How to cheque the storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

iOS and iPadOS monitor the storage on your device by analyzing how much space each app uses. You can also check the storage on your device in Settings, iTunes, or the Finder on your computer.

How iOS and iPadOS optimize storage

If your device is low on storage, it automatically frees upwards space while installing an app, updating iOS or iPadOS, downloading music, recording videos, and more.

To brand more storage available, your device can remove some of your items, like streamed music and videos, files in iCloud Drive, and parts of apps that aren't needed. It also removes temporary files and clears the enshroud on your device. But your device only removes items that can be downloaded again or that aren't needed anymore.

Apply your device to check its storage

Go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage. Yous might see a listing of recommendations for optimizing your device's storage, followed by a list of installed apps and the amount of storage each one uses. Tap an app'south name for more information most its storage. Cached data and temporary data might non be counted as usage.

In the detailed view yous can:

  • Offload the app, which frees upwards storage used by the app, but keeps its documents and data.
  • Delete the app, which removes the app and its related information.
  • Depending on the app, you might be able to delete some of its documents and data.

If your device is almost full and can't free upward infinite, you might get a Storage Almost Full alert. If y'all meet this alert, you should cheque the storage recommendations or you need to offload some less-used content like videos and apps.

Content categories

The used content on your device is divided in these categories:

  • Apps: Installed apps and their content, and content stored in "On My iPhone/iPad/iPod touch" directory in the Files app, and Safari downloads
  • Photos: Photos and videos stored in the Photos app
  • Media: Music, videos, podcasts, ringtones, artwork, and Phonation Memos
  • Mail: Emails and their attachments
  • Apple tree Books: Books and PDFs in the Books app
  • Messages: Messages and their attachments
  • iCloud Drive: iCloud Drive content that has been downloaded locally to your device. This content can't be automatically deleted.
  • Other: Non-removable mobile assets, similar Siri voices, fonts, dictionaries, non-removable logs and caches, Spotlight index, and system information, such equally Keychain and CloudKit Database. Cached files can't be deleted by the system.
  • System: Space taken by the operating system. This can vary based on your device and model.

Use recommendations to optimize storage

In the Storage section of Settings, your device might offer recommendations for optimizing your storage. Tap Bear witness All to see all the recommendations for your device.

Read the clarification of each recommendation, then tap Enable to plough it on or tap the recommendation to review the contents you tin can delete.

Utilise the Finder or iTunes to check the storage on your iOS device

  1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.xv or later, open the Finder. On a Mac with macOS Mojave 10.xiv or earlier, or on a PC, open up iTunes.
  2. Connect your device to your estimator.
  3. Select your device in the Finder or in iTunes. You'll see a bar that shows how much storage your content uses, divided by content blazon.
  4. Motion your mouse over the bar to meet how much storage each content type is using.

Here's a list of the types of content on your device, and what each type includes:

  • Audio: Songs, audio podcasts, audiobooks, voice memos, and ringtones.
  • Video: Movies, music videos, and TV shows.
  • Photos: Content in your Photograph Library, Camera Roll, and Photo Stream.
  • Apps: Installed apps. The content of the apps is listed under Documents & Information.
  • Books: iBooks books, audio books, and PDF files.
  • Documents & Data: Safari Offline Reading List, files stored within installed apps, and app content like contacts, calendars, messages, and emails (and their attachments).
  • Other: Settings, Siri voices, system information, and buried files.

Most cached files in "Other"

The Finder and iTunes categorize buried music, videos, and photos equally Other instead of bodily songs, videos, or photos. Cached files are created when you stream or view content similar music, videos, and photos. When you stream music or video, that content is stored as cached files on your device then yous can quickly admission it again.

Your device automatically removes cached files and temporary files when your device needs more infinite.

If storage on your device differs from what you run into in the Finder or iTunes

Since the Finder and iTunes categorize buried files as Other, reported usage for Music or Videos might differ. To view usage on your device, go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage.

If yous want to delete the cached files from your device

Your device automatically deletes cached files and temporary files when it needs more infinite. Y'all don't need to delete them yourself.

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