How to Free Up Space on Your Smartphone or Tablet

In today’s tech-savvy world, our smartphones and tablets have become an essential part of our lives. We store a plethora of data on them, ranging from photos and music to videos and games. However, the limited storage space on our tech devices often leaves us with a message that says, “Storage Is Full.” This results in us having to delete some of our favorite apps or files, which can be frustrating.

Recently, a class action lawsuit was raised against Apple for falsely advertising their products’ storage space. For instance, a 16GB iPhone may not have the full 16GB storage space available when you first set it up. As you download apps, sync music, and capture photos, the storage space available becomes limited. In this article, we will discuss some tips and tricks to free up space on your smartphone or tablet, regardless of the brand.

1. Check Your Usage

To determine which app is occupying most of your storage space, go to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage. Here, you can identify which of your apps is taking up the most space. Frequently, storage space is filled with music, podcasts, or photos. However, the following tips will help you free up some significant space on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Get Rid of Unplayed Games

Gaming apps are entertaining and a great time-waster but tend to consume a lot of storage space. If you have downloaded a game that you played once and haven’t played it in over a month, it is time to delete it. Remove such apps before removing anything else on your device.

3. Beware of Apps Bearing Downloads

Storage space is taken up by both the app itself and the data that the app downloads. Go to your app list and view how much space is associated with just data and documents. To free up space, you may need to delete and reinstall the app to clear its cache.

4. Get Rid of Old Podcasts

Podcasts are an excellent way to keep yourself entertained while commuting or doing household chores. However, a thirty-minute episode takes up 25MB of space. Having several old podcasts on your device that you have already listened to can take up unnecessary space. To delete old podcasts, swipe left on each episode that you want to delete.

5. Use Cloud Storage to Store Photos

Backing up your photos automatically to Google+ or Dropbox cloud-based storage solutions leaves your photo library free to fill as much as you like. Google+ is a preferred option because of its free unlimited storage. To use Google+, download the app, sign in, or sign up, and select “Auto Backup.”

6. Stop Using Photo Stream

Apple’s Photo Stream service automatically syncs your latest 1,000 photos across all your Apple devices. Having this feature enabled means storing those 1,000 photos twice on some devices, taking up unnecessary amounts of space. If you only need to share photos between devices, turn off this function. You can find this option under Settings > Photos & Camera.

7. Only Save HDR Photos

If your smartphone is saving two photos for every one that you take, you’re storing both the normal photo and a High Dynamic Range (HDR) version. You don’t need to keep both versions to save space. To disable this feature, go to Settings > Photos & Camera > Toggle “Keep Normal Photo.”

8. Erase Browsing Data Regularly

Just like on your computer or laptop, caches and cookies need to be erased on your smartphone or tablet. To delete browsing data on Safari, go to Manage Storage > Safari App > Website Data > Remove All Website Data to remove all that browsing history that’s stacked up. Ensure you do this regularly.

Conclusion

Limited storage space on smartphones and tablets can be frustrating. However, using the above tips and tricks can help you free up significant storage space. Always remember to check your usage, get rid of unplayed games, beware of apps bearing downloads, delete old podcasts, use cloud storage to store your photos, stop using photo stream, only save HDR photos, and erase browsing data regularly. With these helpful tips, you can keep your mobile devices running smoothly, preserving the space for the things you love.