Nothing is more annoying than trying to use your phone only to be stopped by the “Insufficient storage space available” message. It means that you have used up most of the phone’s available space. Fortunately, you can stop seeing messages like this when you free up smartphone storage.
The exact steps you need to take will vary from iPhone to Android. That’s why we wrote this step-by-step guide for all smartphone users, whether you’re loyal to Apple or Google. If your storage is full, try this simple trick to get more space.
Thanks to our sponsor, IDrive, you can get all the information you need in one place. Keep reading to find out how to see what’s taking up all the storage space on your phone. We also tell you how to create more space.
Here are some ways to free up smartphone storage space
When you run out of storage on your smartphone, it’s time to check out the usual suspects. All sorts of things can take up storage space, like:
- Large files.
- Video clip.
- Apps.
- Pictures.
To quickly find out what’s taking up so much storage space on your Android, go to settings > Storage > Internal storage. Whatever eats up the most space on your smartphone will be at the top of the list. You can see how much storage space each of these space hogs takes up.
To quickly find out what’s taking up the most storage space on your iPhone, go to settings > General > iPhone storage. You will see a list of your apps. Those using the most storage will be at the top.
There are other ways to see which apps are consuming the most data. Follow the steps below to find out exactly what to do. We have steps for everyone, whether you have an Android or an iPhone.
Find out which apps are taking up space on your Android
Using many apps can take up a lot of storage space. Follow these steps to find out which apps are eating up the most data:
- Open Play store app.
- Press your profile icon.
- Tap Manage apps and devices > Manage > Recently updated. (This last option is in the upper right corner.)
- Now a menu is called Sort by will appear. Choose Size.
Now you see which apps are the biggest. Uninstall them by tapping on the checkbox and tapping on delete. You can also try the second strategy below.
RELATED: 7 tips to get more space on your Android
Clear your Android storage in four easy steps
Every app you download contains small pieces of data. That data can build up quickly if you use half a dozen apps or more. To clear your app cache data:
- Go to your phone settings app.
- Tap Apps > See all apps. Now you can see each app’s data information.
- Here you can see a lot of space they take up. After selecting an app, tap Storage & cache.
- Tap Clear storage, then Clear cache. Remember that clearing the cache will delete your password and other saved information.
Unfortunately, this may take longer than you’d like because some apps require you to log in. Make sure you have your login credentials close at hand, so the cleanup process doesn’t take too long.
Running this app audit is helpful for a few other reasons. Going through your apps can help you find programs and services you no longer use. This allows you to delete apps you don’t need — freeing up even more storage space in the long run.
Tap or click here for five more ways to free up storage space on your Android.
Find out which apps are taking up space on your iPhone
Earlier, you learned that checking out your iPhone storage only takes three steps: settings > General > iPhone storage. You’ll see a graph showing how much free space you have – and which apps, files and photos are eating up your device’s memory.
From there you have a few options. Your iPhone will have a Recommendations heading, suggesting different ways you can create more storage space on your device. For example, it can tell you to review downloaded videos or delete large attachments from your Messages app.
After following these suggestions, it’s time to see which apps are using the most of your phone’s memory. In other words, you should run an app audit to see which apps are interfering with your phone. If you find apps that you barely use, consider removing them to free up more space.
Clean up your iPhone storage by deleting unnecessary apps
An excess of unused apps can make your phone cluttered and insecure. Run an app review to see which apps are taking up the most space. To remove apps you no longer use:
- Long press an app.
- Then choose Remove the app > Remove the app > Delete.
- You can also use the App Library, introduced in iOS 14, to get a list of your apps grouped by category. Swipe past the last page on the home screen to access it. Press and hold the app, then go to Remove the app > Delete.
Tap or click here for 12 more easy ways to free up storage space on your iPhone.
The best way to free up storage space for smartphones
You may not want to get rid of photos, videos or files. In that case, you should move them to cloud backup, which frees up space on your devices. There is no better way to do this than with IDrive.
This cloud storage solution can make your life easier in many different ways. Every now and then the computer you trust can fail you. Malicious viruses, ransomware attacks or technical problems with the hardware or software can compromise your data.
Imagine losing everything. With iDrive, this nightmare possibility disappears. You don’t have to worry about hackers gaining access to your computer and denying you access to your data until you pay a hefty fee. You can protect your computer in advance and defend your data with this reliable backup solution.
Save a whopping 90% when you sign up at IDrive.com and use promo code “Kim” at checkout.
