Has your phone ever told you that it’s running out of storage? That you need to delete something before you can add more apps or take more photos? It’s a common problem, especially for users with little internal storage. But don’t worry, you’re not alone! Take these steps to get a sense of what is on your phone or computer and make decisions about what to remove.
On your phone, access the storage information by tapping the gear icon (usually in the top right corner) in your app menu and searching for “storage.” For iPhones, swipe down from the top of the screen to show the search bar before following these steps.
The screen will show colorful segments highlighting where your storage is going. Usually, apps, photos, and videos are the space hogs since they’re the biggest files. Your phone might even offer helpful tips, like ditching duplicate photos or apps you haven’t used in ages.
For computers, you can follow similar steps. For Windows users, click the Start button, type “storage,” and click “Storage settings.” After clicking, your computer will show a breakdown of its storage. Then, click “Apps & Features” and sort by size to see the space-hungry apps. For hidden storage culprits, check “Other” to see and open the largest folders.
Reclaim your storage space by targeting the big files! In the digital world, size matters, measured in bytes. While tiny kilobytes (kB) won’t make much impact (think a few hundred kBs for a short email), megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB) pack a punch. Focus on files and apps that are several MB or GB in size – remember, 1,000 kilobytes equal 1 megabyte, and 1,000 megabytes equal 1 gigabyte. So, those old movies taking up hundreds of MBs or music collections reaching several GBs are prime targets for deletion. Just remember, only delete files you recognize and are sure you no longer need!
Keep in mind that cleaning your device’s storage simply frees up space for new files or apps, it’s unlikely to make it any faster. Also, be suspicious of apps claiming to ‘clean up’ your device – at best they’re useless, at worst they could slow it down or steal your information. Take a look at your device’s storage today and enjoy a clean device!
