How to Clean Junk Files on iPhone

Have you noticed your iPhone getting cluttered with junk files and starting to slow down? Or are you trying to prevent storage issues before they start? Manually checking different folders for clutter can be a hassle and take so long. So, if you’re looking for junk files you can delete, where to find them, and how to erase them quickly, this guide is for you.

How do we know? We’ve personally tested every possible method to clean junk files on an iPhone, tracked the results, and put together easy, step-by-step instructions to help you do the same.

What Do We Classify as Junk or Unnecessary Files on iPhone?

Before you get started, you first have to classify which of these are clutter and which ones aren’t. While everyone values their files differently, we’ve put together a list of common types of data that usually fall into this category:

• 🖼️ Media files – These are large collections of old photos, videos, and music that are no longer in use. You might also have saved podcasts, movies, and other similar data from your favorite streaming apps that have piled up unnoticed.
• ⚙️ Cache and temporary files – Apps store cache data and other temporary files like cookies to speed up the loading process when you revisit them. The app cache can accumulate over time and contribute to overfilling the phone’s memory
• ✉️ Old messages and attachments – The Message app stores all the data about your conversations and the attachments that you send and receive through the app. Large attachments are often the culprits of clutter on iPhone devices.
• 📥 Downloaded files – Downloaded media files and even documents like PDFs and email attachments might not weigh too much on their own. However, they can easily stack up as you use your device.
• 🤖 Unused applications – Have you ever installed an app you only used once or a few times before you forgot you even got it? If you don’t uninstall or offload these unused apps, their data can fill up a significant space on your phone.

How to Remove Junk Files from iPhone

For this section, we have picked, sorted, and evaluated various ways to clean an iPhone from unnecessary files to provide you with the best option for your specific needs. We rated these methods based on how quick, efficient, and straightforward they are to implement. However, the main factor in selecting a solution should be the category of files you aim to delete.

Method 1: Get Rid of the Сache

Cache junk on iPhones often flies under the radar because it’s hidden in the application’s details. The good news is that you can check and clear some of it using iOS’s built-in features either through the Settings app or within the app itself (if it offers that option). That said, this isn’t the most efficient way to clean up junk files on iPhone since you have to go through each app individually. Still, there are a few important details to know.

One of the biggest sources of cache buildup is your browser, something you probably use every day for searching, browsing, or work-related tasks. Let’s start with Safari, the default iOS browser.

To clear browser cache on Safari:

1. First, go to the Settings app on your phone and open the list of all apps.
2. Next, find and tap Safari.
3. Tap on Clear History and Website Data.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted by tapping Clear History and Data in the confirmation box.

Clearing the cache in third-party browsers is similar to Safari, but instead of going through your iPhone’s Settings, you’ll do it right inside the browser’s own settings. For this example, we used Chrome. If you use multiple browsers, the process will closely match these steps:

1. Open your preferred browser.
2. Tap the three-dot menu icon (or any similar menu) to access your browser settings.
3. Scroll down and find Delete Browsing Data.
4. Select the temporary files you want to delete along with the deletion’s time range. Then, tap Delete Data.

Another group of apps that tend to build up a lot of cache are social media and messaging apps. Some of them let you clear the cache right from their settings. The option might be called something like “Clear Cache” or “Delete Data,” depending on the app. Here’s an example of how to clear cache in the Facebook app:

1. Open Facebook and tap Menu at the bottom-right part of the screen.
2. Next, select Settings & privacy and tap Settings.
3. Under Preferences, select Browser. Then, tap the Clear button.

Method 2: Clean Out Photos & Videos

For most people, photos and videos occupy the majority of space on their devices. While you can go through the Photos app and remove junk media files from the iPhone manually, it can take forever to decide what’s worth keeping and what’s not. That’s where third-party iPhone cleaner apps come in handy – they can do the work for you and save you a ton of time.

Instead of talking about cleaner apps in general, let’s look at how one actually works – Clever Cleaner AI CleanUp App. It’s a free app that helps you delete only unnecessary files on your iPhone, like duplicate and similar photos, old screenshots, large videos, and even converts Live Photos to still ones. That way, you free up space without losing anything important. Let’s walk through how it works using one of its features – Similars.

1. Download Clever Cleaner from the App Store onto your iPhone.
2. Open the app and grant it access to your photo library. Allow some time for it to scan your photos. After the scan completes, the app will group duplicates and similar photos, presenting them as tiles. It selects the best photo in each group.
3. Press the ‘Smart Cleanup’ button to quickly remove duplicate and similar photos for automatic cleanup.
4. For manual deletion, tap any grouped photos. Select the photos you wish to delete and choose ‘Move to Trash.’
5. These photos will move to the app’s trash bin. Review these images and restore any, if necessary, before their final removal. To complete the deletion, use the ‘Slide to Delete’ control, which moves all marked copies to your iPhone’s ‘Recently Deleted’ album.

The steps for the other features are pretty similar, but if you want more details or a video walkthrough, just head to the official Clever Cleaner website. It’s also worth noting that the site mentions the app will stay free for all new users, so it’s a good idea to download it now and keep it handy for cleaning up junk files in your Photos app later on.

Method 3: Manage Your Other Media

Aside from the media files on your Photos app, media files might also be hiding as offline content in your streaming apps. These files include downloaded videos, music, or podcasts, among other files.

In this case, you’d have to manually browse through the Offline playlists/Downloaded files on each respective app and delete them. This method may be straightforward but time-consuming, especially since some apps only allow you to delete one downloaded content at a time.

Here’s an example of deleting downloaded files from YouTube and Spotify:

On Youtube:

Go to the You section and tap Downloads. Next, tap the triple vertical dots on the video you want to delete and select Delete from downloads.

On Spotify:

Go to Library > Filter by Downloaded > Select Song/Album. Tap the Download Icon, and then tap Remove.

Method 4: Remove Unnecessary Apps

Uninstalling unnecessary apps from your iPhone is one of the easiest ways to clear junk from iPhone devices. The process is easy and can be accomplished on the Home screen or in the Settings app.

You can uninstall an app by tapping and holding until a menu pops up. Then, select Remove App and confirm by choosing Delete App.

Although you can uninstall an app from your Home screen, you would not have the option to sort your apps to figure out which ones you last used a long time ago. If you want to view your unused files, go to Settings and follow these steps:

1. Select General > iPhone Storage.
2. Scroll down and find the sorting options. Then, tap and select Last Used Date. This sorts the apps from the ones you used recently to the most unused ones. Now, scroll down to select the app you want to delete.
3. Select Delete App and confirm the deletion when prompted. This action permanently erases the app and its data from your local storage.

You can also offload an app so you can use it again in the future. Offloading allows your iPhone to temporarily delete an app if you have not used it for a while. You can easily download the app again when you need it. However, we find that offloading apps is a less effective way to save space and clean junk files since it only deletes the application itself while retaining the app data. To offload an app, access your phone’s Settings and do the following:

1. Tap on General, and select iPhone Storage.
2. Scroll down to the app you want to delete/offload. Then, tap Offload App.

Method 5: Delete Downloaded Files

You also have to make sure to scrape your Files app for downloaded files you don’t need anymore. This method can also be done with a few taps, but it might take more time the more files you have.

Here’s how you can easily clean junk files from the iPhone Files App:

1. Open the Files app.
2. Tap the Browse tab once to go to the main menu. If you are redirected to the last thing you browsed, tap once more to return to the root directory.
3. Tap On My iPhone or iCloud Drive, depending on which one you use as your main storage for downloads.
4. Tap Downloads or any folder you set to store downloaded files.
5. On the top-right part of the Downloads folder, tap the triple-horizontal dots icon and choose Select.
6. Then, tap the files you want to delete and tap the Trash icon on the bottom menu. Finally, confirm the deletion when prompted.

Method 6: Clear Conversations

The last place you can find junk files on your iPhone is in Messages/iMessage. The conversations themselves barely consume any space except when they store large attachments that have been sent or received. While you can delete entire conversations, we will demonstrate how to delete only the attachments within them if preserving text messages is important to you.

To remove large attachments from a conversation, simply follow the steps outlined below:

1. Open the Messages app and select the conversation with a large attachment.
2. Tap the person’s display picture at the top of the screen.
3. Here, you should see different attachments shared in the conversation. Expand a section of them by tapping See All.
4. Then, tap Select to start the selection.
5. Tap the files you want to delete and select Delete. Then, confirm deletion when prompted.

Conclusion

Now you know how to clean junk files off your iPhone. If your main goal is to free up storage, start with photos, videos, and apps – they usually take up the most space and tend to have plenty of files you don’t actually need.

If you’re cleaning up just to get things more organized, it doesn’t really matter where you start. The key is to go through all the methods we covered and clear out junk from every possible spot where it can pile up.

Also, keep in mind that this guide concentrated on the most common areas for junk files, but depending on how you use your iPhone, they might be hiding elsewhere, too. Basically, junk is anything you’re okay deleting. So it’s worth checking places like Notes, Contacts, Calendar, Voice Memos, Mail, and any photo or video editing apps that might have old projects you’ve forgotten about.