The other day, I was scrolling through Instagram- as one does when they are prone to procrastination.
As I scrolled through the latest NBA trade rumors and general hubbub of social media, an ad popped up for a free game- one of those free puzzle things!
I had nothing better to do, so I went ahead and downloaded it. It was free, and looked like it might be fun!
Unfortunately though, I couldn’t find out- as apparently my phone’s storage was full, even though I have barely anything on it!
And try as I might, I could not clear enough space to download the game.
(Even though I had already deleted a bunch of stupid photos and useless screenshots to clear space for the latest Youtube app update.)
Disgruntled and unamused with this turn of events, I thought I would try and find some answers!
I am sure something similar has happened to many others, so to save you all some of the frustration that I had to endure, I thought I would collect together some of the best tips and tricks I could find on the internet to help fix this issue.
4 Handy Tips To Clear Out Space On Your Phone Properly
Tip Number One: Delete Unused Apps
How many apps are on your phone that you previously installed, with the honest belief that it would be helpful one day- only to discover that it’s either completely useless, or that you have to pay to get the features that make the app worthwhile?
Well, yeah… Me too.
I can probably count on my hands the amount of apps I actually use on a day-to-day basis, and yet my phone’s home screen is full of things I don’t need (like that one retro camera filter app I downloaded to make my stories look cool and alternative).
I think I’ve only used it once, and then completely forgotten about it until the writing of this article!
These unused apps are taking up unnecessary space in your phone’s storage, so you might as well clear them out.
Not only will this enhance your existing storage space, but it will also help make your phone run smoother and more efficiently!
Tip Number Two: Clear App Caches
If you are anything like I was with nary an idea of what app caches are, you’re in luck! I’m here to save you the trouble of looking it up.
After you launch an app for the first time, your phone stores files and other multimedia. This is cached data.
When the app is reopened, this data is then used to swiftly gather information to help speed up the app’s load time.
For example, your most listened-to playlists may be cached by Spotify so that they don’t have to load their whole song catalog every time you use the app.
Cached files take up a fair chunk of your phone’s memory storage, so clearing them out every now and then will help keep your storage free.
This can usually be done through the phone’s Settings. Once accessed, tap on the Apps page, and in the following page select which app’s caches you want to clear… and voila!
It’s important to note though that you do not need to purge all your data caches, as data caches are necessary in order to make your device run efficiently.
Tip Number Three: Store Photos And Videos In The Cloud
Photos and videos typically take up the most space on most people’s phones. As such, removing them can clear up a lot of space!
However, it can be hard to delete them. The sentiment and attachment we have to photos far outweighs the importance of the newest apps.
Thankfully though, thanks to apps like Google Photos (which comes pre-installed on all Android phones) and iCloud for Apple products, we no longer have to deal with this dilemma.
To save space, look through and delete unwanted photos, and keep the ones you care about by uploading them.
By backing up photos and videos to the cloud, we can keep our precious family memories (and equally precious embarrassing photos of our friends) safe, whilst simultaneously freeing up space on our phones!
It’s the ultimate win-win.
Tip Number Four: Use An App That Clears Out Storage Space
There are a ton of apps on the market that specialize in clearing out redundant storage.
Phone cleaner apps like Avast Cleanup are powerful cache and garbage remover apps for Android that provide complete control over the speed, memory, and other aspects of your device.
These apps are designed to do everything I outlined in the above tips, without the fuss of having to do it yourself!
In Summary
Hopefully, some of the tips in this article will prove useful for you.
Nothing is more irritating than your phone lagging or running out of storage space when you need to take that family photo.
(To my little sister: I’m sorry I did not get that photo of you at graduation- it was just high school, get over it!).
So take a page from my book: Use these tips, and hopefully you can avoid tricky situations caused by a lack of storage space on your phone.
If all else fails, just do what I am trying to do and save up for a new iPhone in 2022.
Apparently, this issue happens more on Android phones, and is less likely to happen with Apple- not that I’m biased in any way!