Are you constantly battling the dreaded “Storage Almost Full” notification on your iPhone? If you’ve been searching for how to get more storage on iPhone without paying monthly fees, you’ve come to the right place.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through proven, cost-free techniques—backed by insights from leading tech resources and Apple’s own community forums—that will help you reclaim valuable space and keep your device running smoothly.
From managing photos and apps to clearing browser caches and messages, these practical tips ensure you’ll never have to pay for extra cloud services again. Let’s dive in!
1. Clear Out Old & Unused Apps
One of the quickest ways to free up storage on your iPhone is by deleting apps you no longer use.
- Automatic Offloading:
- Go to Settings > App Store and toggle on Offload Unused Apps.
- This removes the app itself but keeps its data safe. If you reinstall later, you’ll pick up where you left off.
- Manual Deletion:
- Press and hold an app icon on the Home Screen.
- Select Remove App to fully delete it.
Pro Tip: Check your app usage in Settings > General > iPhone Storage to see which apps take up the most space.
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Show a screenshot of the iPhone Storage screen with app sizes highlighted.
2. Manage Your Photos & Videos
Photos and videos often consume the largest chunk of space.
- Use “Optimize iPhone Storage”
- Go to Settings > Photos, choose Optimize iPhone Storage.
- This stores full-resolution versions in iCloud while keeping smaller, device-friendly images on your phone.
- Note: If you don’t want to pay for iCloud, skip this or consider a one-time manual backup to a computer or external drive.
- Delete Duplicates and Screenshots
- iOS 16+ now automatically detects duplicate photos.
- Navigate to Photos > Albums > Duplicates and merge them.
- Clear out random screenshots you no longer need.
Pro Tip: Regularly empty the Recently Deleted album to truly free up space.
3. Clean Up Your Messages & Attachments
Text messages—especially group chats—accumulate photos, GIFs, and videos that eat up iPhone memory.
- Review Large Attachments
- Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Messages to see top attachments.
- Delete any large files or saved images that are no longer important.
- Auto-Delete Older Messages
- Go to Settings > Messages, scroll to Message History.
- Select 30 Days or 1 Year to automatically remove old texts and attachments.
Pro Tip: Save important images to your Photo Library before clearing chat attachments.
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Show the Messages storage breakdown screen highlighting how many GB are occupied by attachments.
4. Clear Browser Cache and Offline Data
Safari, Chrome, or other browsers can store cached websites, offline data, and cookies.
- Safari:
- Go to Settings > Safari.
- Tap Clear History and Website Data.
- Chrome:
- Open the Chrome app, tap the three dots > History > Clear Browsing Data.
Pro Tip: Clearing caches can log you out of some websites, so make sure you remember your passwords or use a password manager.
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A 15-second screen recording highlighting how to clear Safari or Chrome cache to instantly gain a few hundred MB of space.
5. Offload Files to External Storage (No Monthly Fees)
If you have a large media library, consider transferring files to external sources—completely free of recurring costs.
- External Hard Drives
- Use a Lightning-to-USB adapter or a Lightning-to-USB-C (if using newer iPhone models) to connect a compatible external drive.
- Transfer videos, photos, or documents to your hard drive for offline storage.
- Computer Backup
- Connect your iPhone to your computer (Mac or PC).
- Use Finder (Mac) or iTunes (PC) to copy files or create a local backup.
Pro Tip: Once files are safely copied, delete them from your iPhone to reclaim storage space.
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Show an iPhone connected to a laptop or external drive with arrows indicating file transfer.
6. Delete Unnecessary Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks
Media files can be surprisingly large:
- Apple Music:
- Go to Settings > Music > Downloaded Music.
- Swipe left on albums/songs to delete them.
- Podcasts:
- Open the Podcasts app > Library.
- Manually delete episodes or enable auto-deletion after listening.
- Audiobooks:
- In the Books app, tap Library, swipe left to remove completed books.
Pro Tip: Download episodes only when needed, and set them to automatically delete after playback.
7. Compress or Delete Large Email Attachments
If you use the built-in Mail app:
- Remove Attachments:
- Go to the Mail app, search for emails with large files.
- Save important attachments elsewhere, then delete or move the emails to trash.
- Switch to Webmail:
- If you rarely need offline access, you could rely on webmail services (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook via Safari or Chrome) to avoid storing big attachments on your iPhone.
Pro Tip: Periodically review your Sent folder, which often holds big attachments you might have forgotten about.
Bonus: Monitor Storage Regularly
The best way to maintain a clutter-free iPhone is to develop good digital hygiene:
- Schedule monthly checks in Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
- Promptly remove old downloads, iMessage attachments, or Photos duplicates.
- Keep an eye on your largest storage culprits—often videos, heavy apps, and cached data.
Conclusion
By following these practical and budget-friendly tips, you’ll discover how to get more storage on your iPhone without paying monthly for services like iCloud upgrades. From deleting unnecessary apps to transferring large files to external drives, these strategies ensure you reclaim gigabytes of space while keeping everything essential close at hand.
Key Takeaways
- Offload or delete unused apps and large attachments.
- Regularly clean up photos, videos, and message threads.
- Consider external storage or computer backups instead of paid cloud options.
- Make clearing caches and removing duplicates a routine habit.
Disclaimer: While these methods are typically safe, always back up important data before deleting files. For any official guidance, refer to Apple Support directly.
