Every smartphone user sooner or later is faced with a frightening notification that the storage is full. You delete photos, remove unnecessary applications, but almost no free space is freed up. Upon detailed analysis in the settings, you discover a mysterious section called “Other”, which can occupy tens of gigabytes. What is hidden behind this term and why the system cannot classify these files?
In fact, the category “Other” (or “System data” in some shells) is not one type of file, but a hodgepodge of various data. This includes application cache, offline maps, downloaded firmware updates, system logs and, most importantly, multimedia from instant messengers. The operating system Android groups them here because they do not strictly relate to photos, videos or installed apps, but are critical for operation or are temporary data.
Understanding the structure of this section is the first step to freeing up space. Users often make the mistake of trying to delete files through third-party “cleaners,” which only erase a harmless cache that is restored in a couple of minutes. For deep cleaning, you need to understand the nature of the files manually or use the built-in memory management tools.
What exactly is hidden in the “Other” category
The bulk of the data in this section is application cache. These are temporary files that apps create to speed up their work. For example, the browser saves copies of visited pages, and streaming services save buffered parts of the video. Over time, this cache grows to gigantic proportions, especially if you actively use social networks.
The second huge layer of data is messenger files. Applications like Telegram or WhatsApp by default save all received photos, videos and documents to internal memory. Often these files are duplicated: the original is in the application folder, and a copy is displayed in the gallery, but in system accounting they can be summarized or end up in “Other” if the file format is not recognized by the media scanner.
Data from streaming services, such as Spotify or YouTube Music, also comes here if you downloaded music for offline listening. System logs and update files also take up space. If your device has recently been updated, the remnants of the installation package may be temporarily stored in this partition until the first reboot or manual cleaning.
⚠️ Attention: Do not try to delete files from system folders through the file manager without understanding their purpose. Removing critical libraries may cause some applications to stop launching or the phone to reboot cyclically.
Analysis of occupied space through settings and ADB
Before you start cleaning, you need to accurately determine the hero of the occasion. The standard settings menu Android often gives only a general picture. For a more detailed analysis, you can use the built-in storage management tool. Go to Settings → Storage (or Memory). Here the system will show a breakdown by category. Click on the “Other” section, if it is clickable, to see the details.
If you cannot find a large file using standard means, you can use a more advanced method via USB debugging. By connecting your phone to your computer and installing ADB (Android Debug Bridge), you can get a list of the largest files in the system. This requires enabling developer mode, but gives the most accurate data.
To run the analysis, enter the following command in the terminal on your computer:
adb shell dumpsys diskstatsThis command will display a detailed report of how much space each application and its data takes up. Pay attention to the columns marked cache and data. Often this is where the very gigabytes that the system classifies as “Other” are hidden. An alternative option is to use the command adb shell du -h /sdcard/ | sort -rh | head -n 20which will show the 20 heaviest folders in the internal storage.
Before using ADB commands, be sure to back up your important data. Errors when working with system partitions through the console can lead to loss of information.
Clearing the cache and data of heavy applications
The safest and most effective way to free up space is to work with the settings of specific applications. Look in the list of applications for those that consume the most resources. Usually these are browsers, social networks and instant messengers. Go to Settings → Applications, select the desired app and go to the section "Storage".
Here you will see two buttons: “Clear cache” and “Clear data”. The first deletes temporary files without affecting your logins and settings. The second resets the application to the “as after installation” state, deleting all accounts and local files. Use data clearing only if you are sure that you remember passwords or the information is synchronized with the cloud.
Pay special attention to navigation applications, such as Google Maps or Yandex.Maps. They can store gigabytes of offline maps, which the system classifies as “Other.” If you rarely visit those regions whose maps are downloaded, you can safely delete them through the settings of the application itself.
☑️ Application cleaning plan
Messenger specifics: Telegram and WhatsApp
Messengers are the main “eaters” of memory in the “Other” category. They save every photo or video sent and received to a local database. To Telegram the situation is aggravated by the fact that the application by default caches all media that you view in channels, even if you did not click the “Save” button.
To clean up in Telegram, use the built-in tool. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. Here you will see the total cache size and can clear it with one click. Moreover, set an automatic timer so that the cache is cleared, for example, once every three days. This will prevent the accumulation of garbage in the future.
The WhatsApp mechanism is slightly different. The files are stored in the folder Android/media/com.whatsapp. Inside the application, go to Settings → Data and storage → Storage management. Here you can sort files by size and delete the heaviest videos or forwarded documents that are no longer relevant.
| Application | Data path (approximate) | Type files | Deletion security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram | Android/data/org.telegram.messenger |
Media cache, avatars | High (restored) |
Android/media/com.whatsapp |
Photos, videos, voice | Medium (deletion irrevocably) | |
| YouTube | Android/data/com.google.android.youtube |
Offline video, cache | High |
| Chrome | Android/data/com.android.chrome |
Page cache, cookies | High |
⚠️ Attention: Messenger interfaces are updated frequently. Menu items may move or change names. If you do not find the described paths, use the search inside the application settings for the word “Memory” or “Storage”.
Why is the space not freed up immediately after deleting files?
Sometimes the Android file system does not update the free space counter instantly. This is due to the peculiarities of how media indexing works. Try to reboot the device - after turning on, the system will recalculate the available volume, and you will see the real cleaning result.
System files and update remnants
Sometimes the “Other” section becomes bloated due to system errors or unsuccessful updates. The file OTA updates (Over-The-Air) may remain in memory after successful installation of a new version of Android. It usually weighs between 1 and 3 GB. In modern versions of the system, it should be removed automatically, but failures do occur.
It is also worth checking the folder Download (Downloads). Often, users download application installation files (.apk), documents or archives, forget about them, and they lie dead weight for years. These files do not belong to any media category and automatically fall into “Other.”
Another source of problems is system log files. If applications crash frequently, the system may record detailed error reports that take up significant space. You can clear them through the Recovery Mode or specialized utilities, but for the average user it is easier to perform a full reset if the problem is critical.
Regular manual checking of the "Downloads" folder and setting up auto-clearing of the cache in instant messengers can free up to 30% of the memory hidden in the "Other" section.
Radical measures: resetting and transferring data
If none of the methods helped, and the "Other" section continues to take up An absurd amount of space (like 20 GB on a phone with 64 GB of storage), perhaps the file system is corrupted or there's an indexing error. In this case, the most effective solution would be a full reset to factory settings.
Before this procedure, be sure to save all important contacts, photos and documents to your computer or to cloud storage, for example Google Drive. A reset will delete absolutely all data from the device, returning it to its out-of-the-box state. After setting up the phone again, the “Other” section will occupy the minimum space required for the system to function.
An alternative to a full reset would be to transfer media files to a memory card microSDif your smartphone supports this function. Although the applications themselves and their cache often cannot be transferred to the card, freeing up the built-in memory for system needs can indirectly solve the problem of lack of space.
⚠️ Attention: Performing a factory reset (Hard Reset) irreversibly deletes all user data. Make sure you know the password for your Google account, since after resetting the system will require you to enter it to confirm ownership (FRP protection).
Prevention of memory filling
To prevent the problem from returning, change your smartphone usage habits. Disable automatic saving of media to the gallery for work chats in instant messengers. Use cloud services to store photos by activating the “Free up space” feature, which deletes local copies after uploading to the cloud.
Regularly, at least once a month, check the list of the heaviest applications. Delete those you haven't used in the last three months. Modern smartphones have powerful processors, but the amount of internal memory often remains a bottleneck requiring user attention.
Use the function Files by Google or similar system utilities to find duplicate files and large unused documents. Automating the cleaning process will help keep the device in good shape without the need for manual intervention in system folders.
In the developer settings, you can enable the “Don't keep activities” option, but this will greatly slow down multitasking. Use this function only for testing, and not for everyday memory saving.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to delete the Android folder completely?
No, you absolutely cannot delete the entire folder. Android . It stores data from all installed applications, their cache and settings. Deleting this folder will reset all apps, lose progress in games and make them unable to launch correctly. You can only delete the contents of subfolders of cache specific applications.
Why is the space not freed up after clearing the cache?
This can happen for two reasons. First, the application immediately created a new cache the next time it was launched. Secondly, the system experienced an indexing failure. In the latter case, a simple reboot of the smartphone will help, which will force the system to recalculate the free space.
Does the “Other” section affect the speed of the phone?
Directly - no, unless the memory is full to capacity (less than 5-10% of free space remains). When the storage is full, the system does not have enough space to create temporary files and swap, which leads to severe slowdowns. The size of the “Other” partition itself does not slow down the processor.
How to transfer the “Other” partition to a flash drive?
It is impossible to transfer the “Other” system partition to a memory card. This is the internal data structure of the operating system. You can transfer only user files to the memory card: photos, videos, music and documents, thereby freeing up space in the internal memory for system needs.
Are cleaner applications for cleaning “Other” safe?
Most popular cleaners clear only the superficial cache, which the system already knows how to delete itself. Some of them can be aggressive and delete necessary files or show intrusive advertisements. Built-in Android cleaning tools are usually more effective and safer than third-party software.