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Free up space on a Pixel phone

To download more apps and media, or help your phone run better, you can clear space on your phone.

  • Storage is where you keep data, like music and photos.
  • Memory is where you run programs, like apps and the Android system.

Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 11 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Free up storage

See what's using storage

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Storage.
  3. Tap a category.

Free up storage automatically

To clear backed-up photos and videos automatically when your phone’s storage is almost full:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Storage and then Free up space and then Tap the Menu Menu.
  3. Tap Settings .
  4. Turn on Smart Storage.

Free up storage yourself

To pick from a list of photos, videos, and apps that you haven't used recently:

  1. Open your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap Storage and then Free up space.
  3. To pick something to delete, scroll to the category you want to delete and tap Select files. (If nothing is listed, tap Browse.)
  4. Choose the files to delete, or choose all of them.
  5. Tap Move files to Trash.

To pick from all data:

Remove photos

Remove backed-up photos & videos

If you back up with Google Photos, you can delete the copies on your phone. You can see the backed-up copies in the app using Wi-Fi or mobile data. Learn how to delete photos and videos from your phone.

Remove downloaded movies, music & other media

To delete content from Google Play:

  1. Open the Google Play app with the content, like Play Music or Play Movies & TV.
  2. Tap the Menu Menu And then Settings And then Manage downloads.
  3. Tap Downloaded Downloaded And then Remove.

To delete content from other sources, delete from the app that you used to download it.

Remove apps & app data

Uninstall apps you don't use

If you uninstall an app and need it later, you can download it again. You don't have to buy the app if you paid for it. Learn how to uninstall apps.

Clear the app's cache & data

  • Clear cache: Deletes temporary data. Some apps may be slow the next time you open them.
  • Clear data storage: Permanently deletes all app data. Try to delete the data within the app first.
Delete or move files

Delete downloaded files

To learn how to find and remove downloaded files, go to your device manufacturer’s support site.

Tip: To see more files that are using space on your phone, open your Settings app And then Storage And then Files. Tap Free up space And then Browse.

Copy files to a computer

You can move files and folders to a computer with a USB cable, and then delete them from your phone. Learn how to transfer files between your phone and computer.

Check & free up memory

You don't usually need to close apps. But if an app isn't responding, you can try to close or force stop the app. Learn how to troubleshoot apps that aren't working.

Tip: If you think an app is using too much memory, you can delete the app. Learn how to uninstall apps.

Related resources

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