The “Other” or “Other” category of iPhone storage space determines how much memory is used by important system files, setting preferences, saved notes, and various other application files. While it's often not possible to delete this category completely, the suggestions described in this article can help you reduce the memory consumed by the “Other” category and free up more storage space on your device.
Step
Method 1 of 7: Clearing Safari Browsing Data
Step 1. Open the settings menu or “Settings”
This menu is indicated by a gray gear icon (⚙️) and is usually displayed on the device's home screen.
Step 2. Swipe the screen and touch Safari
It's next to the blue compass icon.
Step 3. Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data
This option is at the bottom of the menu.
Step 4. Touch Clear History and Data
Website history and saved page data will be deleted from the device.
Method 2 of 7: Clear Chrome Browsing Data
Step 1. Open the Chrome app
This app is marked by a colorful camera aperture icon on a white background.
Chrome is a browser from Google that needs to be downloaded manually from the App Store. This app is not included by default on iPhone
Step 2. Touch the button
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 3. Touch Settings
It's at the bottom of the menu.
Step 4. Touch Privacy
This option is in the "Advanced" menu section.
Step 5. Touch Clear Browsing Data
It's at the bottom of the menu.
Step 6. Touch the type of data you want to delete
- Touch " Browsing History ” to delete the history of the sites you have visited.
- Touch " Cookies, Site Data ” to delete website information stored on the device.
- Touch " Cached Images and Files ” to delete data stored on the device so that Chrome can load websites faster.
- Touch " Saved Passwords ” to delete password entries stored by Chrome on the device.
- Touch " Autofill Data ” to remove information such as addresses and phone numbers that Chrome uses to autofill web forms.
Step 7. Touch Clear Browsing Data
It's a red button below the data type you selected.
Step 8. Touch Clear Browsing Data
The selected Chrome data will be deleted from the device.
Method 3 of 7: Clearing Messaging Data
Step 1. Open the Messages app
Applications with green icons and white speech bubbles are usually displayed on the device's home screen.
If the app opens the conversation right away, tap the " Back " (<) button in the top left corner of the screen
Step 2. Touch Edit
It's in the top-left corner of the screen.
Step 3. Touch the buttons next to each chat you want to delete
These buttons are on the left side of the screen. The button color will turn green when a conversation is selected.
Conversations can consume a lot of data, especially if they contain multiple messages with media such as photos or videos
Step 4. Touch Delete
It's in the lower-right corner of the screen. All selected conversations will be deleted from the device.
Method 4 of 7: Deleting Old and Junk Messages
Step 1. Open the Mail app
This app is marked by a blue sealed envelope icon on a blue background.
If the " Mailboxes " page/screen is not displayed, touch the option “ Mailboxes ” in the upper left corner of the screen first.
Step 2. Touch Trash
It's next to the blue trash can icon.
Step 3. Touch Edit
This link is in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 4. Touch Delete All
This link is in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Step 5. Touch Delete All
All deleted emails from the Mail app (including attachments) will be deleted from the device.
Step 6. Touch Mailboxes
This link is in the upper-left corner of the screen.
Step 7. Touch Junk
It's next to the blue trash can icon with the letter "x."
Step 8. Touch Edit
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 9. Touch Delete All
It's in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Step 10. Touch Delete All
All junk messages from the Mail app (including their attachments) will be deleted from the device.
If you use an alternative email management program, such as the Gmail app, follow certain processes to remove junk or deleted messages from your inbox
Method 5 of 7: Deleting Voicemail
Step 1. Open the Phone app
This application is marked by a white handset icon on a green background which is usually displayed on the home screen.
Step 2. Touch Voicemail
It's in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Step 3. Touch Edit
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 4. Touch the button next to the voicemail you want to delete
These buttons are on the left side of the screen. The button color will turn blue when voicemail is selected.
Step 5. Touch Delete
It's in the lower-right corner of the screen. All selected voicemails will be deleted from the device.
Method 6 of 7: Removing and Reinstalling Apps
Step 1. Open the settings menu or “Settings”
This menu is indicated by the gray gear icon (⚙️) which is usually displayed on the home screen.
Step 2. Scroll the screen and touch the General button
It's at the top of the menu, next to the gear icon (⚙️).
Step 3. Touch Storage & iCloud Usage
This option is at the bottom of the screen.
Step 4. Touch Manage Storage in the "Storage" section
This segment is at the top of the page. After that, a list of applications installed on the device will be displayed in order of memory used the most to the least.
Step 5. Swipe to the desired app and note the number to the right of it
This number indicates the amount of memory used by the application.
Step 6. Touch the app
Choose the apps that you feel are taking up too much storage space.
Step 7. Touch Delete App
This red link is under app data.
Step 8. Touch Delete App
With this option, you confirm the deletion of the app and all of its data.
Repeat these steps for each app that you feel is taking up too much storage space
Step 9. Open the App Store app
This app is marked by a white “A” icon inside a white circle on a blue background.
Step 10. Touch Updates
It's a square icon with an arrow pointing downwards in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Step 11. Touch Purchased
It's at the top of the screen.
- If prompted, enter the Apple ID and/or password.
- If you have a “Family Sharing” membership, you may need to tap the “ My Purchases ” at the top of the screen.
Step 12. Touch Not on This iPhone
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen. A list of all apps that you have purchased using your Apple ID but have not installed on your iPhone will be displayed on this page.
Apps are displayed in chronological order of purchases, with the most recently purchased app shown at the top of the list
Step 13. Touch the “download” icon
Locate the recently uninstalled app and tap the cloud icon with a downward-pointing arrow next to it to reinstall the app.
- The application will be reinstalled without additional data that previously took up “Other” storage space on the device.
- You can download several applications at the same time.
Method 7 of 7: Performing a System Restore and Backup
Step 1. Open the settings menu or “Settings”
This menu is indicated by the gray gear icon (⚙️) which is usually displayed on the home screen.
Step 2. Touch your Apple ID
The ID is displayed as a segment at the top of the menu and contains the name and photo (if added).
- If you're not signed in to your Apple ID, tap the link “ Sign in to your iPhone ”, enter the Apple ID and password, then touch “ Sign In ”.
- If your device is running an older version of iOS, you may not need to follow these steps.
Step 3. Touch iCloud
This option is in the second segment of the menu.
Step 4. Swipe the screen and tap iCloud Backup
It's at the bottom of the "APPS USING ICLOUD" section.
Slide switch" iCloud Backup ” to the on position or " On " (green color) if the switch has not been moved.
Step 5. Touch Back Up Now
This option is at the bottom of the screen. Wait for the backup process to complete.
The device must be connected to a WiFi network in order for data from iPhone to be backed up
Step 6. Touch iCloud
It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. Now you will be taken back to the iCloud settings page.
Step 7. Touch Apple ID
It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. After that, you will be taken back to the Apple ID settings page.
Step 8. Touch Settings
It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. Now you will be taken back to the main settings page.
Step 9. Swipe the screen and touch General
It's at the top of the menu, next to the gear icon (⚙️).
Step 10. Swipe the screen and touch Reset
It's at the bottom of the menu.
Step 11. Tap Erase All Content and Settings
It's at the top of the menu.
Step 12. Enter the passcode
Type in the passcode used to unlock the device.
If prompted, enter the restriction passcode ("Restrictions")
Step 13. Touch Erase iPhone
After that, all settings will be returned to their initial state. Media and data on the device will also be deleted.
Step 14. Wait for the device recovery process to complete
Step 15. Follow the instructions shown on the screen
The initial setup assistant will assist you in this process.
Step 16. Touch Restore from iCloud Backup
Select this option when prompted to specify the iPhone initial setup process.
Select a backup entry with the most recent date and time
Step 17. Sign in using your Apple ID
iPhone will immediately download the backup data from iCloud. After that, the settings and apps will be reinstalled.
Tips
Turn iPhone off and on again after deleting large amounts of data so that the device can recalculate data usage properly. Sometimes, iPhone can't calculate storage space properly until it's turned off and on again
Warning
- System restore and backup will erase all personal data and settings from the device. Make sure you have the most recent backup entry of your device in iTunes so you don't lose any personal data you want to keep before performing data restores and backups.
- Keep in mind that some third-party cleaning apps are not connected or supported by Apple. Make sure you download third-party apps from trusted websites and sources so that you don't install corrupt or malicious apps on your iPhone or computer.
