Does your phone constantly show “Storage Space Running Out,” “Low Storage,” or “Storage Almost Full”? This issue slows down your phone, prevents apps from updating, makes the camera stop working, and can even cause app crashes or freezes. The good news is that this problem is easy to fix, even on phones with small storage.
This complete guide shows you how to free up space, prevent storage from filling up again, and fix hidden storage problems caused by system files or buggy apps.
Why Your Android Phone Is Running Out of Storage
Typical causes of low storage include:
- Too many apps installed
- Large photos and 4K videos
- App data and cache growing over time
- WhatsApp or Messenger media taking huge space
- Downloads folder filled with files
- Hidden system files, logs, and temporary files
- Old backups and duplicate files
Let’s fix it step by step.
Fix 1: Uninstall Apps You Don’t Use
The easiest way to free up storage is to remove unused apps.
Steps:
- Open Settings → Apps
- Sort by Largest or Storage Used
- Uninstall apps you never use
Some apps take 1GB+ of storage, especially games like PUBG, COD Mobile, FIFA Mobile, and social apps.
Fix 2: Clear App Cache (Not Data)
Cache builds up over time and can use several GB of storage.
Clear cache:
- Go to Settings → Apps
- Select any app
- Tap Storage
- Tap Clear Cache
Good apps to clear cache for:
- Chrome
- TikTok
- YouTube
Do NOT clear data unless you know what you’re doing.
Fix 3: Delete WhatsApp and Messenger Junk
WhatsApp alone can take 5GB–20GB on your phone.
To clean WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Settings → Storage and Data
- Tap Manage Storage
- Delete files over 5MB
- Delete forwarded memes, videos, and photos
Messenger also stores a lot of cached media. Clearing its cache helps immediately.
Fix 4: Delete Large Videos and Photos
4K videos and high-resolution photos fill storage extremely fast.
- Open your Gallery
- Sort by Size
- Delete unnecessary large videos
Move important videos to:
- Google Photos cloud
- External SD card
- Your PC
Fix 5: Clean the Downloads Folder
Most users forget this folder exists, yet it contains:
- Old PDFs
- APK files
- Duplicate images
- Zipped files
- Open My Files or Files app
- Tap Downloads
- Delete everything you don’t need
Fix 6: Remove Duplicate Files
Duplicate photos and videos waste lots of space.
Use the built-in cleaner:
- Go to Files by Google (download if needed)
- Tap Clean
- Delete duplicate files
Fix 7: Move Apps to SD Card (If Supported)
If your phone supports external storage, you can move some apps to the SD card.
- Go to Settings → Apps
- Select an app
- Tap Storage
- Tap Change
- Select SD Card
Note: Not all apps support this feature.
Fix 8: Clean Hidden System Junk Files
Android builds up hidden logs, crash reports, thumbnails, and update files.
Use Files by Google:
- Open the app
- Tap Clean
- Remove temporary files
Fix 9: Remove Offline Maps & Downloads
Google Maps, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix download a LOT of data.
- Open the app
- Find Downloads or Offline Content
- Delete old videos or maps
Fix 10: Clear Thumbnails Folder (Advanced)
This folder can reach several GB in size.
- Open File Manager
- Go to DCIM → .thumbnails
- Delete all files
Android will recreate them, but they will be much smaller.
Fix 11: Backup Photos with Google Photos
Free up space by enabling backup:
- Open Google Photos
- Tap your profile picture
- Select Backup & Sync
- Enable backup
- Tap Free Up Space
Fix 12: Factory Reset (If Storage Doesn’t Add Up)
Sometimes storage numbers don’t make sense because system files are corrupted. A factory reset can fix hidden storage bloat.
Warning: Back up your data first.
- Go to Settings → Reset
- Tap Factory Data Reset
When Storage Issues Are Hardware-Related
If the phone says “Storage Full” even after deleting many files, your storage chip may be failing.
Signs include:
- Phone freezes and restarts
- Apps crash randomly
- Can’t install updates no matter what
- Storage always shows incorrect numbers
A repair shop may need to check the UFS/eMMC chip.
Conclusion
“Storage Running Out” is a very common problem, but easy to fix once you remove unnecessary files, clear app caches, delete large media, and clean junk folders. Following the steps above will help your phone stay fast, smooth, and usable even with small storage.
For more system optimization tutorials, visit our Performance & Software Fixes section.
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