• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
TechEngage

TechEngage

Technology news and opinions

  • Tech News
  • Reviews
  • How-to
  • Roundups
  • Science
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Space
  • Apps
  • More
    • Opinion
    • Noteworthy
    • Culture
    • Blockchain
      • Cryptocurrency
    • Events
    • Deals
    • Startups
      • Startup Submissions
  • Videos
  • Login
Phones

How to free up space on Android device

Avatar for Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad Abdullah Updated: December 27, 2018

free up space on android
Image Courtesy: Pexels

Isn’t “internal storage Android full” the most annoying notification ever?

When your phone runs out of storage, it keeps prompting this message to free up space. Additionally, the OS will limit the performance of your handset, will not let you install new apps and also keep prompting you to delete data to install your apps back. Unlike other little annoying things in life, you can quickly fix this one. You can clear your overstuffed Android phone with these 10 quick tips.

How to free up space on Android when internal storage is full?


Time needed: 10 minutes.

Clearing cached app data

  1. Clearing cached app data

    After digging into the app settings screen, you will find that these apps are storing cached data in storage. The data ranges from few kilobytes to megabytes and sometimes, even more, depending on the size of the app, and its functionality. The cached data alone is the reason your Android device is taking Gigabytes of storage. Open the app settings or download any cache cleaning application, tap Clear Cache button and clean the trash from the device storage.

    Many applications using Ads also store Ads data as the cache. So, wiping the cache won’t affect your phone in any way. However, some applications use to cache data to improve the user experience and store current app data in it. It may affect these apps, and you may lose some work if the app is running, so make sure you clear the cache of individual apps and save yourself from data loss.

  2. Take care of the Downloads folder

    The downloads folder is a cave of junk data. Most of the times we download videos or photos or memes, and it remains in the download folder for a long time. As a result, it covers plenty of user’s precious storage. Make sure your download folder is clean, delete the junk data and keep the files that you need. There will undoubtedly be much junk in your Download folder.

  3. Dump already backed up photos

    Google Photos offers free unlimited storage for pictures at an optimized size for all Android or iOS users. Pixel users get Unlimited full-size image Backup for the lifetime. Use Google Photos to back up your videos and picture to save storage on your phones. You can always access your photos from anywhere in the world using your Google account. You can access them anywhere with your Google account on the desktop, and any phone with Google Photos app installed.

    google photos free space on android

  4. Remove unnecessary Map data

    Google Maps has a feature that allows users to store offline maps for a selected area. It costs some hundreds of megabytes of data and sometimes more than five hundred megabytes. Save data storage by wiping the cache from the app setting screen. Hit the clear cache button and the unnecessary junk files will be removed. Remember, your offline maps will be gone. You can also remove offline maps manually by navigating to the three-line menu button, then tap “Offline maps” and the storage used by each map you stored is shown below its name. Manually delete these maps which are no longer needed.

  5. Turn on Smart Storage

    The smart storage feature is available in Android Oreo. When you turn on this feature, the software removes backed up Google Photos after a particular time. You can select the time period from the settings.

  6. Get a microSD Card

    Sadly, the microSD card option is not available in many Android phones now, for instance, Pixel users can’t have a microSD card. But those who are blessed with a phone which supports a microSD should consider buying one to get more space on their phone. Move all of your important data on the microSD card that you want to keep and free your internal storage.

  7. Use Cloud Drives

    For those who can’t have a microSD card should consider moving to cloud drives such as Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox. Why? Because cloud drives are the best option if you need to keep data somewhere secure to access it anytime, anywhere. You can move your documents and files on Google Drive or any other service that you like. The only limitation to this is the internet, if you don’t have an internet connection, you can’t access your files. If your drive storage is exceeding the free 15GB on Google Drive, then you can get more 100GB of space for just $1.99 per month.

  8. Use Oreo tools

    With the release of Android Oreo, Google released a set of tools and features to help Android users with this issue. The storage section now shows all the types of files that are making internal storage full. You can hit the storage tab and see what is taking up your phone’s storage. There’s “Free storage button” which lets you clean the unnecessary files inside the files app. Below is the screenshot of storage settings from a phone running Android Pie.

    android oreo internal storage android full

  9. WhatsApp Media Junk

    WhatsApp junk is another reason that storage goes out of hand. The videos, memes, and pictures sent on WhatsApp are storage-stealing culprits. Cleaning one by one is also a hectic task to do. Go to “WhatsApp Settings > Data and storage usage > Media auto-download” and turn off auto downloads. It will let you only download the files you need; the phone will not auto download the videos and memes sent in that awkward WhatsApp group you are in. You can also check the storage usage by clicking “Storage Usage” from the same settings menu in WhatsApp. Free up space on Android by examining which chat is using more storage.

  10. Use the “Files Go” app

    Files Go is another app from Google that lets you delete all the unwanted and temporary files from your phone. It is actually one of the best junk managers out there. It lets you clean Junk files, Duplicate files, Unused apps, large files, and temporary files. Download from Google Play Store and make your Android free of junk and unnecessary cache files.

    internal storage android full

Let’s us know in the comments section if you know more ways of clearing internal space of android.

This post was orginally published on: October 5, 2018 and was updated on: December 27, 2018.

Related Tags: Android

Related Stories

  • Get Night Sight mode on your Pixel phone

    Get Night Sight mode on your Pixel phone

  • 5 uses for old Android and iOS devices

    5 uses for old Android and iOS devices

  • How to disinfect your phone

    How to disinfect your phone

Avatar for Muhammad Abdullah

Muhammad Abdullah

Editor-in-chief

Tech geek, polymath, and movie enthusiast. Batman, who doesn't like coffee. Totally in love with gadgets, animals, and writing about technology.

Reader Interactions

Join The Discussion: Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or publish anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Become a contributor

We are accepting contributor applications. All applications will be decided in 3 days after applying. To learn more click here.
TechEngage-Apple-News
TechEngage-Google-News

Recent Stories

  • What is a VPN, and how does it work?
  • Best smartwatches for Android phones 2021
  • 5 best brain training apps to make you smarter
  • Best under-desk treadmills to walk while you work; on Amazon for 2021
  • Best games to play in 2021
Samsung Galaxy Note 10

Top 10 Upcoming Smartphones

Best Translation Apps

The Best Translation Apps 2021

Galaxy S10

How to get Android 10 on Galaxy S10

Phones

Your ultimate guide to buying a smartphone this year!

Footer

Discover

  • About us
  • Newsroom
  • Staff
  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Startup Submission Questionnaire
  • Brand Kit
  • Contact us

Legal pages

  • Reviews Guarantee
  • Community Guidelines
  • Corrections Policy and Practice
  • Cookies Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Must reads

  • Best AirPods alternatives on Amazon
  • Best PC monitors for gaming on Amazon
  • Best family board games
  • Best Graphics Cards (GPUs) for gaming
  • Best video doorbells without subscription
  • Best handheld video game consoles
  • Best all-season tires for snow
  • Best mobile Wi-Fi hotspots
  • Best treadmills on Amazon
  • Best AM radios for long-distance reception

Download our apps

TechEngage-app-google-play-store

Copyright © 2021 · All Rights Reserved · TechEngage® is a Project of TechAbout LLC.
TechEngage® is a registered trademark in United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167 and is ISSN protected under the ISSN 2690-3776 and OCLC Number 1139335774.

Go to mobile version