In this case, you can choose to uninstall some unwanted or unused apps to free up storage space. This operation is very simple. To uninstall an app, go to Settings in your Android phone, and enter the Apps section to get a list of all apps that have been installed on your device. Also, you can sort them by size. Check & free up memory. Android manages the memory that apps use. You don't usually need to close apps. But if an app isn't responding, try closing the app. Learn how to troubleshoot apps that aren't working. If you are getting notifications like this on your android phone or tablet or your phone is unusually slow and freezing from time to time, then is likely that your storage space is running out. Below are 7 possible ways to free up storage space on your android phone or tablet and get your phone running smoothly again.
- Free Up Space On Android Device
- Free Up System Memory On Android Phone
- Freeing Up Memory On Android Phone
Have you deleted apps only to find that your Android phone's memory is still full? Does it lack a micro SD card expansion slot? Maybe it's chock full of photos and videos that you just don't want to delete.
These problems are common on all smartphones. But unlike iPhones and iPads, Android devices make it easy to free up space through tools built into the OS, as well as Google's free cloud services. This guide will explain all the ways you can de-clutter your Android phone or tablet and maximize your available storage.
NOTE: The following advice assumes you're using Android 4.4 KitKat or higher. Even in that case, there may be some inconsistencies with phones using heavily manufacturer-customized operating systems, like the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Check Your Usage
First and foremost, you'll want to check out your current storage situation to see what's using the most space. Simply go into Android's Settings menu and tap Storage. That will bring up a screen that breaks your local storage down into six categories: Apps, Pictures and Videos, Audio, Downloads, Cached Data, and Misc.
Inside the Storage menu, you can click on each category to go to the appropriate app for managing that particular type of data. Check out the following sections for tips on how to tackle the worst offenders.
Pictures and Video
If you're like most people, your smartphone is your go-to camera. That means there's a good chance pictures and video are some of the biggest storage hogs on your device. But don't worry: You don't have to permanently erase those memories in order to free up space.
Related content
feature
Samsung Galaxy S21 phones and Buds Pro for pre-ordernews
LG's Rollable smartphone makes an appearance at CES 2021
Instead, you can back them up to any number of cloud photo storage services. While there are dozens to choose from, one of the best services Android users is the new Google Photos. What was once part of the Google+ social network is now an incredibly powerful, totally free standalone cloud solution for not only backing up your memories, but keeping them within easy reach.
RELATED: How to Free Up Storage on Your iPhone or iPad
Better still, thanks to Android's open and user-adjustable design, you can let Google Photos take the place of your default Gallery app, and even automatically upload your photos and videos as you take them. Viewing them at a later date is just as easy as browsing your local gallery, assuming you have a good cellular data or WiFi connection.
Google Photos
- You can view photos stored locally on your device by tapping on 'Device folders' in the Google Photos app's menu.
- Once you have selected the photos you want to delete from your local storage, tap on the three dots to reveal the 'Delete device copy' button.
- Tapping the 'Delete device copy' button will remove the photos from your device. Just make sure they were backed up before you do so.
Slide 1 of 3
You can view photos stored locally on your device by tapping on 'Device folders' in the Google Photos app's menu.Slide 1 of 3
Once you have selected the photos you want to delete from your local storage, tap on the three dots to reveal the 'Delete device copy' button.Slide 1 of 3
Tapping the 'Delete device copy' button will remove the photos from your device. Just make sure they were backed up before you do so.
Of course, you'll still need to delete the copies in your local storage. Luckily, that's something Google Photos makes dead simple. Here's how:
- Tap the Menu button (in the upper left corner of the screen) and select Device folders.
- On next screen, select everything you want to delete.
- Tap on the three-dot symbol in the upper right corner to access the Delete device copy button.
The procedure is similar for other media, like movies and books. You can easily delete local copies while still making them available for streaming. Google Play Books and Movies both have Manage downloads pages in their settings menu, where you can delete local copies. If you prefer the Amazon Kindle app, you can do the same there.
Music and Audio
If you're really into music, you're probably using either Spotify or Google Play Music. Both of these services prioritize streaming, but also allow you to download local copies for offline listening. That's a great feature to have, but you can easily forget what you've downloaded and fill up your storage with music you haven't spun in months.
Luckily, it's easy to delete these downloaded copies. Like Play Books and Play Movies, Google Play Music also has a Manage downloads screen in its settings. For its part, Spotify simply has a Make available offline toggle. If you don't want to keep the music around anymore, just flick it to the off position on a case-by-case basis.
For other audio files on your device (like ringtones and voice recordings), tapping on the Audio category under Storage in Settings app will bring up a simple file manager, allowing you to easily get rid of any files you no longer need.
Google Play Music
- If you scroll down in the Google Play Music app's settings, you will find the 'Manage downloads' button.
- On the 'Manage downloads' screen, tapping on the orange checkmark circle next to a song will bring up a prompt to delete the downloaded copy.
- On the 'Manage downloads' screen, tapping on the orange checkmark circle next to a song will bring up a prompt to delete the downloaded copy.
Slide 1 of 3
If you scroll down in the Google Play Music app's settings, you will find the 'Manage downloads' button.Slide 1 of 3
On the 'Manage downloads' screen, tapping on the orange checkmark circle next to a song will bring up a prompt to delete the downloaded copy.Slide 1 of 3
On the 'Manage downloads' screen, tapping on the orange checkmark circle next to a song will bring up a prompt to delete the downloaded copy.
Apps, Cached Data, and Downloads
Before we go into dealing with apps themselves, we recommend you first see how much room you can make by deleting your cached data and downloads. This is the crud that builds up in your phone's memory during day-to-day use, and cleaning it out once in a while is simply a good policy.
If you tap on Cached data in the Storage settings menu, a prompt will appear asking you if you'd like to delete cached data for all apps on your Android device. If you've never done this before, it could end up freeing up a substantial amount of space. (On one well-used phone we managed to clear 2.78 GB.) The Downloads category works much like the Audio category described above, with a file manager where you can manually select what to dispose of.
Android Settings App
- Tapping on 'Cached data' in the Storage menu will bring up this prompt to delete all cached data on your device.
- If you tap on Apps in the Storage menu, you will be taken to this list of installed apps.
- Tapping on an app will bring you to this screen, allowing you clear the app's cache and data, or uninstall it.
Slide 1 of 3
Tapping on 'Cached data' in the Storage menu will bring up this prompt to delete all cached data on your device.Slide 1 of 3
If you tap on Apps in the Storage menu, you will be taken to this list of installed apps.Slide 1 of 3
Tapping on an app will bring you to this screen, allowing you clear the app's cache and data, or uninstall it.
Free Up Space On Android Device
Finally, there are the apps themselves. If you've moved all your media to the cloud, cleared your caches, and deleted extraneous downloads, but still need more space, it's time to start purging apps. Tapping on Apps in the Storage menu will bring up a list of all the apps on your device, sorted by how much storage space they use.
From there, you can tap on individual apps to do a few different things. First, you can (and should) Clear Cache, assuming you didn't already clear cached data for all apps. Then, if necessary, Clear Data. Keep in mind that this will get rid of login info, stored preferences, and other assets—in essence, it's like returning an app to its newly downloaded state. And if you want to get rid of the app entirely, you can simply tap Uninstall and follow the prompts.
Using these tips, you should be able to dramatically increase the amount of free space on your Android phone or tablet. But if you're in the market for a new phone, there are things you can do to avoid having to employ any of these methods.
If you're not comfortable surrendering your data to cloud services, we recommend that you look into getting an Android device with expandable storage. Google's focus on the cloud means fewer Android phones come with MicroSD card slots, but those that do can typically accept cards as large as 128 GB, giving you plenty of room to play with. It's an added expense, to be sure, but you'll be grateful for the room when you really have to get that shot.
Related Video
Have you been receiving the “Phone storage is full” notification on your iOS or Android phone? You can easily free up space with a little spring cleaning on your smartphone. Here’s a breakdown of what you can safely delete to give yourself some more space.
How to free up space on your phone
We use our phones for everything these days, from our music player and camera to ordering groceries. So it’s easy to find yourself with a lot of unused apps and cached data taking up space on your phone that you could really use to take more pics of your beloved pet. Every day, Asurion Experts help our 300 million customers (and counting!) to get the most out of the tech devices they love and rely on, including how to free up space on their smartphones. We’ll walk you through what you can do to get more device storage, from how to clear cache on your phone to how to back up your data to the cloud.
How to check your phone storage
The first thing you’ll want to do is check to see which apps on your smartphone are the biggest users of space and delete the ones you can live without. On your phone’s usage screens, you will see your available storage, along with a list of your apps ranked from top to bottom based on how much space they’re occupying. With a little luck, you’ll find an app that’s taking up a lot of space that you never use, so you’ll have no problems saying goodbye to it.
On Android
Android has built-in tools to check your storage.
- In Settings, select Device Care (may also be Battery and device care).
- Then, click on Storage.
- From there, you can see what’s taking up space on your phone.
On iPhone
iPhone also has a built-in system check.
- Tap on Settings.
- Then, choose General.
- From there, select iPhone Storage.
- At the top of the screen, you can check out how much storage is used on your iPhone, what content takes up the most space, and how much memory is left.
What apps should I delete to get more storage on my phone?
Consider whether the apps that you rarely use really and truly need to be on your smartphone. Ask yourself, “Does this app provide a function that I cannot get by going to the company’s website?” If it does, then by all means, let it be. If not, delete the app and bookmark the company’s website instead.
For Android users who wish they could remove some of the apps pre-installed by Google or their wireless carrier, you’re in luck. You may not always be able to uninstall those, but for newer Android devices, you can at least “disable” them and reclaim the storage space they’ve taken up. Simply long press the app icon in the apps menu and choose Disable from the pop-up window.
For many social apps on your iPhone, you can choose the Offload App option to help free up space. Settings > iPhone Storage > choose an app > then enable Offload App. This feature will automatically offload your unused apps when you’re low on storage, while saving your related documents and data for future access.
How to clean my files and delete unwanted documents
File manager apps can help you to easily clean up your phone and create more storage space. These apps can scan your device to remove duplicate files, clean up your contact list, and identify apps you don’t use that are hogging needed space. Here are a few worth checking out.
Best file manager apps for iPhone and Android
Files by Google
Available for Android devices
Files by Google easily scans your device and gives recommendations for freeing up your phone’s storage space with just a few taps. The app also helps you to keep your device free of clutter, sending you prompts from time-to-time to remove junk or temporary files that impact your phone’s performance.
Smart Cleaner
Available for iOS devices
Smart Cleaner scans your iPhone storage and allows you to easily remove duplicate contacts, screenshots, and similar photos from your gallery. Its Smart Cleaning function makes the process simple, taking care of freeing up space with just a single tap of a button.
KeepClean
Free Up System Memory On Android Phone
Available for Android devices
KeepClean is a powerful all-in-one solution for your phone storage cleanup needs, offering everything from junk file and device cache cleaning to antivirus security. It also helps keep your phone performing at its best with its built-in battery saver and quick charging functions.
Back up photos, videos, music from your smartphone to the cloud
If you’re still in need of additional storage wiggle room, check out your photo and video albums. Deleting duplicate photos will be a huge help – and you’re likely to have a lot, since it typically takes 10+ tries to get that perfect selfie. But the biggest space saver will be deleting video files. Video files tend to be huge, so the more you can get rid of, the better. Post them on social media or a cloud storage account, or save them to your home computer before deleting them from your smartphone. You should also consider enabling automatic uploading from your camera roll to Dropbox or another cloud storage solution – check out our easy guide to backing up your phone photos.
Keeping music downloaded on your device can also take up room on your device. Consider keeping only the music you really love and want to be able to listen to if there’s no WiFi or wireless service available. Otherwise, stick to music streaming apps like Pandora or Spotify, since they take up much less space than a big music library.
Best cloud storage for Android and iPhone
- Google Photos offers 15 GB of free storage, which is more than most cloud services offer. With features like tagging for faces and places, plus it being backed by Google’s powerful search, Google Photos makes locating the particular photo or video you’re looking for simple and keeps your phone photos organized.
- iCloud offers 2GB of free storage and allows you sync files between your iOS devices as well as your PC, but take note: there’s currently no iCloud option for your Android devices. A bonus feature is the Family Sharing option, which allows family members to share access to music and App Store purchases and a family photo album. Check out our guide on how to use iCloud.
- Dropbox offers 2GB of free storage and is a simple solution if you’re just looking to back up files and sync them between your devices. The Dropbox app allows you to automatically back-up photos or videos as they are taken, making it even easier to keep the storage space on your phone uncluttered.
Do emails, text message and voicemails take space on mobile phones?
You’d be surprised at how much space old text messages and voicemail take up on your device. Sure, there are certain exchanges you keep for the sake of cherished memories, but the photos of your dogs in their Halloween costumes you text to your spouse a year ago probably aren’t the best use of storage space on your phone. Take a few minutes to go through these and delete where necessary.
Clear your phone cache
What is phone cache?
Phone cache is information—like files, scripts or images—that is saved on your device after visiting a website or opening an app for the first time that speeds up your experience when returning to them in the future.
If you’re like most people, you use your phone for just about everything, which means over time your phone will collect a large amount of cached data that you just don’t need and that will put a strain on your phone’s memory. Clearing out your phone’s cache occasionally will help to free up a little storage space on your device and will likely improve your device’s overall performance.
How to clear cache on your phone
If you have an app that’s running slowly or crashing, clearing the app’s cache can solve a lot of basic issues. Clearing app cache will erase unnecessary files, but you won’t lose any of your app’s saved passwords or data.
How to clear cache on Android:
- Go to your device Settings.
- Choose Apps.
- Click on an often used app, like Chrome. Then, click on Storage.
- Click on the Clear Cache icon in the bottom right corner.
- Repeat these steps for the other apps on your device.
Freeing Up Memory On Android Phone
How to clear cache on iPhone:
Instructions to clear app cache on an iPhone varies from developer to developer. If you suspect a particular third-party app is causing performance issues, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. There, you’ll see your apps listed in order of size. You can click on an individual app to see if there are options available to clear cache data. If there is no cache clearing option available, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Protect your phone now.
For more than 25 years, Asurion has helped 300 million customers protect, connect, and enjoy the tech they love most. And smartphones are no exception. Your life is on your device, make sure it’s protected. Learn more about coverage and enroll in a phone insurance plan today.
The Asurion® trademarks and logos are the property of Asurion, LLC. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Asurion is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the respective owners of the other trademarks appearing herein.