I need to free up storage space on my iPhone! Help!

MarsHall · 2025-05-05T05:51:35+00:00

Hi, I need help. My iPhone storage is basically full, and I can’t even take new photos anymore. I deleted a couple of games and some photos, but it didn’t r...

MarsHall

0neWire Thanks for your explanation on Optimize Photos!
But I see that it isn’t really for me.
Another thing I want to ask you.
In iPhone Storage, I also see “System Data” next to Photos and Apps.
Any idea how I can clear that?

0neWire

MarsHall Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t give you an option to clear System Data directly.
It includes important things like system logs, updates, and other system-related files that iOS uses to run your device.
If it’s taking up way too much space, your best bet is to back up your iPhone (to iCloud or your computer), then perform a factory reset and restore from the backup.
That can help clear it out, but obviously, it’s not something I’d recommend doing right now unless it’s ridiculously heavy.

HopeInSleep

Check the Duplicates album in Photos.
It only shows up if you have duplicate copies in your library.
But if you do, you can merge all the duplicates into one file.
It might help reduce the space Photos is taking up on your phone.

crimsonKing

HopeInSleep
Dude, the Duplicates album only makes sense if you have exact copies of the same photo.
For most people, that’s not the case.
As I posted earlier, cleaner apps are a much better option here.
They spot way more than just exact duplicates.

MarsHall

SocialImpactCoder I cleared the Safari cache like you suggested, but it didn’t do much.
I don’t really use my iPhone for browsing much, so not too surprised.

MarsHall

Thanks, everybody!
I really learned a lot of new things about my phone 🙂
Just to report back, I managed to free up around 10 GB out of 64.
Used Clever Cleaner like @crimsonKing suggested, I cleared out all the similar photos and screenshots.
I did check the Duplicates album in Photos like @HopeInSleep suggested, but there were only 8 photos there.
I also used the app to compress Live Photos and turned the Live Photos feature off.
I don’t need it, but it was on by default.
So now I turned all my Live Photos into regular ones, but my phone can’t seem to remember that I switched Live Photos off. It turns back on every time I open the Camera.
But that’s not a big problem, at least now I can actually take new photos.
Thanks again, everyone!

HopeInSleep

MarsHall Actually, it is possible to turn Live Photos off for good.
If I’m understanding you correctly, you turned Live Photos off in the Camera by tapping the circular icon at the top right?
To do it properly, go to Settings, find Camera, and under Preserve Settings, make sure Live Photo is turned on.
This way, your camera will remember your preference, and you won’t have to switch it off every time you open the Camera.
That should do it!

roman-demian

Great discussion here.
Glad to see everyone jumping in with useful tips!

Just a heads up, part of what we do as mods is point folks to more detailed guides from our main blog when it makes sense. This feels like one of those times. If you still looking for more advice, here are a couple of helpful articles:

Thanks again, everyone! Marking this thread as Solved.

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