How to Free Up Space on Android: 12 Ways That Work (Pixel and Samsung)

Here is how to free up space on Android quickly: open Settings > Storage to see what is filling your phone, run the cleaner in Files by Google, archive apps you rarely use, and delete photos and videos that are already backed up. Those four steps usually clear several gigabytes in a few minutes, without losing anything you care about.

Below are 12 ways that actually work, in the order we’d try them, with the menu names Google gives for Pixel and stock Android and the ones Samsung gives for Galaxy phones. Menus can differ a little by phone maker and Android version, but the tools are the same on almost every Android phone.

Quick answer: On a Pixel, go to Settings > Storage > Free up space. On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings > Device care > Storage. Then: (1) clear junk files in Files by Google, (2) archive or uninstall unused apps, (3) remove the phone copies of photos already in Google Photos, (4) empty the trash, and (5) clear big app caches and downloads such as WhatsApp media.

Quick fixes at a glance

1. See what is using your storage

Before you delete anything, find out what’s actually filling the phone. According to Google’s Android help:

• Pixel and stock Android: open Settings, tap Storage, then tap a category such as Images, Videos, Apps or Documents.
• Samsung Galaxy: open Settings, tap Device care, then Storage.

Usually one or two categories (photos and videos, or a few big apps) account for most of the space. Start there.

2. Use Android’s built-in Free up space tool and Smart Storage

On Pixel and stock Android, go to Settings > Storage > Free up space. Scroll through the categories (tap Browse if one isn’t listed), tap Select files, choose what to delete and tap Move files to Trash.

While you’re there, tap the menu icon, then Settings, and turn on Smart Storage. Google says it clears photos and videos that are already backed up when your storage is almost full, so the problem is less likely to come back.

3. Clear junk files with Files by Google

Files by Google is a free cleaner from Google that comes preinstalled on many phones and can be downloaded from the Play Store on the rest, Samsung included. Google’s Files help page gives these steps:

1. Open Files by Google.
2. Tap Menu, then Clean.
3. On the Junk files card, tap Clean (it shows how many MB will be cleared), then Clear.

The same Clean screen also suggests duplicate files, old screenshots, downloaded files, large files, memes, WhatsApp media and unused apps. Work through each card, but check before you confirm: Google warns that files deleted here are deleted permanently.

4. Archive apps you rarely use

Archiving is the best-kept secret on Android. It removes the app itself but keeps its icon and your data, so when you tap the faded icon later the app reinstalls and you carry on where you left off. Google’s app archiving help page says:

1. Open Settings > Apps.
2. Tap the app.
3. Tap Archive.

To have Android do it for you, turn on auto-archiving for apps you don’t use regularly in the Play Store. You can keep a particular app from being archived by turning off Manage app if unused on its App info page. Some of these steps need Android 15 or later, and an app can only be restored while it is still available in the store.

5. Uninstall apps you don’t need

Games, video editors and old streaming apps are often the biggest single items. Uninstalling is free; you can reinstall anything you’ve bought later without paying again.

• Touch and hold the app icon and tap Uninstall.
• On Samsung, if you only see Disable, the app is preinstalled and can’t be removed, so disable it instead.
• In Settings > Storage > Apps, sort by size to see which apps take the most room.

6. Remove phone copies of photos already in Google Photos

Photos and videos are the biggest space hog on most phones. If you use Google Photos with backup turned on, the copies on your phone are extra. Google’s help page says you can delete the copies on your device and the backed-up versions stay available when you’re online.

In the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture and choose the option to free up space on the device. It only removes items that are safely backed up. Check in the app that backup has finished first, especially before you delete videos.

7. Empty the trash

Deleted photos and files often sit in a trash folder for a while, still using space.

• Samsung Gallery: tap Menu > Trash, then More options > Empty, as Samsung’s storage help page describes.
• Files by Google and Google Photos: each has its own Trash or Bin; open it and empty it if you’re sure you don’t need anything there.

8. Clear app cache (but think twice before clearing data)

Apps such as Chrome, Instagram, TikTok and Spotify keep a cache of temporary files that can grow to several gigabytes. Clearing it is safe; the app just rebuilds what it needs.

1. Open Settings > Apps and tap the app.
2. Tap Storage (the name can vary slightly by phone).
3. Tap Clear cache.

Clear data (Clear storage on Pixel) is different: it wipes everything the app has saved, including logins and offline files. Google suggests deleting data inside the app first. For browser and per-app steps, see our full guide on how to clear cache on Android.

9. Clean out WhatsApp and other chat media

Group chats full of videos, memes and forwarded photos can quietly take up gigabytes. In WhatsApp, go to Settings > Storage and data > Manage storage to see the biggest chats and files and delete them in bulk. You can also turn off automatic media downloads on the same Storage and data screen. Files by Google’s Clean screen has a WhatsApp media card that does a similar job.

Do the same in Telegram, Signal and other messaging apps you use, and in Google Messages or Samsung Messages for old picture and video messages.

10. Delete offline downloads in music, video and podcast apps

Songs, films and episodes you saved for a flight are easy to forget. Some examples from Google’s help:

• YouTube Music: profile photo > Settings > Downloads & storage > Clear downloads.
• Google TV: Library, tap the Downloaded check mark next to a video, then Remove.
• Other apps (Netflix, Spotify, Prime Video, podcast apps): delete downloads from inside the app that saved them.

Also open the Downloads folder in Files by Google and remove old PDFs, APKs and attachments.

11. Move files to an SD card or a computer

If your phone has a microSD card slot, move photos, videos and music there. Samsung’s steps: open My Files, touch and hold the files, tap Move, choose SD card and tap Move here.

No card slot? Connect the phone to a computer with a USB cable and copy files across, then delete them from the phone. Google Drive or another cloud service works too, as long as you have the cloud space.

12. Delete old text messages automatically (Samsung)

On a Galaxy phone, open Messages > More options > Settings > More settings and turn on Delete old messages. Samsung says this keeps up to 200 text messages or 20 multimedia messages and deletes older ones, so only use it if you don’t need your message history.

Still running out of space? Troubleshooting

• “System” takes up a lot: this is Android itself and the files it needs to run, and it can’t be deleted. Install any pending system update and restart the phone, then check again.
• “Other” or “Documents” is huge: check the Downloads folder and the WhatsApp or Telegram folders in Files by Google, which often hide large videos.
• The storage number doesn’t change after deleting: empty the trash in Gallery, Files and Photos, then restart the phone.
• An app keeps growing: clear its cache, lower its download quality in settings, or archive it when not in use.
• Last resort: back up your phone and factory reset it. This clears leftover files from years of updates, but only do it once everything is safely backed up.

Using a Chromebook as well? Our guide to clearing cache on a Chromebook covers Chrome and Android apps there too.

FAQ

How do I free up space on Android without deleting anything?

Archive apps instead of uninstalling them (your data stays), clear app caches, move photos and videos to Google Photos or an SD card and remove the phone copies, or copy files to a computer. None of these delete your personal files.

Does clearing cache delete anything important?

No. Cache is temporary data that apps rebuild. It won’t delete photos, messages or logins. Clear data (or Clear storage) is the option that wipes an app’s saved data, so avoid that unless you mean to reset the app.

Does the Samsung “Clean now” button free up storage?

Not really. Settings > Device care > Memory > Clean now frees up RAM (working memory) by closing background apps. It doesn’t delete files, so it won’t fix a “storage full” warning. Use Device care > Storage instead.

Why is my Android storage full when I have nothing on it?

Usually it’s app data and cache, chat media (especially WhatsApp), offline downloads and the trash folders. Check Settings > Storage to see the real breakdown, then work through the fixes above.

Is it safe to use cleaner apps from the Play Store?

Stick with Files by Google and your phone maker’s own tools. Many third-party “cleaner” and “booster” apps show ads, ask for broad permissions and don’t free more space than the built-in tools.