8 Ways to Get More iPhone Storage Today – and Most Are Free

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ZDNET Highlights

• iPhone storage always fills up faster than most people expect.
• You can reclaim space without deleting everything you love.
• Purchasing more iCloud+ storage is optional, but not required.

If you’ve ever seen the dreaded “iPhone Storage Full” warning, you’re not alone. Storage can fill up fast because of the photos and videos we capture, the apps we download, and the browser cache and system data that we allow to silently accumulate over time.

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And while Apple would like you to resolve the issue by upgrading your iCloud+ plan, that’s not your only option. There are plenty of built-in iOS 26 tools that can help reclaim storage, and most of them are completely free to use. Here are the ones I often try first.

1. Check your system data

Before you delete anything, it helps to figure out where your storage is going. System data can quietly grow to gigabytes without you even realizing it, but it’s mostly made up of caches and temporary files that iOS manages automatically.

How to check system data on your iPhone

1. open settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap iPhone Storage.
4. See System Data at the bottom of the list.
5. If you see high gigabyte numbers, try closing all your apps and restarting your phone.

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System data fluctuates constantly. I’ve seen it reach 30GB and then drop to 10GB overnight without me touching anything. Unfortunately, you can’t clear it manually, but closing unused apps and restarting your phone can sometimes help reduce that number. For example, when I just checked it was 17GB. I closed my apps, restarted my phone and it is now at 12GB.

Hey, that’s 5GB left!

2. Offload (or delete) unused apps.

This is one of the most underrated storage features on the iPhone. This is because offloading an app removes it from your device without deleting your documents, data, or logins. Which are kept safe in iCloud. When you reinstall the app later, everything is back exactly the way you left it. Still, offloading an app you rarely use removes the large app file itself and frees up space.

How to Offload Unused Apps on Your iPhone

1. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. Scroll through to find the big apps you rarely use. Tap on an app that takes up a lot of space.
3. Select Offload App. Or select Delete app if you prefer.
4. confirm.

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I just did this for several apps, like GarageBand, that were taking up over 1GB of space. You can also delete apps, but this permanently deletes the app and all its data. This frees up more space and lets you start fresh if you decide to reinstall later. I suggest using offloading if you can use the apps again soon and deleting the apps if you have completely used them.

3. Clear your iPhone cache

I have a separate guide on this topic, but the TL;DR is this: If your iPhone seems slow or low on storage, clearing its cache may help.

Over time, apps store temporary files to speed things up, but too much cached data can have the opposite effect. Unfortunately, there is no “Clear Cache” button in iOS. However, some apps offer built-in cache options, including browsers like Safari and Chrome and apps like Snapchat. Clearing the cache can free up space, improve performance, and reduce errors.

How to clear the cache on your iPhone

1. Clear Safari Cache: Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Website Data > Delete all website data, then tap Delete now.
2. Clear Chrome Cache: Open Chrome, tap the three dots, then go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Clear browsing data. Under Browsing data, select Browsing history and Cached images and files. Be sure to specify a time limit.
3. Clear app cache: Find other apps that offer the clear cache option. For example, in Snapchat, go to Profile > Settings > My Privacy & Data > Clear Data > Clear Cache > Clear.
4. Restart your iPhone: Turn your phone off and back on to flush temporary system files and refresh the display.

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Performing this routine regularly can help keep your iPhone running smoothly.

4. Delete Junk Photos and Videos

I’ll be honest, photos and videos are your biggest storage sources. Burst shots, screenshots, screen recordings, memes, downloaded TikToks and saved Snapchats, and of course, duplicates all add up fast, especially if you like high-resolution photos and take 4K videos. It doesn’t hurt to look through your Photos app from time to time and delete things you don’t need.

How to delete photos and videos on your iPhone

1. Open the Photos app and go to Collections.
2. Scroll to media types, such as burst, screenshot, or screen recording. Choose a category, tap Select, review what you don’t want, and tap the trash icon. You can delete items individually or in batches.
3. Back in Collections, scroll down to Utilities. Select a category like Duplicates or Pictures and then repeat the same process.
4. When you’re done, go to Collection > Utilities > Recently Deleted. Authenticate to access the folder, and then permanently delete the items you just purged to immediately free up space.

If you want a more low-effort way to organize an overloaded camera roll without spending hours deleting, use your phone’s built-in photo search to look for today’s date. This brings up photos taken on that day in previous years.

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You can then quickly review that small batch and remove anything that doesn’t matter. Repeating this process daily allows you to slowly declutter over time and turn an overwhelming task into a quick, manageable habit.

5. Optimize photo storage

Even if you have the free iCloud+ tier, Apple includes a built-in feature that can reduce the space taken up by photos and videos. When enabled, your full-resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud, while the smaller versions remain on your phone. You can still view everything as normal, and your iPhone automatically downloads the full-quality version when needed.

How to Enable Optimized Photo Storage on Your iPhone

1. Go to Settings > Apps.
2. Tap Photos.
3. Turn on iCloud Photos.
4. Select Optimize iPhone storage.

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Just remember that it takes up iCloud storage, so if you’re low on space, you may be forced to upgrade your plan.

6. Transfer files from your iPhone

If cloud storage isn’t a good fit for you, or you don’t want to pay to upgrade your plan, try deleting data from your iPhone.

How to transfer files from your iPhone

• Use AirDrop to move photos and videos to your Mac: Open the Photos app on your iPhone > select the photos or videos you want to transfer > tap the Share button > choose AirDrop > choose your Mac > accept the transfer on your Mac.
• You can copy files to any External USB or Lightning Drive, Open the Files app on your iPhone > locate the files you want to move > tap and hold a file, then choose Move > select your external drive > tap Move to confirm.

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The idea here is that you are transferring large files to a computer or external storage for storing. Once you confirm that the files are backed up elsewhere, immediately delete them from your iPhone to free up storage space.

7. Review Large Attachments

Reviewing large attachments in messages helps you quickly find and delete photos, videos, GIFs, and other files that have been shared in text threads and are silently taking up space on your iPhone. These attachments can pile up over time, especially in active group chats, and it’s easy to forget about them because they live inside the conversation rather than in your Photos app.

How to Review Large Attachments on Your iPhone

1. open settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap iPhone Storage.
4. Scroll down and tap Review large attachments.
5. Review the list, select the items you want to delete, and delete them to free up space.

The Review Large Attachments view pulls everything into one place, sorted by size, so you can see at a glance what’s eating up storage and delete items you no longer need without having to dig through separate message threads.

8. Sorry, but buy more iCloud+ space

Sometimes the only solution left is if you really need The more storage you have, the better your plan is to upgrade. This is especially true if photos and videos are your main concern and you don’t want to delete anything. Choosing the new iCloud+ plan doesn’t increase your phone’s physical storage, but with customizable settings, it can increase your usable space.

How to upgrade iCloud+ plan on your iPhone

1. open settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap iCloud.
4. Tap Storage > Change storage plan > View all plans.
5. Select and confirm storage level.

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iCloud+ starts at 99 cents per month for a 50GB plan. There is also 200GB available for $2.99, 2TB for $9.99, 6TB for $29.99, and 12TB for $59.99. I have 2TB and I’m currently using about a quarter of it, photos stored in iCloud take up about 10% of the space.