Technology guide

Free up storage space on your phone safely

Clear space on a full iPhone or Android phone without losing photos, messages or important files, and stop it filling up again so quickly.

Estimated time: 20–40 minutesUpdated: 28 September 2026

Use this guide when your phone warns that storage is almost full, apps will not update or you cannot take photos. Have your phone charged and connected to Wi-Fi, and know your cloud storage account password.

Step by step

  1. See what is using the space

    Open Settings, then General and iPhone Storage on an iPhone, or Storage on Android. Note which apps, photos, videos and messages are taking the most room.

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