Free up storage on your Android device

To download more apps and media, or help your phone run better, you can clear space on your phone.

Storage is where you keep data, like music and photos.
Memory is where you run programs, like apps and the Android system.

Important: Some of these steps only work on Android 14 and up. Learn how to update your Android version.

Find your storage usage

Open your device’s Settings app.
Tap Storage.
Select a category.

Free up storage

Automatically free up storage

To automatically clear backed-up photos and videos when your device's storage is almost full:

Open your device’s Settings app.
Tap Storage Free up space.
Tap Menu Settings .
Turn on Smart Storage.

Manually free up storage

To pick from a list of photos, videos, and apps that you haven't used recently:

Open your device's Settings app.
Tap Storage Free up space.
Scroll to the category you want.
Tap Select files.
- If the category isn’t listed, tap Browse.
Select the files you want to delete.
- You can also select all files in the list.
To delete the selected files, tap Move files to Trash.

To pick from all data:

Remove photos

If you back up with Google Photos, you can delete the copies on your phone or tablet. You can find the backed-up copies in the app when your device is connected to the internet. Learn how to delete photos and videos from your device.

Remove downloaded movies, music & other media

To delete content from Google TV:

On your Android device, open Google TV .
Tap Library.
Next to the downloaded video, tap Downloaded Remove.

To delete content from YouTube Music:

On your Android device, open YouTube Music .
Tap Library.
Next to the song, album, or playlist you want to delete, tap More Remove download.
- To remove all downloads:
  1. Tap your Profile photo Settings Downloads & storage.
  2. Tap Clear downloads.

To delete content from other sources, delete from the app that you used to download it.

Remove apps & app data

Close apps that don't respond

You don't usually need to close apps. But if an app isn't responding, you can try to close or force stop the app. Learn how to troubleshoot apps that aren't working.

Uninstall apps you don't use

If you uninstall an app and need it later, you can download it again. You don't have to buy the app again if you paid for it. Learn how to uninstall apps.

Clear the app's cache & data

You can usually clear an app’s cache and data with your phone’s Settings app. Settings can vary by phone. For more info, get help from your device manufacturer.

Clear cache: Deletes temporary data. Some apps may be slow the next time you open them.
Clear storage: Permanently deletes all app data. Try to delete the data within the app first.

Delete or move files

Delete downloaded files

To save space, you can delete downloaded files you don't need.

Copy files to a computer

You can move files and folders to a computer with a USB cable, and then delete them from your phone or tablet. Learn how to transfer files between your phone and computer.

Check & free up memory