"How to free up storage space on iPhone? My storage is full on my iPhone but I have 200g of storage available on my cloud but don't seem to be able to use it."
- from Apple Community
Have you ever seen the dreaded "iPhone Storage Full" message pop up right when you want to take a picture or download an app? You're not alone. Many iPhone users face this issue. Don't worry; this article will explain in detail the reasons why your iPhone storage is running low and show you how to clear iPhone storage cache, so your phone can feel smooth and new again.
Before trying to free up space, it's essential to understand why your iPhone storage gets full so easily. iPhone storage is usually filled up due to the following types of reasons:
Once you know what's eating up your space, you can take targeted actions to reclaim it.
You can go to "Settings" > "General" > "iPhone Storage" to check and manage the storage on your iPhone. Here, you'll see a color-coded bar showing the available space, used space, and what's taking up that storage.
Don't panic when you find your iPhone is running out of space. By using the following methods, you can efficiently clean up your device, optimize storage usage, and restore your phone to smooth performance.
Your photo library is likely the biggest space hog. Managing it efficiently can instantly free up gigabytes.
Step 1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
Step 2. Go through albums and select unneeded photos or videos.
Step 3. Tap "Delete", then confirm.
Step 4. Go to "Albums" > "Recently Deleted" and tap "Delete All" to permanently remove them.
Step 1. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > "iCloud" > "Photos".
Step 2. Turn on "iCloud Photos".
Step 3. Select "Optimize iPhone Storage" to store lower-resolution previews locally.
Over time, your iPhone collects many apps that you rarely use, but they still occupy precious space. iOS allows you to offload or delete these apps easily. Here are the steps:
Step 1. Go to "Settings" > "General" > "iPhone Storage".
Step 2. Review the list of apps sorted by size.
Step 3. Tap an unused app and choose:
Note: If you want, you can turn on the "Offload Unused Apps" feature from the iPhone Storage page to automatically remove apps you don't use while keeping their data.
Long-term web browsing generates a large amount of cache, cookies, and history data, which not only takes up space but can also slow down performance. Regularly clearing Safari's cache can effectively free up space. Here is how to do it:
Step 1. Go to the "Settings" app and click "Safari".
Step 2. Scroll down and click "Clear History and Website Data".
Step 3. After that, click the "Clear History and Data" icon.
Messages, especially those with media attachments, can silently fill your iPhone storage over time. Enabling auto-delete will remove older messages automatically, keeping your storage clean. To do it, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Open "Settings" > "Messages".
Step 2. Scroll to "Keep Messages" and select "30 Days" or "1 Year".
Step 3. Confirm to automatically delete older texts and attachments.
If your iPhone storage is completely full and none of the above helps, performing a factory reset can start you fresh. However, this will remove all your personal data, so make sure to back up first. To erase all content and settings on your iPhone, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Go to "Settings" > "General" > "Transfer or Reset iPhone".
Step 2. Choose "Erase All Content and Settings". (iPhone won't erase?)
Step 3. Enter your passcode and confirm.
Step 4. Wait for your iPhone to reset completely.
If you want to wipe your iPhone completely and make data unrecoverable, using a professional tool is far more effective than a standard factory reset. That's where Coolmuster iOS Eraser comes in. It is a trusted data erasing tool designed to permanently delete everything from your iPhone - photos, messages, contacts, app data, cache, and even hidden system files. Once wiped, your data cannot be recovered by any software.
Main features of iOS Eraser:
Here is how to delete everything on iPhone using iOS Eraser:
01Connect your iDevice to your computer via a USB cable. The software will automatically detect your device, and once connected, the main interface will appear, ready for the erasure process.
02Click the "Erase" button, choose your desired security level (Low, Medium, or High), and confirm by selecting "OK".
03When prompted, type "delete" to confirm, then click "Erase" again. A final confirmation will pop up; click "OK" to proceed with permanent deletion.
04Once the process is complete, all data on your device will be permanently erased and unrecoverable. You can then proceed to set up your iDevice as new.
Video Tutorial:
Q1. What happens when iPhone storage is full?
When your iPhone storage is full, you may encounter the following issues:
Q2. What takes up the most storage on my iPhone?
Typically, iOS system data, apps, photos, and videos consume the most storage on an iPhone.
Q3. Is iCloud storage the same as iPhone storage?
No, they are not the same. iCloud is cloud storage and does not directly affect your device's local storage. Uploading photos to iCloud can help free up space on your device.
When your iPhone storage is full, it not only affects your user experience but can also slow down system performance. By cleaning up photos, deleting unused apps, clearing cache, and setting up auto-delete for messages, you can effectively free up space.
If you want to completely wipe your data and restore your device to a factory-fresh state, Coolmuster iOS Eraser is the perfect solution. It allows you to permanently erase all data on your iPhone with a single click, protecting your privacy, freeing up storage, and making your device feel like new again.
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