How to clear Other storage on iPhone: My quick and easy hacks to a clutter-free space

The other day, my iPhone was having a bit of a sluggish day. If I’m honest, it’d been coming on for a while, and when I looked at how much storage I had left, I got a bit of a shock. Didn’t think I was running as many apps as I was!

If you’ve noticed that your device has gotten sluggish or a significant amount of space seems to have been used up, your Other storage on iPhone might be the culprit.

I'll show you how to free up other storage on your iPhone and ways to clean up your iPhone using your Mac.

How to clear iPhone storage	What to do
Large files taking up space	Open Files app > Sort by size > Delete unnecessary large files.
Lots of duplicates and blurred photos	Use CleanMy®Phone to declutter your gallery in a few taps.
Linked third-party accounts causing clutter	Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Accounts > Delete unnecessary accounts.
Browser plug-ins slowing performance	Go to Settings > Safari > Extensions > Turn off and uninstall extensions.
Apps accumulating cache	Settings > iPhone Storage > Offload or Delete app and reinstall.
Safari cache and offline data building up	Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.
Unused apps consuming storage	Offload manually via Settings > iPhone Storage or enable automatic offloading.
Background apps refreshing and consuming resources	Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Turn off globally or for specific apps.

iPhone Other storage: What is it?

So, what is the Other in iPhone storage? It’s anything else in your iPhone that isn’t apps, messages, photos, or videos.

Other storage is where groups of files that don’t neatly fit into other categories are stored, such as browser caches, larger attachments in files and messages, or even voice memos and notes. You can’t delete Other storage entirely because it keeps some vital data for your iPhone, but I’ll show you some hacks on how to delete Other storage on iPhone and other tips so it won't bother you in the future.

How to check your iPhone storage

So, let's get down to the nitty-gritty now. How can you find out the storage capacity of your iPhone?

To check how much space Other storage is using up on iOS:

1. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. You’ll see a breakdown of your device storage capacity and what you’re using.

3. To access Other storage (or System Data), depending on your iOS, scroll down to the bottom of the screen, and you’ll see it.
4. Tap to open it.

To check your iPhone and iPad's storage space via your Mac:

1. Open Finder on the Mac.
2. Connect your iPhone using a USB-C cable.
3. Find your device in the Finder window on the left pane and open it.
4. In General, you’ll see a bar graph showing how much space is being used and what for.
5. Use your mouse to hover over each section to get more information.

How to get rid of Other Storage on iPhone

I reckon that keeping on top of the space on your Apple devices is the ticket to ensuring they always run smoothly, so now let's look at how to remove Other storage on iPhone to save extra space.

Find, review, and delete large attachments

It’s easy to accumulate lots of large attachments in your email over time, and these can make a significant contribution to the Other storage on your phone.

Take a look at the Files app to locate large files that you can possibly delete. Here’s how to do this:

1. Once in Files, choose a folder (e.g., Downloads).
2. Tap three dots on the right > Choose the Size filter.
3. Review the largest files at the top, and delete the unnecessary ones.

Remove linked third-party accounts

You might want to check and then remove any linked third-party accounts from your iPhone. What are they? These are connections made between your Apple Account and accounts you've created with other businesses or services — think about things like Google or social media.

You can do it by going to your account settings, and from here, you can also remove third-party browser plug-ins.

Here’s how:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Contacts Accounts.
2. Choose the account, then tap Delete Account.

For the same reason, you might also want to consider removing third-party browser plug-ins. They can be removed to make your browser perform better, enhance security, and help protect against malicious use by hackers.

To remove third-party browser plug-ins:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Safari.
2. Scroll down and tap Extensions.
3. Choose the extension to remove.
4. Turn off Allow Extension.
5. Uninstall the app that installed the extension.

Delete cached data on apps

If you’re still finding that your iPhone is sluggish or underperforming, you can check your apps and delete any cached data they might have. This can help your phone speed up and allow you to get the best performance from the apps you use.

To clear the app cache:

1. Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. Choose the app you want to clear.
3. Tap Offload App to clear some cache, or Delete App to delete all cache and data.
4. Confirm your selection in the pop-up window.
5. After that, reinstall the app. It should work as brand new.

Clear Safari caches and offline reading lists

A slow browser is not a friend to anyone, not least your iPhone. Clearing out your cache on Safari is another great way to free up some much-needed storage.

To clear the cache and cookies in Safari on an iPhone, you can go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data.

Cut down on streaming

We all love our phones for streaming content from our beloved music apps, TV, and movie services. However, to reduce your Other storage, you can try cutting back on the number of things you’re streaming or using other devices to do it from. You can also change your streaming options, turn on Low Data Mode, or set app limits.

To set app limits:

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time.
2. Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
3. Choose app categories or individual apps to limit.
4. Set the amount of time allowed.
5. Tap Add.

Offload unused apps

Sometimes, you might remember that you have loads of apps that you just don’t use anymore. I tend to forget about them, but they can cause clutter and take up space. So, it’s a good idea to know how to offload apps on an iPhone.

To offload apps manually:

1. Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. Choose the app you want to offload.
3. Tap Offload App.

Review notes and voice memos

If you use notes and voice memos a lot, then it makes sense to review these occasionally and check whether they need to be kept. Whilst the files can be small individually, they can often add up in terms of the amount of Other storage they use.

Deleting them or saving them elsewhere can save space.

Enable auto-deletion in Messages

This is another good tip to ensure plenty of free storage on your iPhone. Enabling this function can save time and help with general device maintenance.

To enable automatic deletion of old messages on an iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Messages.
2. Scroll down to Message History.
3. Tap Keep Messages.
4. Choose to delete messages after 30 days or 1 year automatically.
5. Tap Delete.

Turn off background app refresh

Background app refresh is a handy feature as it means your apps are always updating and ready to go when needed. However, it can drain your battery life and add to your storage woes, so some people opt to turn it off.

To turn off background app refresh on an iPhone:

1. Open Settings > General.
2. Tap Background App Refresh.
3. Turn it off to stop apps from updating in the background.

To turn off background app refresh for individual apps, scroll through the list of apps. Turn off the ones you don't need.

Restore iPhone or iPad from backup

You can restore an iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup or a computer backup to assist with maintaining your Other storage.

To restore from an iCloud backup:

1. Turn on your new iPhone and get to the Apps & Data screen.
2. Follow the setup steps.
3. Tap Restore from iCloud Backup.
4. Sign in to iCloud with your Apple Account.
5. Choose your backup.
6. Wait for the restore to finish.

To restore from a computer backup:

1. Connect your device to your computer with a USB-C cable.
2. Open Finder > Select your device.
3. Click Restore from this backup.
4. Choose your backup.
5. Click Continue.

How to clear the Other storage on iPhone: Solved

I’ve shown you the importance of keeping on top of your Other storage via your iPhone. It’s a good habit to get into, ensuring your device stays clutter-free and performs optimally. Some great apps like Gemini, CleanMy®Phone, and AnyTrans for iOS can really help you declutter and reorganize your iPhone so it’s working optimally. 

Suppose you’re curious to know more and want to explore all the intuitive apps that can assist with clearing Other system data on your iPhone. In that case, Setapp gives you a free 7-day trial for the apps I mentioned, plus 250 more apps, whether you want to optimize your iPhone or find ways to make storage more efficient.