Your phone is not “out of storage.” It is just hoarding the wrong stuff: app bloat, offline downloads, browser junk & cloud settings that are not doing their job. This guide shows how to free up storage without deleting photos, using a checklist you can run in five minutes, plus the few apps that help (free and paid). If you want more quick-fix phone guides like this, I’d file this next to our Smartphones and Tablets section.
How to free up storage space on your iPhone or iPad | Apple Support
Lets run the Apple checklist first, because iPhone storage issues are usually “apps and downloads,” not your camera roll. Then do Android, where cache and archived apps can save you fast space without touching photos.
Apple Checklist (iPhone and iPad)
| # | Do this | Where | Free or paid | What you gain (without deleting photos) |
| 1 | Check what is actually huge | Settings > General > iPhone Storage | Free | You see the biggest storage hogs and Apple’s recommendations, so you stop guessing. |
| 2 | Enable Offload Unused Apps | Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Enable “Offload Unused Apps” | Free | Removes the app itself but keeps documents and data, so you can reinstall without starting from zero. |
| 3 | Clear Safari cache (yes, it adds up) | Settings > Apps > Safari > Clear History and Website Data | Free | Deletes browser junk that quietly grows, especially if you live in tabs. |
| 4 | Remove offline downloads you forgot you had | Inside the app you downloaded from (TV, Spotify, Netflix, etc.) | Free | Offline videos and playlists can eat tens of GB while pretending they are “just a few episodes.” |
| 5 | Keep photos, shrink the on-device footprint | Settings > your name > iCloud > Photos > Sync this iPhone > Optimize iPhone Storage | iCloud Photos is free, iCloud+ storage is paid if you need more | Full resolution originals stay in iCloud and space-saving versions stay on the device. You keep your photos, but your phone stops being the vault. |
| 6 | Upgrade iCloud storage only if the math works | Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage | Paid (optional) | If Optimize Storage is on but iCloud is full, storage savings stall. iCloud+ in the US starts at 50 GB for $0.99/month. |
Android Checklist
| # | Do this | Where | Free or paid | What you gain (without deleting photos) |
| 1 | Delete junk files safely | Files by Google > Menu > Clean > Junk files | Free | Clears temporary junk and leftover bits without messing with your photo library. |
| 2 | Clear app cache (the sneaky space thief) | Settings > Apps > (pick the big app) > Storage > Clear cache | Free | Frees temporary data. Apps may load slower once, then normalize. |
| 3 | Remove downloads you do not need | Settings > Storage (varies) or Files app > Downloads | Free | Kills old installers, PDFs, memes, and “I’ll read later” files that never get read. |
| 4 | Clear music and video downloads | Google TV / YouTube Music (or your streaming app) > Downloads > Remove | Free | Offline media is usually the fastest win on Android too. |
| 5 | Archive unused apps (best low-effort win) | Settings / Google Play (varies) > Archive unused apps | Free | Removes most of an app but keeps its icon and data, so you can restore it later without redoing everything. |
| 6 | If you need cloud storage, pay once instead of suffering daily | Google One | Free tier + Paid plans | Every Google account includes 15 GB free. Paid plans start at 100 GB for $1.99/month in the US, and they cover Drive, Gmail, and Photos storage. |
If you do nothing else: turn on iPhone Offload Unused Apps, clear Safari cache & delete offline downloads.
On Android: Files by Google junk clean, clear cache for the top 1 or 2 apps & archive unused apps. That combo usually gets you back a chunk of storage without touching photos at all.
