The 5 Common Apps That Take Up The Most Storage On Apple Devices–We’re Deleting Them Immediately
January 3, 2024 by Lisa Cupido
This article has been updated since it originally published on March 5, 2023.
If you have storage problems on your iPhone the only true solution is to make changes to settings and take the loss and start deleting, deleting, deleting. But don’t worry: this doesn’t mean you have to get rid of all of your favorite apps or part ways with precious photos and videos you’ve been collecting over the years. In some cases, all it takes is a few simple adjustments to settings that could be consuming far more storage space than necessary on your phone. And, in other cases, yes — deleting some of the most storage-intensive apps will help free up space so that you can use your phone the way you want to.
Tech Expert Brandon King, founder of a tech startup, Home Security Heroes, says device storage usage depends on individual users. What takes up storage for one user won’t be the same thing that does so for another. But, with that said, there are three common apps that take up the most space on your Apple devices. If you’re fed up with a lack of storage, start here.
Photos AppMost people take many photos and videos on their iPhone or iPad, all stored in the Photos App, King points out. “By default, your iPhone camera records video at 60 frames per second (fps) at full 1080p HD,” he says. “This means a video you take with this resolution will consume 130 MB of space per video minute. Lower the resolution and adjust the frame rate to reduce the video file size significantly.”
Meanwhile, for photos, the Camera defaults to “Live,” which takes up more space because a live photo captures what happens just before and after you take your picture, including the audio. “When taking photos, you can turn this off to save space,” King says.
Another important tip is to move your most important photos and videos to the Cloud to ensure they are safely stored while also providing a way to free up more storage on your device.