How to Get More Storage on iOS devices for Free

Storage on your iOS device – like your Apple iPhone or iPad – is something you’ll want to optimize so you can get the most from your device. Since most iPhones act as your primary camera, it becomes additionally important.

Apple does provide multiple options to optimize the storage on your device so you can keep all your pics and videos while also freeing up memory on your device.

As long as you’ve got a decent amount of storage on your iCloud, you’ll be all set without having to spend any more money.

This page has a guide to help you manage storage on your device so you can don’t lose important photos and videos, while also keeping them available at the click of a button on the iCloud.

Note – These steps were tested on iOS 15 but should be similar for other iOS versions.

Contents hide

1 Free up storage using device optimizers

2 Remove photos from the iOS device storage but keep on the iCloud

3 Latest posts

Free up storage using device optimizers

If you’re uncertain how to get more memory back on your iOS device, follow these steps to free up memory without losing anything important:

Step 1 – From the home screen, navigate to and open your Settings app.

Step 2 – Scroll to and select General.

Step 3 – Select iPhone Storage.

It may take a moment for the distribution to load.

This moves unused apps off the device but keeps your documents and data.

Step 4 – Select Enable next to Offload Unused Apps.

Step 5 – Select Enable next to Auto Delete Old Conversations.

This automatically removes all your messages and attachments that were sent or received over ONE year ago.

Remove photos from the iOS device storage but keep on the iCloud

Removing photos from your iOS device will free up a lot of space. The only concern is avoiding deleting your photos for good.

Do NOT select the option to delete a photo after taking these actions. It will permanently delete a photo even if it’s on the iCloud. That’s simply how the iOS software works (as of the time of this writing).

Step 1 – From the home screen, navigate to and open your Settings app.

Step 2 – Select your profile/account.

This is the first option on the screen that says your name, with subtext for Apple ID, iCloud, Media & Purchases.

Step 3 – Select iCloud.

Step 4 – Select Photos.

Step 5 – Toggle on iCloud Photos.

This will automatically upload and safely store al your photos and videos in iCloud so you can browse, search, and share from any of your devices.

Step 6 – Select the option to Optimize iPhone Storage.

If your iPhone is low on space, phots and videos are automatically replaced with smaller resolution versions that use less memory on the device. You can download full resolution videos at any time from your iCloud.