Free up space - Android Help (2024)

FAQs

What does free up space do on Android phone? ›

Delete photos and videos

If you sync your photos with Google Photos,¹ open the app and press your profile icon in the top-right. Hit “Free up space” and follow the on-screen instructions. This will delete your backed-up files from the device itself while keeping them safe in Google Photos.

If you're seeing an "Insufficient storage available" message on your Android, chances are that you've used up most of your device's available memory. To fix this, you'll need to make some space by deleting apps and/or media; you can also add external storage, such as a Micro SD card, to your phone.

When a file is deleted, the space used on the disk is not reclaimed until the file is truly erased. The trash (recycle bin on Windows) is actually a hidden folder located in each hard drive. To completely delete the file, another step must be performed.

Clear the app's cache & data

You can usually clear an app's cache and data with your phone's Settings app. Settings can vary by phone. For more info, get help from your device manufacturer. Clear cache: Deletes temporary data.

You can select the top level folder and use Free up space to remove all the project files locally. Important: This command only removes the local copy of each file. The files will still be available in the cloud data source.

When you free up space on the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone, it removes locally stored copies of photos and videos from your device while keeping them safely backed up in your Google Photos cloud storage. This action reclaims storage space on your phone without permanently deleting your media.

Clear the cache of your Android phone: You can clear cached data from a single app by going to Settings > Apps and tapping on the individual app. In the app info, tap Storage > Clear cache. Some Android phones have the option of clearing cached data from all apps; go to Settings > Storage and tap Cached data.

Delete unused apps: Go through your phone and delete any apps that you no longer use or need. This can free up a significant amount of space. Clear cache and app data: Over time, apps can accumulate a lot of cache data, which takes up space on your phone.

In general, the lack of working space is probably the main reason why you have insufficient storage available. Usually, an Android app uses three sets of storage, for the app itself, the app's data files, and the app's cache. Usually, the application cache takes up a large part of the space.

If you're receiving a notification about your storage being full on your iPhone, this is usually because of large files. Large files include high-quality photos and video, lots of emails, and even the files you've sent within texts with friends.

Why is space not freed after deleting files? ›

Now that we understand the basics of file deletion let's explore why disk space isn't immediately reclaimed: File Still Open: If a program has a file open at the time of deletion, the space won't be freed until the file is closed.

Cached Data: Sometimes, apps store temporary data or cache files on your phone's internal storage. Even if you delete files, these cached data may still occupy space. Clearing the cache of specific apps or using a cache cleaner app can help free up storage.

Some of the best ways to free up storage space on Android include deleting downloads, clearing the cache, emptying the trash, uninstalling apps you're not using anymore, and moving content to cloud storage. You may even be able to use an SD card to get more storage.

You can use Google Photos to save space on your device when you delete photos that are safely backed up. Before you use this feature, you must ensure that you've already backed up your photos properly.

Head to Settings > Storage > Cached data, and clear the cache. This action frees up space without affecting your app settings. Deleting Photos and Videos: Review your photo and video gallery and delete any duplicates or media files you no longer need.