Adjust these settings to free up storage space on your iPhone without deleting anything
for you iPhone Perfect for taking photos and videos of moments you never want to forget. From a beach trip with friends to a stunning sunset, it starts with plenty of storage space to hold all your precious memories. However, over time, this space fills up with memories, apps, and videos until you get the dreaded message that you’re about to run out of storage space.
But before you delete your vacation photos or buy a more expensive model, breathe. You don’t have to lose a single memory to make room.
Thanks to some built-in iOS features and lesser-known tricks, you can get rid of hidden clutter and reclaim storage space without deleting the things that actually matter. It’s fast, easy, and best of all, you already have the tools in your settings.
Read more: Change these eight iOS 18 settings first before doing anything else
There are two built-in iOS settings that can help you clean up a significant amount of storage space on your iPhone — one permanent and one temporary. The extra free space will allow you to install the latest software updates, take more photos and videos, and download more apps. Here’s what you need to know.
If you want more tips on getting more iPhone storage, check out the secret iOS settings every iPhone user should know and the best cloud storage options in 2025.
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Optimize photos and videos on iPhone to get more storage
If you want to keep your precious memories (even just funny screenshots) but still want to free up storage space, the easiest way is to optimize the photos and videos already stored on your device.
By default, every time you take a photo or video, it’s saved at full resolution to your device. If you’re taking photos and videos at the highest possible resolution, they may take up too much space. A minute of video shot in 4K at 60 frames per second takes about 400MB – almost half a gigabyte. This is very important.
To enhance your photos and videos, go to Settings > photo And switch Optimize iPhone storage (For this to work, you will need to have… iCloud Photos The above setting is enabled). Depending on how many photos and videos you have on your iPhone, this may take a long time, but once it’s done, you should see a lot more space on your device’s storage.
For this to work, you need to turn on the iCloud Photos setting.
All full-resolution photos and videos are then transferred to your iCloud, while smaller, lower-resolution versions are kept on your device, taking up less space. If you want to access high-resolution photos and videos, you can go to the Photos app and download any file that is optimized; This requires a decent internet connection. Recently taken photos and videos may be in full resolution, so you don’t need to download every photo or video.
If you don’t have enough iCloud storage space, it’s easier to do this Upgrade your cloud From getting a new phone. In the US, you can upgrade to 50GB for just $1 per month, or you can increase your storage capacity to 200GB for $3 per month or 2TB for $10 per month. Prices vary depending on your country or region.
To upgrade iCloud on your iPhone, go to Settings > (your name) > iCloud > Account storage management > Buy more storage. Choose a plan then follow the instructions. If you upgrade to any paid iCloud subscription, you’ll get access to iCloud+, which also offers iCloud Private Relay and Hide My Email features.
You can spend as little as $1 per month to get more iCloud storage.
Offload your largest apps to free up iPhone storage space
Don’t use all the apps stored on your iPhone. A lot of it is out there, like airline apps, third-party cameras, and music production. Even if you use these apps occasionally, you probably don’t need daily access to most of them, which is why you should consider offloading apps, especially when they’re in desperate need of storage.
Let’s say you want to download and install the latest iOS update. If it’s a major update, like iOS 16, you may need a little more than 5GB to install the software. If it’s a point update, like iOS 16.1, you’re looking at about 1GB. And if you don’t have enough storage space to update, you can quickly offload apps, which is a compromise between keeping your apps and deleting them.
Go to Settings > general > iPhone storage And check which apps are consuming the most storage space. Some built-in applications such as photos and messages cannot be unloaded, so be careful. If you find a large app that you want to unload, tap it and then tap Unload the application. Wait a bit and the offline app will then be removed, while your documents and data will remain saved on your device.
You need to click Unload App twice to “delete” the app.
If you need temporary storage space, to download the software, just go through the list and unload every app you can download. The amount downloaded will vary for each app, but you should see the number next to it Application size. Ignore the number next to Documents & Data, as it will remain on your device. The only way to get rid of this is to physically delete the app.
Offload as many apps as you want until you have enough storage space. You can’t use an offloaded app, but if you want to get the app back, go to your App Library and tap the iCloud button to redownload it. If the downloaded app is on your home screen, simply tap on it to download it. You won’t have to re-log in or anything; You will have access to the application as if it was never deleted.