"Storage Almost Full" — the notification every iPhone user dreads. Your phone slows down, you can't take new photos, and apps start crashing. But what's actually using all that space? This guide will help you identify the culprits and fix the problem fast.

Step 1: Check What's Using Your Storage

Before cleaning, understand where your storage is going:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap General
3. Tap iPhone Storage
4. Wait for the bar graph and app list to fully load

You'll see a breakdown showing:

• Apps: Application files and documents
• Photos: Your photo library
• Media: Music, podcasts, TV shows
• Mail: Email attachments and cache
• Messages: Texts and their attachments
• System Data: Caches, logs, and temporary files

The Usual Suspects: What's Eating Your Storage

1. Photos and Videos (Most Common)

For most users, photos and videos consume 40-60% of total storage. The main culprits:

• 4K videos: Up to 400MB per minute
• Duplicate photos: Same image saved multiple times
• Screenshots: Hundreds of forgotten screenshots
• Burst photos: 10-50 nearly identical shots
• WhatsApp auto-saves: Every received image saved

2. Apps and App Data

Some apps accumulate massive amounts of cached data over time:

• TikTok: Can grow to 5-10GB of cached videos
• Instagram: Stores viewed reels and stories
• Spotify: Downloaded music and podcast cache
• Netflix: Downloaded shows and buffered content
• YouTube: Watch history and recommendations cache
• Games: Additional downloaded content

How to check app storage:

1. In iPhone Storage, tap any app
2. Look at "App Size" vs "Documents & Data"
3. If Documents & Data is much larger, the app has accumulated cache

3. System Data (The Mystery Category)

System Data (previously called "Other") is often the most confusing storage consumer. It includes:

• Safari cache and website data
• Mail attachments and cache
• Siri voices and dictation data
• Fonts and system logs
• Software update files
• Cached streaming content

System Data can grow to 10-20GB on older iPhones.

How to Reduce System Data:

1. Clear Safari data: Settings → Safari → Clear History and Website Data
2. Restart your iPhone: Clears temporary caches
3. Update iOS: Sometimes reduces system bloat
4. Offload unused apps: Removes app but keeps data
5. Delete old voicemails: Phone app → Voicemail → delete old ones

4. Messages and Attachments

Years of text conversations with photos and videos can consume surprising amounts of storage — sometimes 5-15GB.

Check message storage: Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Messages

To clean messages:

1. Tap "Review Large Attachments"
2. Delete videos and photos you don't need
3. Or set messages to auto-delete: Settings → Messages → Keep Messages → 1 Year or 30 Days

5. Downloaded Media

Offline content adds up quickly:

• Music: Downloaded playlists and albums
• Podcasts: Auto-downloaded episodes
• Netflix/Prime: Downloaded movies and shows
• YouTube Premium: Offline videos

To clean downloaded media:

• Music: Settings → Music → Downloaded Music → Edit and delete
• Podcasts: Settings → Podcasts → Remove Played Downloads
• Streaming apps: Open each app and manage downloads

Why Your iPhone Says "Full" When It Shouldn't Be

Sometimes your iPhone claims storage is full even when the numbers don't add up. Common causes:

Recently Deleted Photos

Deleted photos aren't immediately removed — they stay in "Recently Deleted" for 30 days and still consume storage.

Fix: Photos → Albums → Recently Deleted → Select All → Delete All

Pending iCloud Sync

If iCloud Photos is syncing, storage may appear incorrectly. Wait for sync to complete or check Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Photos.

Failed Software Update

A partially downloaded iOS update can consume gigabytes.

Fix: Settings → General → iPhone Storage → look for any iOS update file and delete it, then re-download.

Permanent Solutions: Prevent Future Storage Issues

Enable iCloud Photos with Optimize Storage

1. Settings → Photos → iCloud Photos (enable)
2. Select "Optimize iPhone Storage"

This keeps full-resolution photos in iCloud while storing smaller versions on your device.

Enable Offload Unused Apps

1. Settings → App Store
2. Enable "Offload Unused Apps"

This automatically removes apps you don't use while keeping their data.

Regular Cleanup Schedule

Set a monthly reminder to:

• Delete screenshots you no longer need
• Remove duplicate photos
• Clear Recently Deleted
• Review large message attachments
• Check for apps with bloated caches

Summary: Your Storage Cleanup Action Plan

1. Check storage breakdown: Settings → General → iPhone Storage
2. Clean photos first: Remove duplicates, similar photos, screenshots, and compress videos
3. Empty Recently Deleted: Free up immediate space
4. Review large apps: Delete/reinstall apps with bloated caches
5. Clear System Data: Safari cache, restart, offload apps
6. Set up prevention: iCloud Photos, auto-offload, regular cleanups