
If you had to name the coolest device ever, the iPhone would probably come to your mind. It’s special. You rely on it for messages and calls, but it’s so much more than that. It holds all the apps you need, so you use it to maintain friendships and business connections. The latest models take outstanding photos and videos, too.
But there’s one major issue with iPhones: they lack storage. They soon run out of space, so you have to purchase additional storage on the cloud or get rid of some of the apps and photos that you’d rather keep.
When iPhones get clogged up, they become sluggish.
What’s the best option to free up storage and make your phone faster? Can you bring it closer to the state it was when you just bought it?
Tips: How to Free Up Some Space on Your iPhone
- Start with the Photos
Are you emotionally attached to all the photos in your library? Probably not. Many of them are random photos of meals you prepared or ate in restaurants months ago. You also have too many duplicates, which you took while trying to capture the perfect shot.
It’s time to start deleting the photos you don’t need. If you make a mistake by accident, read this guide on restoring deleted photos iPhone.
There’s another thing you can do to save space: don’t store the entire library in iCloud. The cloud service sounds like a great solution that extends the iPhone’s limited space. However, it will automatically sync all images you take. Although they are in a reduced file size, they still consume a lot of space on your device. You can manually save the photos that you need on the cloud. Get rid of everything else.
- Delete the Apps You Don’t Use
Do you really use all those apps? You installed one because you committed to daily journaling, but soon forgot about the promise you made. Your iPhone also has default apps that you probably don’t use. Those are Mail, Stocks, Tips, Game Center, and a few others. Since the launch of iOS 10, the system allows you to delete some of them.
To figure out what apps take the most space on your device, go to iPhone Storage under General Settings. You’ll see a list of apps, ranked by the space they hold on your computer. Under the name of the app, you also see the frequency of usage. If you rarely use some of the apps that take a lot of space, don’t think twice about deleting them.
- Delete All Messages
iPhone users rarely realize that the messages in their devices take up a significant volume of space. You can easily delete the old ones; you won’t need to tackle them one by one. The system gives you an option to get rid of all messages that have been there for longer than 30 days, a year, or any other period you choose.
Go to Settings and choose Messages. You’ll see an option called Message History. There, you can choose a time parameter, and then tap Delete. You’ll be surprised to see how much space clears up.
If you want to keep most of this data, the least you can do is delete the photos from iMessages. To do this open an image in a conversation, and tap and hold it. At the bottom of the options, tap More. Tick the images (and messages) you want to delete, and do it!
- Remove Old Podcasts
Are you a podcast fan? You may be, but do you listen to the same episodes multiple times? If that’s not the case, you should delete this data, which can easily add up to consume space on your iPhone.
Get into the Podcasts app; it shows the ones you played at the bottom of the list. To delete an individual podcast, swipe left on it.
Enjoy Your Faster iPhone
Once you use those simple steps to optimize your iPhone’s storage, you’ll get a more functional device. Since you can’t upgrade the internal storage on these devices, it’s important to be wise about the way you use it. Stop installing unneeded apps, manage your photos on a regular basis, and don’t save all the messages you get!