Top tips: 4 tips to fix your phone's storage problem
Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what's trending in the tech world and list practical ways to explore these trends. This week, we're clearing out the one notification nobody wants to see: storage full.
You’re about to capture the perfect moment and a message pops up: Storage full.
The same sentiment applies to a fridge:Nobody means to overstuff it, but a little goes in every day at a faster rate than items come out, until a lemon ends up balanced on the edge of a shelf.
Your phone works the same way, with photos, forwards, and downloads going in daily and rarely leaving. Often, the fix isn’t more space; it’s clearing out what’s already there.
Here are four ways to give your phone some breathing room.
1. Open the door and look
Nobody clears a fridge by throwing things out blindly. You open the door and see what's actually in there first. Your phone deserves the same.
How to do it:
On iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage
On Android, open Settings > Storage
Evaluate which category is biggest.
On Android, Files by Google can also suggest junk files, old screenshots, and downloads to clear.
2. Move the big stuff to the deep freezer
Not everything needs prime shelf space. The bulky items go in the deep freezer, and you keep a small portion in the fridge for easy reach. Photos and videos are the bulkiest things on your phone, so treat them the same way: Keep the full-size originals in the cloud and let your phone hold lighter previews.
How to do it:
iPhone: Go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Photos, turn on iCloud Photos, then choose Optimize iPhone Storage.
Android: Go to Google photos > your profile picture > Photos settings > turn on Backup with Google Photos, then tap Free up space to remove copies that are already backed up
Empty the trash afterwards. Deleted photos linger in Google Photos’ Trash and iPhone’s Recently Deleted until you clear them.
3. Switch to space-saving containers
Sometimes, the fridge isn't full of too much food; it's just poorly stored. Your phone can have the same problem, with unused apps and temporary files taking up space.
How to do it:
iPhone: Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage, then tap an app and select Offload App. This removes the app but keeps its documents and data. You can also enable Offload Unused Apps to do this automatically.
Android: Go to Settings > Apps > select an app > Storage > Clear cache.
4. Find the jar at the back
Every fridge has one: A jar pushed so far back that nobody remembers buying it or wants to be the one to open it.
Your phone has its own version: forwarded videos, finished downloads and old screenshots you never looked at twice.
How to do it:
Chats: Open your messaging app’s storage screen (in WhatsApp: Settings > Storage and data > Manage storage) and clear the biggest files first. These are usually forwarded videos you’ve already seen.
Downloads: Open Files (or Files by Google on Android) and clear out the Downloads folder.
Finished media: Delete any movies, episodes and podcasts you’ve already watched.
A fridge rarely overflows from the actions of one day,and neither does a phone. It happens a little at a time, and it clears the same way.
You don’t need to do all four tips tonight. Pick one, give it ten minutes, and you’ll have room again for the moments worth capturing. A clear-out also keeps your phone ready for software updates, which need free space to install. So the next time the perfect moment arrives, your phone will be ready.