Phones have built-in storage capacity and they are improving every year. The newer generation of phones can go as high as 512 GB. Some phone companies are already working on increasing the built-in storage to 1 TB. That’s some awesome storage capacity. On top of that, phones that have a microSD card slot will allow you to have even more storage space by putting in a microSD card. However, many users are still using older phones with low internal storage space. Some new phone users are also running out of space as the next generation of phone cameras tend to take high quality photos and videos which have monstrous file size. Everyone can use a little bit of extra storage, so this article will discuss how to free up space on your phone.
How to Fee Up Storage Space
Having sufficient free storage space is crucial for a phone. Lack of space will slow down the phone, prevent you from taking pictures and videos and even downloading content from social media apps. If you are getting a warning message about lack of space, the first thing to do is check what’s using up most of your storage space. This can be done by going to Settings > Storage. If you don’t see a Storage option, it may be under Device Care on some phones. The Storage feature will provide you with a breakdown on what’s using up the most space.
Method 1: Transfer Your Pictures and Videos to the Computer to Free up Space
One of the items almost guaranteed to take up most of the space would be pictures or videos. You should consider transferring them to the computer to free up some phone storage space. Pictures and videos can easily take up over 80% of your phone’s storage capacity. Here is a guide on how to transfer your pictures and videos to the computer.
Method 2: Delete Whatsapp Downloaded Media Files to Increase Space
If you are a heavy Whatsapp user who gets plenty of great videos and pictures from groups or friends, you are sure to run out of space very soon. To free up space, consider deleting Whatsapp pictures and videos which you no longer need. Go to My Files > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Video or WhatsApp Images and delete the files you no longer need.
In addition to the media files, consider deleting old WhatsApp database backup files. These files can be found by going to My Files > WhatsApp > Databases. You can keep the latest two backup files and delete the others.
Method 3: Clear Browser Cache
Just like the computer, the phone also stores browser cache for faster access to websites when you visit them next time. Clearing them up from time to time can save you gigabytes of space. If you are a frequent Google Chrome user, go to Settings > Apps > Chrome > Storage > Clear Cache.
Method 4: Delete Unwanted Apps
There are so many great apps available out there. But, do we need them all? Probably not. So, simply uninstall the apps which you no longer need. For example, that game you downloaded last year and haven’t played for 6 months might be a good candidate for uninstalling. Getting rid of these apps will definitely free up valuable space on your phone.
Method 5: Delete General Downloads
For Android users, the browser downloads files to My Files > Internal Storage > Download. This folder may contain downloaded files over the last several years. Chances are, you no longer need majority of these files. Consider deleting them or transferring them to your computer.
Method 6: Install a microSD Card
This option may not be available for all users but those who do have this option, consider expanding your phone’s storage capacity by purchasing a microSD card. These cards can easily double your phone’s storage capacity and don’t cost too much. Beware of buying them from eBay and Amazon and other online stores as fake versions of microSD cards are readily available and hard to distinguish. Buy from reputable companies like Costco, BestBuy, Walmart, etc. to prevent purchasing of a fake version.
