When it comes to the iPhone, its users are most concerned about storage. To make matters worse, most of the iPhone’s storage is sometimes consumed by other storage.
In this reading, we have listed the 8 best ways to check and clear other storage on your iPhone.
What is Other Storage (System Data) on iPhone?
According to Apple, “Other storage” includes system-related data such as caches, logs, and other resources currently in use by your iPhone.
This value fluctuates automatically and depends on the needs of the system. Apple renamed this data category to “System Data” in iOS 15 instead of labeling it as “Other Storage”.
Check the space occupied by other storage on iPhone
The space occupied by other storage/system data depends a lot on how you use your iPhone. If you use a lot of streaming apps on your device, then this category is likely to take up more space.
Follow these simple steps to check the amount of space taken up by other storage/system data on your iPhone.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on General to open it.
2. Next, scroll down to find iPhone storage and tap it to view your device’s storage details.
3. Take a close look at the Storage panel to determine how much space is being taken up by system data on your iPhone.
4. Alternatively, you can scroll down and click “System Data” to view the space they are taking up.
Ways to Clear Other Storage or System Data on iPhone
Now that you’ve learned how to check the amount of storage consumed by the Other Storage/System Data category, let’s take a look at 8 effective ways to reduce it on your iPhone.
Clear Safari history and related website data
The first step to significantly reduce your other storage space is to clear your Safari history and website data. Follow the steps below to achieve the same.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and scroll down to find Safari to set it up.
2. Next, scroll down the page and click “Clear History and Website Data” to clear all caches associated with the Safari browser app.
3. Confirm your action by clicking the “Clear history and data” button.
Offload Unused Apps to Clear Other Storage on iPhone
Every app present on the iPhone has several cache files associated with it to ensure a fast and smooth user experience.
iOS groups and stores all such cache files in the Other Storage category. Therefore, in order to reduce the unnecessary consumption of space by such files, you can offload certain unused applications on your device.
Note that unloading an application frees up the storage consumed by the application, but retains all documents and data. Follow the steps below to achieve the same.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on General to open it.
2. Scroll down to find iPhone storage to open it.
3. On the next page, scroll and find the unused app installed on your device and click on it to open.
4. Click the “Upload Application” button to upload the installed application on your iPhone.
Clean up the iMessage app and set up the auto-delete feature
Another effective way to reduce the space taken up by the System Data category is to delete and clear all messages in the iMessage app and set its auto-delete feature. Follow these steps for an easy fix.
1. Tap the Message app on iPhone to open it.
2. Click on the icon with three dots at the top and select the “Select Messages” option.
3. Next, click on all unnecessary messages or messages with large attachments and click the Delete button.
4. To set up the auto-delete feature, open the Settings app and tap on the Messages option to set it up.
5. Scroll down to find the Message History feature and tap the Save Messages option.
6. Select your preferred time period for automatic deletion of messages from the native app. You can choose from three available options, namely 30 days, 1 year or forever.
Remove unnecessary clutter from the mail app
iPhone users have reported that deleting junk emails from their Mail app significantly reduces the space occupied by other storage on your device. Follow these simple steps to delete all such emails from your iPhone.
1. Open the Mail app on your device.
2. Click on the Junk Mail folder to view all junk emails present in your inbox.
3. To remove selected emails from the Junk category, click the Edit button in the top right corner and select all the emails you want to remove. You can also select all emails by clicking on the “Select All” option in the top left corner.
4. Then click the “Delete” button to delete all selected emails.
5. Similarly, you can also delete junk emails in your main mailbox using the steps above.
Remove oversized apps and reinstall them.
Sometimes clearing cache files from a third-party app does not reduce the total space it occupies on the device. In such cases, you need to manually uninstall the app and reinstall it again from the Apple App Store.
1. To remove a third-party app from your iPhone, press and hold the icon of the desired app.
2. Next, click on the icon – at the top of the desired application to remove it.
3. Confirm your action by clicking the Uninstall application button.
4. Alternatively, you can click on the icon for 3-4 seconds and select the “Uninstall App” option.
To reinstall the app again, open the App Store and search for the removed app to install it.
Delete unwanted voice memos
If you frequently use the Voice Memos feature on your iPhone, then chances are you will have more space occupied by other storage/system data on your device.
To reduce it and free up space, you need to delete unwanted/old voice memos on your iPhone. Follow these simple steps for an easy fix.
1. Open the Voice Memos app on your device.
2. To remove the desired voice memo from the application, click the “Edit” button in the upper right corner and click the desired voice memo to select it.
3. Once selected, tap the Trash/Delete icon in the lower right corner of the app to delete it.
Update iPhone to Clear Other Storage
Another working way to fix the problem with different storage on your iPhone is to update it to the latest version of iOS. Follow these simple steps to check and update your iPhone to the latest version.
Bonus Tip: Start With a Clean Slate by Restoring Your iPhone
If you are still unable to reduce the space occupied by other storage/system data on your iPhone, then you should try to backup, reset and restore it. Follow this official guide from Apple to restore your iPhone after a hard reset of your device.
Wrapping Up: Free Up Space on Your iPhone
We hope you have now successfully learned how to check and reduce “Other Storage” on your iPhone using the methods listed above.
If this reading helped you free up some space on your device, please hit the like button and share this guide with your loved ones to help them with their iOS device. Stay tuned for further step-by-step iOS troubleshooting guides.
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