Do you get ominous warnings about your phone’s storage? Have you ever pulled out your phone to show someone a certain photo and had to scroll for minutes to find it? If you’ve accumulated gigabytes of images over the years, optimizing your photo library and getting rid of other unnecessary apps and files can allow you to reclaim that space. Here’s a guide to doing exactly that using free tools you probably already have installed on your phone.
Check storage
Begin your cleaning process by taking note of the space on your device and what is taking up space.
On many Android devices, open the Settings app and select Storage to check the available space.
On a Samsung Galaxy device, open the Settings app, select Device Care or Device Maintenance, then tap Storage. On some phones, you can scroll down to Storage.
On an iPhone, open the Settings app and select General, then iPhone Storage to see how much space is left on your phone. The steps are similar for an iPad.
Remove duplicates
Deleting identical copies of photos is an easy way to regain territory. While there are subscription apps for removing duplicate files of all kinds (like Duplicates Cleaner for Android or Phone Cleaner for iOS), consider the free options you have on your phone.
In Apple’s iOS Photos app, tap the Albums icon at the bottom of the screen and scroll down to the Utilities area. Tap Duplicates. The next screen shows photos and videos with multiple copies in your library, all next to a Merge button. The Merge option keeps the higher-resolution copy (and embedded information) and moves the lower-resolution versions to the app’s Recently Deleted album.
Samsung has a similar tool to track duplicate files on its Galaxy devices. Tap the My Files icon and choose Analyze Storage from the menu. On the next screen, select Duplicate Files to view the list.
Open the Files app, tap the Menu icon in the top left corner, and choose Clean Up. The next screen offers a variety of things you can delete to save space, including duplicate files, downloads, screenshots, rarely used apps, and large files.
Personal review
It may be tedious, but scrolling back and manually deleting bad images is a precise way to weed out photos and videos. If you have a huge library, breaking the project up into daily sessions when you’re on public transport (or waiting) whittles down your collection gradually. Don’t forget to check out third-party photo apps that store images, too.
A deleted photo doesn’t evaporate immediately. Most systems retain all recently deleted photos and videos for at least 30 days before permanently deleting them, unless you manually empty the trash or deleted items folder.
If you have photos you want to keep and don’t use an online backup, export copies to a computer via email, Android Quick Share, Apple AirDrop, or another transfer method. (And make sure you have a backup system in place for your computer.)
Accepts suggestions
Need more help? Apple’s support site has tips, and the iPhone’s storage screen offers recommendations for deleting old files and apps. Samsung’s site has ideas for Galaxy owners. In user account settings, Google Photos has tools for freeing up space and managing storage that list files to review and delete.
Suggestions usually include relocating your photos from your phone to an online server or to an external SD memory card if your phone has a card slot, allowing you to reclaim space on your phone when you download the files.
Apple’s iCloud for Photos, Google Photos, Samsung Cloud, or a service like Dropbox all free up space because your device doesn’t physically store the files, even though you can view the images on it. You get a complimentary amount of space to start, but you have to pay for more once you fill it up.
When you delete a backed up or synced photo (on an iPhone, in Google Photos, or wherever), it disappears from all devices connected to that account.
To be solved
After you’ve cleaned up your photo library, you can organize it further. For years, Android and iOS have automatically grouped images into albums based on who appears in them, where they were taken, and other factors, but you can also create your own collections.
To move photos to your own albums in Google Photos, Samsung’s Gallery app, or Apple Photos, tap the option for a new album, name it, and select the photos you want to add to it. Apple Photos can also create folders and then create separate albums within those folders to group similar albums together.
Yes, it takes time to organize your device, but you’ll be able to find your images faster when you want to show them off, and you’ll have room to install more stuff.
