iPhone (iOS) · Storage & Backup
Manage Storage on iPhone
iPhone Storage shows exactly what's using space on your device and offers one-tap recommendations — like offloading unused apps or reviewing large attachments — to free up room.
How to open iPhone Storage
- Open Settings → General → iPhone Storage.
- Wait for the storage breakdown to load.
- Review the recommendations and tap one to act on it.
- Check individual apps for anything you no longer need.
What you should know
- Offloading an app removes the app itself but keeps its documents and data for when you reinstall it.
- Recommendations are personalized based on what's actually taking up space on your device.
- You can review storage used by individual apps, photos, messages, and system data.
- iCloud Photos with 'Optimize iPhone Storage' keeps lightweight versions locally to save space.
Deleting an app (rather than offloading it) permanently removes its local data unless that data is backed up elsewhere.
Why it matters
Running low on storage quietly breaks core iPhone functions — the camera refuses to take photos, apps crash on launch, and iOS updates fail to download. Because iPhone Storage shows exactly which apps and file types are eating your space, it turns a vague 'my phone is full' problem into a specific, fixable list. Regularly clearing space also keeps backups and updates running smoothly instead of stalling partway through.
Best practices
- Offload apps you rarely use instead of deleting them outright, so their data is preserved for a quick reinstall later.
- Turn on 'Optimize iPhone Storage' for Photos so full-resolution originals stay safely in iCloud while lightweight versions live on your device.
- Review the Messages attachments section periodically — years of received videos and photos can quietly consume tens of gigabytes.
- Act on the personalized recommendations at the top of the Storage screen first, since they're calculated from your actual usage.
Common problems and fixes
- 'Other' or 'System Data' takes up an unexpectedly large amount of space
- Restart the iPhone to clear cached data, and check Safari's website data and app caches, which often account for this category.
- Storage still looks full right after deleting a lot of photos
- Empty the 'Recently Deleted' album in Photos, since deleted items stay recoverable there for 30 days and still count against storage.
- An app reports it needs to be reinstalled after being offloaded
- This is expected — offloading removes the app binary but keeps its documents; tap the greyed-out icon to redownload it from the App Store.
- iCloud Photos shows photos as taking space even with Optimize Storage on
- Give the device time on Wi-Fi and power to finish thinning local copies; it doesn't happen instantly after enabling the setting.
Tips and tricks
- Tap directly on the colored storage bar at the top of the screen to see which category (Apps, Photos, Media, System) a particular segment represents.
- Enable 'Offload Unused Apps' under App Store settings so iOS automatically offloads rarely used apps only when storage actually runs low.
- The app list is already sorted by size, so the biggest single offender is usually right at the top rather than buried among many small apps.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between offloading and deleting an app?
Offloading removes the app itself but keeps its saved data and documents, so reinstalling later restores everything; deleting removes the app and its local data together.
Why does 'iPhone Storage' show a different total than the About screen?
The About screen shows raw capacity, while iPhone Storage reflects usable space after the operating system and system reserves, so the numbers won't match exactly.
Does offloading unused apps delete my saved documents or game progress?
No, offloading intentionally preserves that data locally so it's restored automatically the next time you reinstall the app from the App Store.
Related settings
- iCloud BackupiCloud Backup automatically saves a copy of your photos, app data, device settings, and more, so you can restore everything on a new or reset device.
- Software UpdateSoftware Update keeps iOS current with the latest security fixes, features, and app compatibility. You can update wirelessly, overnight while charging, or via a computer.
- Reset iPhoneReset options let you fix persistent software issues by resetting specific settings (like network or keyboard dictionary) or fully erase the device back to factory defaults.
More Storage & Backup guides for iPhone (iOS)
- Manage iCloud StorageThis screen breaks down exactly what's consuming your iCloud storage plan — Backups, Photos, individual apps, Mail — so you can free up space, buy more, or change your iCloud+ plan without guessing.
- Offload Unused AppsOffload Unused Apps is a toggle in App Store settings that automatically removes an app's binary — not its documents or data — when the iPhone is low on storage, so you can reinstall and pick up right where you left off.
- Optimize iPhone Storage (Photos)When iCloud Photos is on, 'Optimize iPhone Storage' keeps smaller, space-saving versions of your photos and videos on the device while the full-resolution originals stay safely stored in iCloud, downloading full quality only when needed.
- Back Up via Finder or iTunesiPhone can be backed up to a computer's local storage using Finder on macOS or iTunes on Windows, as an alternative or supplement to iCloud Backup.
- Music & Podcast DownloadsSongs, albums, and podcast episodes downloaded for offline listening take up local storage separate from Photos and app data, and can be managed or automatically cleared to save space.
- Keep Messages DurationThe Keep Messages setting controls whether Messages retains conversations forever or automatically deletes messages, photos, and attachments after 30 days or one year, directly affecting how much storage Messages consumes.