How to clear ‘Other’ storage on your iPhone

How many times have you tried to record a high-resolution video or install the latest update, only for a pop-up to tell you that your iPhone storage is full? Plenty of times.

In fact, even if you’ve tried deleting everything (including your iMessage data) and still find yourself perplexed at what could be causing full storage, we have news for you. Your iPhone has an ‘Other Storage’ section that could possibly be the culprit. Here’s everything you need to know, along with how to clear it:

What is Other Storage on your iPhone?

Other Storage, or ‘System Data’, typically stores files that your iPhone cannot classify. These could include cache from your Safari browser and update files that are left behind. It could even have voice memos, saved messages and other miscellaneous data that are clubbed together in a folder.

ALSO READ: Everything you need to know about Apple’s iCloud storage

The recent iOS version now refers to it as System Data, and it can be cleared to free up space. However, if you find that identifying it is a task, we have a few steps that could help you tackle this issue with ease.

How to view Other Storage data on your iPhone

Before you can get around to clearing this data, it is important to locate how much space it consumes on your device. Open Settings on your iPhone and tap on the General tab. Within this, you will find an option known as iPhone storage.

Once you open this, you will find a bar on top of the page displaying the breakup of the storage on your device. Allow the storage bar to load and refresh before rushing to delete.

To check the System Data on your iPhone, scroll to the bottom of the page. The storage should ideally read between 5 to 10GB; anything other than that should be cleared immediately.

How to identify System Data on your iPhone

Once you’ve viewed the total storage on your device, it is important to check what files make it to the list. However, before you hit delete, ensure to review these files as they could be crucial to your system. Here are some of the common culprits that could be clogging the system: 

Safari: Your browser cache is always the number one contributing factor that clogs your device’s storage. You can clear the Safari data by going into Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Safari and tapping on Website Data to clear it. 

Streaming apps: Your streaming apps, like Netflix or Spotify, could also be causing your iPhone storage to run full. While streaming doesn’t necessarily download files the same way, it does keep a significant amount of cache on your device. While clearing it could help you free up space, monitoring your streaming time could help you avoid the issue in the long run. 

Other apps: Deleting and reinstalling apps could help you clear up space in your System Data folder on your iPhone. To reinstall, visit the App Store and install the app on your iPhone. 

If none of these steps work, resetting your iPhone should effectively clear it of any files that may be clogging your storage. However, this step should only be attempted once you are sure and have all your files backed up in one place.