Modern smartphones have turned into our second “brains”, storing thousands of photos, work documents and favorite games. However, over time internal memory devices inevitably become full, which leads to system slowdowns, application freezes and the inability to install new updates. Users often encounter an annoying “Memory full” notification that blocks normal use of the gadget.
Fortunately, the operating system Android provides many built-in tools and options for deep cleaning of storage. You don't have to be a programming expert to free up gigabytes of valuable space. In this article, we'll look at safe and effective methods for deleting temporary files, application caches, and forgotten downloads that have been accumulating in the depths of your device for years.
Before taking drastic measures like resetting your settings, it is important to understand the nature of memory fill. Often the culprits are not the applications themselves, but their Cached datas, duplicate media files or forgotten backups in instant messengers. A competent approach will allow you to return your phone to its former speed without losing important contacts and personal archives.
Analysis of storage capacity and search for large files
The first step towards freeing up space should be diagnostics. It is necessary to determine exactly which categories of data occupy the lion's share of space. Modern versions of Android, starting from 9.0 Pie and higher, have a built-in memory analyzer that clearly shows the distribution of files by type.
Go to the menu Settings → Storage (or Memory depending on the model). Here you will see a color chart where each sector is responsible for a specific type of content: applications, images, videos, audio or system files. By clicking on any of the sections, the system will offer to sort items by size.
Particular attention should be paid to the “Miscellaneous” or “Other” section. Often this mask hides old system update files, error logs, or data from deleted applications that were not uninstalled correctly. If this partition takes up more than 20% of the memory, a deeper cleaning is required through the file manager.
⚠️ Attention: Before deleting files from the "Miscellaneous" section, make sure that this is not system data of currently running applications. Removing critical libraries can lead to unstable operation of the OS.
Use the built-in search by file size. Many users are surprised to discover forgotten 4K movies or archives of work projects that were downloaded six months ago. Deleting just one such file can free up to 5-10 GB of space instantly.
Cleaning application cache and system junk
Cache is temporary data that applications save to speed up their work. For example, the browser stores copies of visited pages, and Instagram stores previews of photos from the feed. Over time, the cache size can grow to incredible values, without providing any benefit to the user.
To manually clear a specific application, go to Settings → Applications. Select the leading app in terms of memory consumption (often social networks or video services). Inside the application menu, find the item Storage and press the button Clear cache.
It is important not to confuse this button with the "Clear data" option. If you press the second button, the application will be reset to its factory state: all accounts will be logged out, correspondence and settings will be deleted. What we need is a cache that is deleted safely.
The application cache can be cleared regularly, for example, once a month. This will not delete your logins and passwords, but will force applications to download images again the next time you launch them.
Some manufacturers, such as Xiaomi or Samsungoffer built-in utilities for global cleaning ("Storage Cleanup" or "Device Care"). They allow you to delete temporary files of all apps with one click. However, it is worth remembering that such tools sometimes work superficially and do not affect deep system folders.
If standard methods do not help, you can use the command via USB debugging, but this requires connecting to a computer and installing ADB drivers. For most users, regular manual cleaning through the settings is enough.
☑️ Weekly clearing the cache
Managing media files and duplicate photos
The most voluminous content on any smartphone is photos and videos. Modern phone cameras take high-resolution pictures, and each video can weigh hundreds of megabytes. Often, unsuccessful takes, screenshots and “live photos” accumulate in the gallery, which take up wasted space.
Start by deleting a series of identical pictures. If you took 10 photos of one landscape to choose the best, you can safely delete the remaining 9. Also check the folder Screenshots (Screenshots) - images that were needed only once are often stored there.
Pay attention to the folder DCIM → .thumbnails. It stores thumbnails of your photos for quick display in your gallery. This folder can grow to several gigabytes. It can be safely deleted, but the system will create it again over time.
| File type | Average size | Where to look | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4K video (1 min) | ~350 MB | DCIM/Camera | Transfer to PC or cloud |
| RAW photo | ~25 MB | DCIM/Camera | Keep only the best shots |
| Telegram cache | Up to 10 GB | Application settings | Clear via messenger settings |
| Offline maps | Up to 2 GB | Google Maps / Yandex | Delete maps of other cities |
To automatically search for duplicates, you can use third-party applications, such as Files by Google. They scan your gallery and suggest you remove similar images or blurry photos. This saves the time of manually sorting through thousands of photos.
What is the RAW format and why does it take up a lot of space?
RAW is a “digital negative” containing raw data from the camera sensor. A RAW file weighs 10-15 times more than a regular JPEG, but gives you more editing options. If you are not a professional photographer, it is better to disable RAW shooting in the camera settings.
Cleaning up instant messengers: Telegram and WhatsApp
Messengers have become the main memory hogs on Android smartphones. Every sent sticker, picture or video is automatically saved to the device memory. Without regular cleaning, the folders of these applications can take up to 30-40% of all free space.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the application caches all viewed media files by default. To fix this, go to Telegram The situation is aggravated by the fact that the application caches all viewed media files by default. To fix this, go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory usage. Here you can see the total cache size and set a limit.
It is recommended to set the "Keep media" option to "3 days" or "1 week". This means that old files will be automatically deleted from the phone's memory, but will remain on Telegram servers. If necessary, you can always download them again.
⚠️ Attention: In WhatsApp, deleting media files through the file manager may break the structure of the chat database. Use the built-in Manage Storage feature inside the application itself.
In WhatsApp go to Settings → Data and storage → Storage management. The application will show a list of chats sorted by the amount of space they occupy. You can go into a specific dialogue and selectively delete heavy videos, leaving text correspondence intact.
Also check the folder WhatsApp/Media/Statuses. All contact statuses that you viewed are saved there. These files are not needed after viewing and can be safely deleted entirely.
Setting up automatic deletion of the cache in messengers is a “one-time action” that will save you from having to manually clear the memory in the future.
Deleting unused applications and their remnants
Often we install applications "on one times", we use them for a couple of days, and then forget to remove them. Such apps not only take up the space of the installation file (APK), but also create their own folders with data, settings and cache.
Go through the list of all installed apps. In the menu Settings → Applications Sort them by last used date. If you haven't opened a game or utility for more than 3 months, most likely you no longer need it.
When you delete some applications, their data folders may remain in the root directory of memory. To search for such "tails" use a file manager. Look for folders with the names of remote apps in the directory Android/data or in the root of the internal drive.
Pay special attention to pre-installed software (bloatware). Phone manufacturers often install a lot of unnecessary apps that cannot be removed in the standard way. They can only be disabled through the app menu, which will stop their operation and updating, although they will still take up space.
If the phone has root access, you can use specialized utilities to completely uninstall system applications. However, for an ordinary user this is risky and can lead to loss of warranty or “bricking” the device.
Transferring data to a memory card and to the cloud
If the internal memory is physically small (for example, 32 or 64 GB), the only option is to transfer data to external media. Most modern Android smartphones support memory cards of the format microSD.
You can configure the phone so that all new photos and videos are saved directly to the memory card. To do this, go to the Camera application, open the settings and select Save path or Storage, then specify the SD card.
Also, many files can be transferred manually. Connect your phone to your computer or use a file manager to move folders DCIM, Download and Documents to an external drive. Please note that transferring the applications themselves to a memory card in new versions of Android is unstable and often unavailable.
Buy U3 or V30 speed class memory cards if you plan to shoot 4K video on them. Slow cards can cause slowdowns when recording.
Cloud services are an alternative to a memory card: Google Photos, Yandex.Disk, Dropbox. Set up automatic uploading of photos to the cloud with the "Free up space" function. After uploading photos to the Internet, the application will delete their local copy from the phone.
⚠️ Attention: The writing speed to a memory card is usually lower than to the internal memory of the phone. Do not transfer active messenger databases or system files to the SD card - this will slow down applications.
Cloud storage is convenient because access to files is maintained even if the phone is lost or broken. However, downloading large amounts of data requires a stable Wi-Fi connection so as not to waste mobile traffic.
What is “Adaptive memory” on an SD card?
In Android 6.0-9.0 there was a function to format the card as internal storage. This encrypted the card and tied it to a specific phone. The card stopped working on other devices. In new versions of Android, this function is often removed due to the low reliability of memory cards compared to memory chips.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it safe to delete the Android/data folder?
Deleting the entire folder is not recommended, since data from installed applications is stored there. However, inside it you can delete folders from already deleted games or apps. If you delete the active application folder, it will reset its settings and cache the next time you launch it.
Why does the memory fill up immediately after clearing?
The Android system constantly creates new temporary files for work. Also, messengers and social networks instantly begin to cache new content. If the memory fills up too quickly (within a few hours), it is possible that some application is not working correctly and is creating a cycle of error logs.
Is it possible to delete the swap or zram file?
Swap files (swap/zram) are part of the RAM and do not permanently take up space on the internal drive in the form of regular files. Removing them or disabling them through the engineering menu can cause heavy applications and games to crash.
How to clear memory if the phone constantly freezes?
If the interface does not respond, try logging in Safe Mode (usually through the shutdown menu). In this mode, only system applications are loaded. Delete the last installed apps or clear the cache through the Recovery menu (volume + power buttons at startup).
Does full memory affect Internet speed?
Directly - no. But indirectly, yes. When the system's memory is full, there is no place to store temporary browser files and network request cache, which can slow down the processing of web pages and online applications.