How to Free Up Storage Space When Your Phone Says It's Full

By Riley · Reviewed by CaseyLast updated July 15, 2026

When your phone says storage is full, the fastest fix is usually to clear out photos and videos you’ve already backed up, delete apps you no longer use, and empty app caches — in that order, since photos and videos almost always take up the most space. The steps below walk through exactly where to find and clear each of these on iPhone and Android.

Before deleting anything: make sure your photos are backed up first (see our article on backing up photos and contacts), so you can safely remove them from your phone without losing them for good.

Step 1: Check what’s actually using your storage

On iPhone:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General, then iPhone Storage.
3. You’ll see a bar showing what’s using space (Photos, Apps, System Data, and more), plus a list of individual apps sorted by size.

On Android:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Storage (on some phones, this is under Battery and device care or Storage → Manage storage).
3. You’ll see a breakdown by category — Photos, Videos, Apps, and so on.

This tells you exactly where to focus first, rather than guessing.

Step 2: Clear out photos and videos you’ve already backed up

1. Confirm your photos are backed up to iCloud or Google Photos (check under Settings, or open the Photos/Google Photos app and look for “Backup complete”).
2. Open your Photos app (iPhone) or Google Photos app (Android).
3. Look for an option like “Free up space” or “Delete originals” — Google Photos has this built directly into its menu; on iPhone, once photos are fully backed up to iCloud, you can free up local space under Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos → Optimize iPhone Storage.
4. Confirm the deletion. Since your photos are backed up, they remain accessible in the cloud — this just clears them off your device itself.

Step 3: Delete apps you no longer use

1. Look at the storage breakdown from Step 1 and note any large apps you rarely open.
2. On iPhone: touch and hold the app icon, tap Remove App, then Delete App.
3. On Android: open Settings → Apps, tap the app, then tap Uninstall.
4. Don’t worry about losing your account or data for most apps — logging back in later usually restores your information, since it’s stored on the app’s own servers, not just your phone.

Step 4: Clear app caches

Many apps (especially social media and web browsers) build up temporary “cache” files over time that can be safely cleared:

On iPhone: Many apps have a “clear cache” or “offload” option in the app’s own settings menu, or under Settings → General → iPhone Storage, tap the app and choose Offload App (this removes the app but keeps its documents and data, and reinstalls it fresh next time you tap it).

On Android: Go to Settings → Apps, tap an app, tap Storage, then tap Clear Cache (avoid “Clear Data” unless you’re prepared to lose that app’s saved settings).

Step 5: Empty deleted items

Deleted photos and messages often sit in a “Recently Deleted” folder for a set number of days before being permanently removed, still taking up space in the meantime:

1. Open Photos (iPhone) or Google Photos (Android).
2. Look for Recently Deleted or Trash in the menu.
3. Select Delete All to permanently remove them now, rather than waiting out the countdown.

Step 6: Check text message attachments

On iPhones especially, years of photos and videos sent through Messages can quietly use a large amount of space:

1. Go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage.
2. Tap Messages in the list.
3. Review options to review and delete old attachments or large conversations.

Frequently asked questions