It’s time to spring-clean your smartphone without deleting favourites

Modern phones are digital apartments. Over time, clutter builds up—harmless but space-hogging. Fortunately, you don’t need to “move out” (delete apps) to get breathing room. Just open the digital windows, sweep the corners, and rethink what needs to be stored locally.

Despite devices boasting 128GB or more these days, most of us somehow run out of space—just when we need to record a video, install an update, or download that must-have app. Freeing up space today is more about smarts than sacrifices. With a bit of strategy, you can make your phone feel lighter and faster—without nuking Instagram, Spotify, or that habit-tracking app you’ve opened twice.

Also read: The trouble with falling in love with your AI companion

Clear cache, not content

Apps accumulate digital junk over time—temporary files, thumbnails, and data that were useful once but now just loiter around. This is especially true for browsers, social media apps, and video platforms.

On Android, go to Settings > Storage > Apps and tap on any space-hogging app. You’ll often see a “Clear Cache” button. It’s safe to hit. It won’t delete personal data or log you out.

On iPhones, cache clearing is less direct. Some apps like Safari allow manual clearing: go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. For others, you might need to offload the app (more on that next).

Think of clearing cache as housekeeping: you're sweeping up crumbs, not tossing out the cake.

Offload apps (iPhone) or use “unused apps” (Android)

If there are apps you rarely use but don’t want to delete, try “offloading” them.

On iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage, tap on any app, and choose Offload App. This deletes the app itself but keeps all documents and settings. If you reinstall it later, it’s like nothing ever happened.

On Android, look under Settings > Storage > Smart Storage or similar options (some manufacturers offer a “remove rarely used apps” toggle).

This is a gentle way of making space—like packing winter clothes away in the attic instead of throwing them out.

Audit your downloads folder

Hidden in plain sight is a digital junk drawer: your Downloads folder. PDFs from 2019, receipts you already screenshotted, and memes you meant to send and forgot.

Both Android and iPhone have built-in file managers:

Files by Google (on Android) even has a “clean” tab that recommends large or duplicate files to delete.

On iOS, open the Files app and head to Downloads or use the search bar to find old ZIPs and media files.

Spend five minutes here—you’ll be surprised how much you can toss.

Manage media smarter

Photos and videos are the usual suspects in any full storage scenario. But again, you don’t need to delete anything precious.

Enable cloud backups

Turn on Google Photos or iCloud Photos and choose the setting that optimizes local storage.

This means high-res files live in the cloud, while lighter versions stay on your phone.

On iPhone: Settings > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage

On Android (with Google Photos): Photos app > Profile icon > Photos settings > Backup > Turn on

Clear WhatsApp media hoarding

Group chats are secretly clogging your storage with birthday videos and good morning GIFs.

On WhatsApp, go to Settings > Storage and Data > Manage Storage. You can review and delete files larger than 5MB, or by chat.

Check the “Other” and “System” storage

Sometimes your storage chart shows a mysterious “Other” or “System” category taking up gigabytes. While you can’t directly delete system files, you can tame them.

System files balloon with updates, so restarting your phone occasionally helps.

iCloud Drive, Messages, and Mail attachments often sneak in under “Other.” In iOS, go to Settings > Messages > Keep Messages and set it to 30 days instead of forever.

Similarly, delete large email attachments or switch your email client to not download attachments automatically.

Use lite or web versions of apps

For apps that are heavy but not sacred, consider switching to leaner alternatives:

Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite, Gmail Go (on Android) are official lightweight apps.

Or skip the app entirely and use the web version in a browser shortcut. Instagram, LinkedIn, and even YouTube work surprisingly well this way.

It’s like ordering the same meal, minus the bulky packaging.

Use a storage manager app

There are a lot of third-party apps that promise to “clean” your phone, but many are snake oil—or worse, privacy nightmares. Stick to trusted ones that give you visibility without sketchy permissions.

Files by Google (Android)

iPhone Storage Recommendations (built-in on iOS)

SD Maid (advanced Android users)

Also read: Why you need to be obsessively backing up your data