The apps that you think are taking up the most storage space on your iPhone may not actually be the worst offenders when it comes to space. An “essential” app that you use all of the time (or wouldn’t dream of not having on your phone) is one that you want to ensure runs efficiently, but doesn’t consume tons of storage on your phone. There isn’t always a lot you can do to curb space consumption as you’re using an app. But being aware of which apps are taking up a lot of space can also remind you to perform basic maintenance on them from time to time to help remove some of the storage space they consume.
Beware of these four “essential” iPhone apps that are secretly taking up the most space on your phone.
1. Photos
Photos and videos take up a lot of storage space. A typical JPEG photo can take up between 1MB to 5MB of space per photo (this changes depending in the resolution and settings). If your Live Photos setting is enabled, this can take up even more storage per photo. And videos (especially those shot in 4K) can take up as much as 170MB or more.
There are a few ways you can lessen the effect that this app has on your space. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos and turn on iCloud Photos. Select “Optimize iPhone Storage.” Next, make sure you go through your photos and videos and delete anything that is old or that you’ve already moved over to iCloud.
2. iMessages
While plain text messages don’t take up too much space, those with attachments like photos and videos can consume a considerable amount of storage. Delete as many old messages as you can and only send media in iMessages in Low Quality Image Mode. To do this, go to Settings > Messages > Low Quality Image Mode.
3. Apple Music
Depending on the number of songs and albums you download, Apple Music can take up a lot of storage space on your iPhone. Limiting the amount of music you download can help, as can removing downloaded songs when space is running low. Go to Settings > Music > Optimize Storage and set it to a minimum storage threshold. After that amount, the app will delete songs to conserve space.
4. Meta Apps
Meta apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — take up between 100MB and 300MB, depending on the app, number of videos and photos you’ve downloaded, and the amount of cached data they accumulate. You can reduce their storage demands by clearing cache, deleting old media files, and even offloading the apps if you’re strapped for storage.
