How to check the storage on your iPhone and iPad

iOS and iPadOS monitor device storage, showing how much space each app uses. You can check storage in Settings, the Finder, the Apple Devices app or iTunes.

How iOS and iPadOS optimise storage

When your device is low on storage, it will free up space automatically by removing items that can be re-downloaded or aren’t needed, such as unused apps and temporary files.

Use your device to check its storage

1. Go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage, where you’ll see recommendations and a list of apps with their storage usage.

   

2. Tap an app's name for more information about its storage. Cached data and temporary data may not be counted as usage.

In the detailed view you can:

• Offload the app, which frees up storage used by the app, but keeps its documents and data.

• Delete the app, which removes the app and its related data.

• Depending on the app, you might be able to delete some of its documents and data.

If your device shows a “Storage Almost Full” alert, check the storage recommendations or remove some unused content, such as videos and apps.

Content categories

Here's a list of the types of content on your device, and what each type includes:

• Apps: installed apps and their content, and content stored in “On My iPhone/iPad/iPod touch” directory in the Files app, and Safari downloads.

• Photos: photos and videos stored in the Photos app.

• Media: music, videos, podcasts, ringtones, artwork and voice memos.

• Mail: emails and their attachments.

• Apple Books: books and PDFs in the Books app.

• Messages: messages and their attachments.

• iCloud Drive: iCloud Drive content that has been downloaded locally to your device.¹

• Other: non-removable mobile assets, such as Siri voices, fonts, dictionaries, non-removable logs and caches, Spotlight index, and system data, such as Keychain and CloudKit Database.²

• System: space taken by the operating system. This can vary based on your device and model.

Use recommendations to optimise storage if your storage is full

In the Storage section of Settings, your device may offer recommendations for optimising your storage. To optimise your storage:

1. Tap Show to see all the recommendations for your device.

2. Read the description of each recommendation, then tap Enable to turn it on or tap the recommendation to review the contents you can delete.

Use the Finder, the Apple Devices app or iTunes to check the storage on your iOS device

1. Open the Finder on your Mac, or open the Apple Devices app on your PC. If your PC doesn't have the Apple Devices app, or your Mac is using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes instead. Find out which macOS your Mac is using.

2. Connect your device to your computer.

3. Select your device in the sidebar of the Finder window or Apple Devices app. If using iTunes, select your device in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window. You'll see a bar that shows how much storage your content uses, split by content type.

4. Move your mouse over the bar to see how much storage each content type is using.

   

Content categories

Here's a list of the types of content on your device, and what each type includes:

• Audio: songs, audio podcasts, audiobooks, voice memos and ringtones.

• Video: films, music videos and TV programmes.

• Photos: content in your Photo Library, Camera Roll and Photo Stream.

• Apps: installed apps. The content of the apps is listed under Documents & Data.

• Books: iBooks books, audiobooks and PDF files.

• Documents & Data: Safari Offline Reading List, files stored within installed apps and app content, such as contacts, calendars, messages and emails (and their attachments).

• Other: settings, Siri voices, system data and cached files.

• Synced content: media content that is synchronised from your computer when you click Sync in the Finder window.³

About cached files in Other

The Finder, Apple Devices app and iTunes may categorise cached music, videos and photos as “Other” storage. These cached files are created when you stream or view content, allowing for faster access the next time you want to enjoy it. Your device will remove these files automatically when more space is needed.

If storage on your device differs from what you see in the Finder, Apple Devices app or iTunes

Since the Finder, Apple Devices app and iTunes categorise cached files as Other, reported usage for Music or Videos might differ. To view usage on your device, go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage.

If you want to delete the cached files from your device

To free up space, your device will remove cached and temporary files automatically, so you don’t have to.