Thankfully, it is possible to free up space to add new files and apps to your device.
There are a few simple things that you can do to get more iPhone storage.
Delete apps that you don’t use
This is the first thing to consider and while it sounds obvious, it is something that not everybody keeps in mind. It is advisable to check your list of apps regularly to find those who you don’t really use anymore. If needed, you can download the apps again at a later stage and even if it is a paid app, you w ill be able to get it again (without paying twice) since your purchases are linked to your Apple ID. When it comes to games, keep in mind that some of them use data stored locally inside an app and before you delete them, it s better to back them up to iCloud or to a game account set up with the developer.
Delete old conversations
SMS messages and iMessage conversations can also affect your storage space significantly. Sometimes we get nostalgic and don’t want to get rid of old message threads, or we simply forget to clear them out. In any case, these old messages can be taking up a lot of space and deleting them, could help us to reclaim it. You can store important messages in the cloud, but anything that you won’t need anymore should be deleted.
Reduce the amount of iTunes music and videos on your device
Deleting music will also help you to free up space on your iPad or iPhone. If you purchased tracks on iTunes, don’t worry, you will be able to download it again with the help of iTunes in the Cloud. This is an options that allows you to re-download iTunes music and videos that you have previously deleted. If you bought a movie or a song on iTunes, in the vast majority of cases, you will be able to delete it and download it again at a later stage. In some cases, the content is subject to restrictive licenses that may prevent you from downloading the content again, but this is almost never the case.
Get rid of old videos and photos
Photos and videos take a lot of your storage space capacity and it is possible that there are some that you don’t even want to keep. As you accumulate photos and videos on your iPhone, your Camera Roll expands and eventually, you will not have more space for new media content. In the case of videos, if you use options like slow motion or want to keep high quality videos, the amount of storage available can be reduced even further. By going through your photos and videos to select the ones that you don’t really want, you can regain some lost storage space that is being wasted.
If you have iCloud Photo Library enabled on your iOS device, you will be able to free up storage space, while keeping the files that you want. However, it is important to note that this option requires that you have enough storage space available in iCloud. You may need to purchase additional capacity in order to keep all the photos that you want. In addition, keep in mind that it is not possible to see some photos offline. Recent photos and the ones that you access in a regular basis, are kept in physical storage by iCloud Photo Library. If there is a large amount of free storage space, iCloud Photo Library will use it to add more photos in local storage. If needed, iCloud Photo Library will get rid of local copies to free up space. This takes place in the background, without any action required on your side. You can follow the below steps to enable iCloud Photo Library.
- Tap on Settings and choose Photos & Camera.
- Toggle iCloud Photo Library on.
- Ensure that the option for Optimize iPhone/iPad storage is marked.
Another option that you can consider is a cloud storage service. There are many solutions available that will make things simple when it comes to storing your photos in the cloud. You can find free options like Google Photos, which provides unlimited storage, or Flickr which provides a generous 1TB free of charge. Dropbox is one of the most popular solutions available and you can configure automatic photo uploads to make sure that your photos are protected automatically. If you have a large collection of photos and videos, you may want to consider a paid service.
Some of the most reliable options include SugarSync, Amazon, Backblaze and more. Freeing up storage space on your iPhone or iPad is important, but you also need to safeguard your files. The best way to prevent loss of data and ensure that you can get access to your photos and videos whenever needed, is to use different storage methods. You can use different options at the same time, or split your data between them as you find more suitable.
Uninstall and reinstall apps that are taking a toll on your device’s storage
Apps like Facebook and WhatsApp are very popular and it is likely that you use them on a regular basis. However, they can take a large amount of storage as time goes by. It is important to keep an eye on the storage usage to see what apps are taking up a lot of space. You can uninstall and reinstall the apps to remove all the cached data and get back some space. In order to see what apps are eating your iPhone storage space, you can follow the below steps.
- Tap on Settings and select General
- Select Storage & iCloud Usage
- Tap on Manage Storage, under the Storage section, which is not the same as iCloud. There you will see an overview of the amount of storage that each app is consuming. You can tap on any of the apps and delete some of them. Once the apps are deleted, thecache data will be gone and then you can go to the App Store, download them and install them again.
