Smartphones tend to quickly use up and run out of storage for many users, and would eventually require some data clearing or an external storage drive. Especially with users that take a lot of photos, videos, and stream media content, running out of smartphone storage is quite common. For some people, reaching the maximum storage capacity means purchasing a new phone with a larger storage like the Honor x8 256gb or using a microSD card, but only if the phone supports it. But what if you don’t want to purchase a new phone or your phone does not support microSD cards? Fortunately, there are several quick and easy ways to optimize a mobile phone’s storage space, which are explained in this article.
Use Cloud Storage Services
One of the easiest and most convenient ways of obtaining free smartphone storage is through the service of cloud storage like Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud Drive. Cloud storage can be paid or free and can be configured to offload and control which videos, photos, and other files can be stored. Cloud storage offers a simple yet effective way of freeing up smartphone storage and does not require any money unless you decide on a paid cloud storage with additional features.
For cloud storage, the service should have options for automatically backing up and syncing files to the cloud storage. This feature allows the backed and synced files to be deleted after being uploaded to the cloud for freed up storage space.
Delete Unused Apps
Most smartphone users have loads of applications on their phones but only use a small number of them regularly, with an even smaller number on an occasional basis. This means that a large portion of smartphone storage space tends to be taken by numerous unused applications. Deleting unused applications and pre-installed apps on the smartphone will free up space. Notably for new phones, companies tend to have pre-installed apps and bloatware on the phone, which tend to be futile and can be deleted to immediately increase the usable space.
Clean Smartphone Storage
Over time, smartphones become cluttered with unnecessary miscellaneous files, which is why periodically purging the storage of unwanted clutter would be an effective way of freeing up space. Although the cleaning can be done manually, a more convenient way is to utilize apps designed to do the cleaning in a much more efficient and organized manner. The cleaning apps organize the files into categories like documents, apps, and media. Cleaning apps also arrange files as temporary, junk, and cache, which makes it easier to clear space through a few presses.
Remove Old Files
New files will eventually become old files that only take up precious storage space. Some smartphones come with a handy feature that automatically deletes any old files that are past 2 or so months old. If the phone does not come with an auto-cleaning feature, then manually clearing the downloads can be done by going into the files app and locating the download directory, where you can manually find and delete any unneeded and old files.
Optimize Photo Sizes and Media Files
Most smartphones tend to have a load of photos that take up storage space. With photo optimization, smartphones can store photos in smaller resolutions, which will help clear out space. For phones using cloud storage, synced photos stored in the cloud will remain in full resolution while the ones in the phone storage will be kept in smaller-sized resolutions. Despite the smaller resolution, the photo quality will be untouched since only the resolution is affected.
Although some neat camera features like HDR mode, 4k resolution, and high fps choices offer some impressive captures, they also mean increased media size. Optimizing the camera application to a lower setting will help ensure that the media files come in smaller sizes and don’t take up as much storage space. Even at a low camera setting of 1080p with 30fps, photo quality is still quite decent. Of course, changing the settings to high is still an option, but only for special photos during important occasions.
Conclusion
Optimizing a phone for more storage space is not difficult and can be done without any money using simple tips like the ones listed above. In essence, maximizing the storage space and efficiency of a smartphone is available to every user regardless of their smartphone and its storage size.
