Your Phone Could Use a Cleanup
As clean and organized as your phone might look from the home screen, chances are, you've got a lot of clutter behind that pristine layer. Scroll through your photos app or contacts list, and you're bound to find at least two or 10 pictures that were mistakenly saved or people you don't talk to anymore. If you ever wonder what's eating up your storage space so quickly, it's probably your bad digital habits. Pull up your phone and delete these 20 things as you flip through the list.
1. Old Screenshots
Remember that screenshot you took to remember a confirmation number or to send some juicy inside gossip to a friend? Yeah, now it's sitting in your photo gallery collecting digital dust. You'll probably find at least a dozen in there that you don't need anymore (and probably even forgot about).
2. Duplicate Photos
Phone camera shutters can react pretty quickly to every faint touch, so you might have thought you only took one photo, but you actually took five. Or maybe you did it on purpose. Either way, there's no reason to keep all 20 versions.
3. Apps You Haven't Opened in Months
There's probably that one app you downloaded for one restaurant or vacation trip that's still lingering on your phone somewhere, taking up valuable storage. Go ahead and delete them! If you ever need them again, you can always redownload them later.
4. Downloaded Podcasts You've Already Heard
Already heard that podcast episode last week? Don't keep the file stored on your device (well, unless you're okay with clutter). Free up that space so you can download fresh episodes to keep you company on the road!
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5. Movies and Shows You've Finished Watching
Similarly, any finished episodes you've already watched of your favorite TV show or movies you downloaded for a long flight can go into the bin. In fact, you'd be surprised how often these downloads can sit forgotten while eating up storage space! It might help to check your streaming apps periodically.
6. Old Text Message Attachments
Remember that funny GIF you sent to a friend 10 years ago? You probably don't, and your friend probably doesn't, either. Do yourself and them a favor and hit the delete button. You don't necessarily need to erase meaningful message threads, but reviewing large attachments will still do you well.
7. Contacts You Don't Talk to Anymore
Remember that coworker you had years ago that you no longer talk to? If you have no intention of ever reaching out again, you're better off deleting their number. Just make sure you're certain you won't reconnect, or else you might regret it later.
8. Old Downloads
Did you know your phone has a downloads folder? Probably not. You likely just assume they fade off somewhere. But since you never check it, your downloads might be inundated with tickets, PDFs, forms, and other documents you forgot about, meaning you should give it an occasional declutter.
9. Songs You Never Listen to Anymore
College-you might have been super into rock, but current-you is more of a jazz person. If your music tastes have changed dramatically over the years, chances are you've got songs lying around that you don't listen to anymore. To keep your playlists easier to sift through, it's better to remove these outdated tunes.
10. Unplayed Games
Games, too, might clog up your phone. It doesn't help, either, that many mobile games can take up far more storage than their appearance might suggest. Unless you're someone who regularly plays Solitaire or Minecraft on your device, you could save yourself a lot of storage space by deleting them.
11. Old Voice Memos
Voice memos are easy to record, but they're also easy to forget. You might not even remember half of the things you've mumbled into the mic! That said, you'll still want to listen briefly to each one to make sure you're not accidentally deleting anything important.
12. Expired Tickets and Boarding Passes
From years-old boarding passes to concert tickets you've already redeemed, your phone is probably full of these digital passes that happened a while ago. Unless you're keeping them for the memories, it'll be smarter to move them to the bin.
13. Shopping Apps You Used Once
You've probably downloaded at least one app just to get a discount or loyalty reward, but be honest: when was the last time you used it? If you haven't returned to that store since, or use a different method to shop, there's little benefit in keeping it installed on your phone indefinitely.
14. Old Photo Editing Apps
Nowadays, you can easily create collages and add filters without needing a separate app, which means it's time for those old photo editing apps to take a hike. Plus, you probably don't know it, but you might have several apps cluttering your storage that perform nearly identical editing tasks!
15. Outdated Notes
Like your voice memo app, your notes app is probably filled with outdated grocery lists from 2022, abandoned packing lists, or even passwords you've since changed (and really shouldn't be storing there). If you ever found it difficult to find a note you made just last week, it's a sign you should delete any obsolete entries.
16. Downloaded Books You’ve Already Finished
E-books can stay downloaded long after you’ve finished reading them, and each one that stays on your device is one that eats up your space. If you don’t plan to reread a title anytime soon (you can always redownload later, anyway), there’s no reason to keep the file on your phone.
17. Browser Tabs You’re Not Using
If you're like most people, you've probably opened a tab with the intention of coming back to it later, only to leave it sitting there for weeks without glancing at it once. Before long, your browser can be packed with dozens of random links that take up previous memory space. Do your phone a favor: either close anything you won't revisit or bookmark anything you actually want to keep.
18. Apps You Forgot Were Subscription-Based
Apps don't just clutter your screen—forget about some of them, and you might not even realize which ones you've previously subscribed to! That's why it's always a good idea to review your installed apps and keep your phone tidy; it could potentially save you money.
19. Saved Memes and Reaction Images
Memes might be funny and worth saving in the moment, but they aren't so amusing to find a year later. If you're not careful, your photo library may even contain hundreds of these funny photos that you no longer revisit. While you don't necessarily have to delete them all, save only the classics.
20. Anything You've Been Keeping "Just in Case"
As soon as you keep something on your phone "just in case," you're going to apply that to everything on your device. If you already don't have a lot of storage space on your phone, don't fill it with unnecessary clutter. That old menu or blurry photo probably isn't becoming more useful with age.
