iPhone Storage Trick Apple Never Mentions, by Trevor Nace on YouTube. 8 min 21 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 21 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Open Settings, tap General, then iPhone Storage. Wait for the list to load and check the bar at the top to see what is using the most space.
Tap the biggest app and look at its Documents & Data size. If it is large, delete the app and reinstall it from the App Store, or use Offload App to keep its data while freeing space.
Scroll to Safari in the app list and tap it. Tap Website Data, then Remove All Website Data to clear the cached pages and files.
Go to Settings, then Messages, then Message History. Change Keep Messages from Forever to 1 Year or 30 Days to stop old texts piling up.
Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then Photos. Turn on iCloud Photos and choose Optimize iPhone Storage so full-size originals stay in iCloud.
Go to Settings, then Apple Intelligence & Siri, and turn off Apple Intelligence if you do not use it. This can free around 6.5 GB of model files.
Restart your iPhone by holding the side button and a volume button, then sliding to power off. A force restart also helps shrink System Data.
Return to iPhone Storage and check the new free space. Repeat the app offload step for any other app with large Documents & Data.
Tips and common mistakes
Offload App removes the app but keeps its documents, so you can reinstall it later without losing settings.
Check Safari Website Data again after heavy browsing, since it grows back quickly.
Keep at least a few gigabytes free so iOS updates and System Data have room to work.
Back up to iCloud or a computer before deleting apps you rely on.
Questions
Will deleting and reinstalling an app lose my data?
It can if the app does not store data in iCloud or its own account. Use Offload App instead when you want to keep the app's documents.
Does Optimize iPhone Storage delete my photos?
No. Full-size originals stay in iCloud and smaller versions stay on the phone. You need enough iCloud storage for your library.
Why does System Data keep growing?
It holds caches, logs and temporary files. A restart clears much of it, and keeping free space helps stop it building up again.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
