How to Free Up Storage Space on Your iPhone (When It Says ‘Storage Almost Full’)

by | Tech With Tessa

Woman frustrated with her phone

You try to take a photo of your grandkids and see the message: “Cannot Take Photo – Not Enough Storage.”

Or you try to download an app and your iPhone says “Storage Almost Full.”

It’s frustrating. You paid for this phone – why is it already full?

The good news: You don’t need to buy a new phone or pay for expensive repairs. You can free up space yourself in about 15-20 minutes, and you won’t lose anything important.

 

Why This Happens (It’s Not Your Fault)

iPhones come with a set amount of storage – usually 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB. That sounds like a lot, but it fills up faster than you’d think.

Here’s what takes up space:

  • Photos and videos (this is the big one)
  • Text messages with photos and videos attached
  • Apps you’ve downloaded
  • Email attachments
  • Music and podcasts
  • Your phone’s operating system (iOS)

Over time, all of this adds up. Eventually, your phone runs out of room.

You didn’t do anything wrong. This happens to everyone. But you can fix it.

 

First: Check How Much Space You Have

Before you start deleting things, let’s see what’s actually taking up space.

How to check:

  1. Open Settings (the gray app with gears)
  2. Tap General
  3. Tap iPhone Storage
  4. Wait a moment – it takes a few seconds to calculate

What you’ll see:

At the top, there’s a colored bar showing what’s using your storage:

  • Blue = Apps
  • Yellow = Photos
  • Green = Messages
  • Purple = Media (music, podcasts, videos)
  • Orange = Mail
  • Gray = System and other

Below the bar, you’ll see recommendations like “Review Large Attachments” or “Offload Unused Apps.” These are helpful – we’ll use them.

Below that, you’ll see a list of all your apps sorted by how much space they use.

 

The Fastest Fixes (Start Here)

1. Delete Apps You Don’t Use Anymore

Scroll through that list of apps in iPhone Storage. You’ll probably see apps you forgot you even had.

Common culprits:

  • Games you played once
  • Shopping apps from stores you visited one time
  • Apps you downloaded “just in case” but never opened
  • Old apps from a project or hobby you’re not doing anymore

To delete an app:

  1. In Settings > General > iPhone Storage, tap the app name
  2. Tap “Delete App”
  3. Confirm by tapping “Delete App” again

What about “Offload App”?

You might also see an “Offload App” option. This removes the app but keeps your data. So if you ever re-download it, your settings and files come back.

Which should you choose?

  • Delete App if you’re done with it forever (frees up more space)
  • Offload App if you might want it again someday

Don’t worry: If you delete an app and change your mind, you can download it again for free from the App Store (as long as it was free to begin with).

2. Clear Out Old Text Messages

Text messages take up more space than you’d think, especially if people send you lots of photos and videos.

Option 1: Set messages to auto-delete after 1 year

  1. Go to Settings > Messages
  2. Scroll down to “Keep Messages”
  3. Tap it
  4. Change from “Forever” to “1 Year”
  5. Tap “Delete” when it asks

Your iPhone will delete messages older than a year. You probably don’t need a text from 2022 anyway.

Option 2: Manually delete old conversations

  1. Open the Messages app
  2. Swipe left on conversations you don’t need anymore
  3. Tap “Delete”

Be honest: Do you really need that group text from your neighbor’s garage sale two years ago?

3. Delete Old Email Attachments

Emails with photos, PDFs, and documents can pile up and take surprising amounts of space.

To find and delete large attachments:

  1. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage
  2. Look for “Review Large Attachments” (it’s near the top in the recommendations section)
  3. Tap it
  4. You’ll see a list of your biggest email attachments
  5. Swipe left on ones you don’t need
  6. Tap “Delete”

What’s safe to delete?

  • Old PDFs you already saved somewhere else
  • Photos people emailed you that you already have in Photos
  • Attachments from emails you don’t need anymore

What to keep:

  • Important documents you reference
  • Receipts you might need
  • Anything you haven’t saved elsewhere

 

The Big One: Photos and Videos

This is usually where most of your storage goes. The average person has thousands of photos on their phone.

You have two options: Delete photos you don’t need, or back them up and remove them from your phone (but keep them safe in the cloud).

Option 1: Delete Photos You Don’t Need

Be honest – you probably have:

  • Blurry photos
  • Duplicate shots (you took 5 photos of the same thing)
  • Screenshots you don’t need anymore
  • Photos of receipts or notes you already dealt with
  • Accidental photos of the ground or your pocket

To delete photos:

  1. Open the Photos app
  2. Tap “Select” in the top right
  3. Tap the photos you want to delete
  4. Tap the trash icon
  5. Go to Albums > Recently Deleted
  6. Tap “Select” > “Delete All” to permanently remove them (this is important – they still take up space in Recently Deleted until you do this)

Pro tip: Look in the “Screenshots” album – these pile up fast and you rarely need them after a few days.

Option 2: Back Up Photos Then Delete Them From Your Phone

This is the best solution. Your photos are still safe and accessible – they’re just stored in the cloud instead of on your phone.

Two ways to do this:

Method 1: Use iCloud Photos (Built Into iPhone)

The good news: Apple gives you 5GB of iCloud storage for free.

The bad news: 5GB fills up fast if you have lots of photos. You might need to pay $0.99/month for 50GB.

How to set it up:

  1. Go to Settings > [Your Name at the very top]
  2. Tap iCloud
  3. Tap Photos
  4. Turn on “iCloud Photos”
  5. Turn on “Optimize iPhone Storage”

What “Optimize iPhone Storage” means:

Your iPhone keeps small, compressed versions of your photos on the phone (so you can still see them). The full high-quality versions are stored in iCloud. When you open a photo, it downloads the full version.

This saves a LOT of space while keeping all your photos accessible.

If you get a message that iCloud is full:

  • You can buy more storage (Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Change Storage Plan)
  • 50GB costs $0.99/month
  • 200GB costs $2.99/month

Is it worth paying? If it means you can keep all your photos safe and your phone works properly, yes.

Method 2: Use Google Photos (Free Alternative)

Google Photos gives you free storage and works on iPhones.

How to set it up:

  1. Download “Google Photos” from the App Store (it’s free)
  2. Open it and sign in with a Google account (or create one)
  3. Tap “Turn on Backup”
  4. Wait while it uploads all your photos (this can take a while if you have thousands – keep your phone plugged in and on WiFi)

Once your photos are backed up to Google Photos:

You can delete them from your iPhone to free up space. They’re still in the Google Photos app – you can view them anytime.

To delete photos from iPhone after backing up:

  1. Open Google Photos app
  2. Tap Library at the bottom
  3. Tap “Free up space”
  4. It will show you how much space you can free up
  5. Tap “Free up [amount]”

Are they really safe?

Yes. As long as they’re backed up to iCloud or Google Photos, they’re actually SAFER than just being on your phone. If you drop your phone in the toilet, the photos are still there in the cloud.

 

Clear Safari Website Data

Your web browser stores temporary files every time you visit a website. Over time, these add up.

To clear them:

  1. Go to Settings > Safari
  2. Scroll down and tap “Clear History and Website Data”
  3. Tap “Clear History and Data” to confirm

Will this delete anything important?

No. It won’t delete your saved passwords, bookmarks, or anything you actually need. It just clears temporary website files.

Update Your iPhone

This sounds backwards – wouldn’t an update take UP space?

Actually, sometimes updates include improvements that help your phone manage storage better. Plus, if your phone keeps nagging you to update, that notification is taking up space too.

To update:

  1. Plug your phone into the charger
  2. Connect to WiFi
  3. Go to Settings > General > Software Update
  4. If an update is available, tap “Download and Install”

Your phone will restart – that’s normal. Don’t panic. It won’t delete your photos or contacts.

 

What If You’re Still Running Out of Space?

If you’ve done all of the above and you’re STILL getting “Storage Full” warnings, here are a few more options:

Check for “Other” Storage

Sometimes you’ll see a big chunk of storage labeled “Other” or “System.”

What is this? Temporary files, caches, and system data.

How to clear it: Restart your phone. Seriously – just turning it off and back on can clear several gigabytes of “Other” storage.

To restart:

  • Hold the side button and volume button until you see “slide to power off”
  • Slide to turn off
  • Wait 30 seconds
  • Hold the side button again to turn back on

Delete and Reinstall Apps That Take Up Lots of Space

Some apps accumulate huge amounts of data over time.

Common culprits:

  • Facebook (stores tons of cached images and videos)
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Messaging apps

To fix this:

  1. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage
  2. Find the app
  3. Delete it
  4. Go to the App Store and download it again
  5. Log back in

Your account and data are still safe (stored on the company’s servers, not your phone). You just cleared out the temporary cached files.

 

Do You Need to Buy More Storage?

You might be confused about two different things:

1. iPhone Storage = The physical space on your phone (64GB, 128GB, 256GB)

  • This is fixed – you can’t add more
  • You can only free up space by deleting things or backing them up

2. iCloud Storage = Cloud storage where your photos and backups are stored

  • This you CAN buy more of
  • $0.99/month for 50GB, $2.99/month for 200GB

So which do you need?

If your iPhone storage is full → Follow the steps in this article to free up space If your iCloud storage is full → Consider paying $0.99/month for more iCloud space (worth it for peace of mind)

 

Quick Checklist: Free Up iPhone Storage

Do these in order for the biggest impact:

  1. ☐ Check what’s taking up space (Settings > General > iPhone Storage)
  2. ☐ Delete apps you don’t use anymore
  3. ☐ Set messages to delete after 1 year (Settings > Messages > Keep Messages)
  4. ☐ Delete old email attachments (Review Large Attachments)
  5. ☐ Back up photos to iCloud or Google Photos
  6. ☐ Delete photos from iPhone (after backing up)
  7. ☐ Delete duplicate photos and screenshots
  8. ☐ Clear Safari data (Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data)
  9. ☐ Restart your phone (clears temporary files)
  10. ☐ Update iOS (Settings > General > Software Update)

If you do even half of these, you’ll free up several gigabytes.

 

Still Need Help?

If you’re not sure which photos are safe to delete, or you’re worried about losing something important, or you just want someone to walk you through this step by step – that’s exactly what Tessa is here for.

Tech with Tessa can look at your storage with you, help you decide what to keep and what to delete, and guide you through backing up your photos safely.

No judgment if you need extra help. No rush. Just patient, step-by-step guidance at your own pace.

Try Tessa free for 7 days – get your iPhone storage under control and stop seeing those “Storage Full” warnings.

Tessa is part of the Smart Buddy Network, which also offers guidance for healthcare and relationships. Learn more

Get Your Tessa Free Trial