Free up your storage space without deleting apps on Android: Heres how

If you own an Android smartphone with less storage like 64GB or even 128GB, chances are that your storage is filled to the brim. Your device might be laggy or may stutter at times as a consequence. What this means is that you may have to buy a new phone with more storage or get a microSD card as a workaround. But the latter may not be a reliable method for some and buying a new device can make a hole in your pocket.

Having said that, there are some other on-device methods that you will have to rely on to get some storage back. In this article, we will show you those exact methods. Interestingly, you don’t have to delete your apps to follow these methods, saving you the time and energy to manually look for apps to delete.

Remove large files

One way to clean some storage is to remove those episodes or videos that you downloaded on YouTube or Netflix. Chances are that you might have already watched these videos so deleting them is the best option. For the aforementioned apps, you can directly delete them within the apps. However, if you have downloaded any files from the web, you will have to go to the file manager and delete them. Follow the steps below to do that.

Step 1: Open the file manager on your smartphone. You can also download the Google Files app from the Play Store as it is more organized.

Step 2: Give the app the required permissions.

Step 3: Open the Downloads section and look for the files you no longer need. Once down, you should have some storage cleared on your device.

Delete unwanted WhatsApp photos from the gallery

WhatsApp’s Good Morning image forwards may have filled up your gallery.

Step 1: Go to the Gallery app/photos app on your phone and look for the WhatsApp folder.

Step 2: Now, delete all the unwanted photos and videos.

Clear Cache

Another method is to clear the cache. Cache files get created automatically as you use different apps, helping you open an app quickly next time. However, some apps may store a lot of cache taking up your storage space. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, and others may store a lot of cache files. You can clear this sometimes when required. Follow the steps below to clear the cache of individual apps.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

Step 2: Search for the app on the search bar at the top.

Step 3: Open the app and tap on Storage.

Step 4: Check the cache and tap on Clear cache.

And just like that, you have got some instant storage on your device. These are the three methods you can use to clear some storage on your phone without deleting apps. However, if you need more storage, the only way is to delete large apps, especially games.

Also, you can try Lite apps if you own an entry-level phone or an old device.  Lite apps take less space and aren’t heavy on the system. You can also opt for a cloud storage plan if you need more storage for photos and videos.