Your storage can be full too easily, especially if you have an Android phone with expandable memory. One day, you tried to install a fantastic new game or an interesting new app, but it just couldn't install. There is not enough space.
Even if you're not ready to buy a new phone and don't have a handy microSD slot for extra storage, simple housecleaning can free up a significant amount of space. Here are some suggestions on how to get some of that storage back:
Free Up Space on Android Phones
1. Use Android's 'Free Up Space' Tool
Android has built-in tools to help you increase the available storage space on your phone. You can find it easily:
Go to your phone settings and select 'Storage.' You'll see information about how much space you're using and a list of file categories.
Tap the “Free Up Space” button.
This will take you to Google's Files app. In particular, you'll be taken to the 'Cleanup' feature, which offers suggestions for freeing up space by removing junk files, deleted screenshots, large photos, backed-up media, and unused apps. There may be other suggestions as well.
The “Repository” section contains other handy tools. For example, you can see how much space each app takes up.
Tap the app in your storage. You will see a list of all your apps and how much space each takes up.
Tap the app name. You can now see the app size, how much storage space user data uses, and how much space the cache uses. Two buttons allow you to ‘Clear Storage’ or ‘Clear Cache’.
2. Check your Apps
A great way to save space is to ensure your work isn't blocked by apps you haven't used in months. It's so easy to download an app, try it out, and leave it alone while doing other things.
If you're wondering how long you've been using a particular app, here's how to find out:
- Tap the Play Store app.
- Tap the personal icon in the top right corner and select ‘Manage apps and devices.’
- Select the Manage tab. The Installed button should be highlighted in the line below it. If not, tap it.
- A sorting icon will appear to the right of the app title. Tap on it and select “Minimal Usage.”
- Apps you only use occasionally will now appear at the top of the list. You don't necessarily want to remove it. Sometimes, it's okay to have an app just in case, but you may not need it.
3. Save your Data/photos/videos online
Photos and videos can be the things that take up the most space on your phone. Luckily, if you have an Android phone, you're probably already uploading your photos to Google Photos so that you can get them off your phone.
- First, ensure you're backing up your photos to your Google account.
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap the personal icon in the top right corner. You'll see 'Backup Complete' in the drop-down menu if you're backing up your photos.
- Select 'Photo Settings' > 'Backup & Sync' if you don't back up your photos.
- Ensure the 'Backup & Sync' toggle at the top of the page is set to 'On.' You should also check which accounts are listed under “Backup Accounts.” If you have multiple accounts, you can switch to whichever version you want to use.
There are other options, too. For example, you can choose the quality of photos you want to upload and if you wish to upload pictures from your phone when using cellular data.
Now that you've ensured your photos are backed up, you can delete them from your phone. You'll likely notification at the top of the front page of your Photos app telling you to free up memory on your device. If not, it's easy to do.
Tap ' Free up device storage ' in the ‘Photo Settings’ menu.
A window will appear telling you the amount of memory and how many items will be removed. Select “Secure” at the bottom of the page.
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