How to Clear Other Storage on Your Phone

Published 2026-10-16 · Marion Phone Repair

You check your phone storage and see a large category called Other (iPhone) or System (Android) taking up gigabytes of space. Unlike Photos, Apps, or Messages, the Other category does not tell you what is in it or how to delete it. This mysterious storage hog is one of the most common complaints among phone users. Here is what it actually contains and how to reduce it.

What is in Other storage

The Other or System Data category is a catch-all for data that does not fit neatly into the standard categories. It includes:

Cached data: Streaming apps (Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, TikTok), social media apps (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), and web browsers all cache data locally so content loads faster. Over months of use, these caches can grow to several gigabytes each
System files: Operating system logs, update files, diagnostic data, and temporary files created during normal operation
Downloaded content: Offline maps, downloaded podcasts and audiobooks, offline playlists from music apps, and downloaded shows from streaming services all count as Other storage
Message attachments: Photos, videos, GIFs, voice messages, and documents sent and received in messaging apps (iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram) accumulate over time and are categorized as Other rather than Photos
Browser data: Website data, cookies, cached pages, and offline reading lists from Safari, Chrome, and other browsers
App data that is not the app itself: Game save data, app preferences, downloaded content within apps, and document caches all fall into Other

Check your storage breakdown

iPhone: Settings, General, iPhone Storage. Wait for the bar chart and app list to fully load (it can take 30 seconds to a minute). The colored bar at the top shows the breakdown. Scroll down to see each app and how much storage it uses, broken into App Size and Documents and Data. The Documents and Data column is what often contributes to Other
Android: Settings, Storage. You see a breakdown by category — Apps, Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, and Other (or System). Tap each category for details. On Samsung: Settings, Battery and Device Care, Storage for the same view

Clear app caches (Android)

Android lets you clear app caches individually or all at once:

Individual app: Settings, Apps, select the app, Storage, Clear Cache. This removes the cached data without deleting your account, settings, or saved content. The app will rebuild its cache as you use it, starting from zero
Focus on the largest apps first. Check the storage usage of each app in Settings, Apps, sort by size. Social media apps, streaming apps, browsers, and messaging apps typically have the largest caches
Clear all caches at once (Samsung): Settings, Battery and Device Care, Storage, tap the category that shows cached data, or use the built-in Device Care optimizer
Note: Clearing cache is safe. It does not delete your login, messages, photos, or app progress. It only removes temporary files the app stored to speed up loading. The app may load slightly slower the first time you use it after clearing the cache

Offload or delete and reinstall apps (iPhone)

iPhone does not have a Clear Cache button for individual apps. Instead, you have two options:

Offload the app: Settings, General, iPhone Storage, select the app, Offload App. This removes the app binary but keeps its data. When you reinstall, your data returns. This frees up the App Size portion but not the Documents and Data
Delete and reinstall: To clear an app's cached data and documents, delete the app entirely (long-press the app icon, Remove App, Delete App) and then reinstall it from the App Store. This removes all cached data. You will need to sign in again and the app starts with a fresh, small data footprint. This is the most effective way to clear Other storage from a specific app on iPhone
Which apps to target: In iPhone Storage, look at the Documents and Data size for each app. Safari, social media apps, messaging apps, and streaming apps are the usual culprits. An app showing 2 GB of Documents and Data when you first installed it at 200 MB has 1.8 GB of accumulated cache and data

Clear Safari data (iPhone)

Safari is often one of the largest contributors to Other storage:

Settings, Safari, Clear History and Website Data. This removes browsing history, cookies, and cached website data. You will be signed out of websites and need to log in again
For a more targeted cleanup: Settings, Safari, Advanced, Website Data. This shows how much data each website has stored. Tap Remove All Website Data or swipe individual sites to remove them selectively
The Safari Reading List also stores full web pages offline. To clear it, open Safari, tap the bookmarks icon, go to the Reading List, and delete articles you no longer need

Clear browser data (Android)

Chrome: Open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, Settings, Privacy and Security, Delete Browsing Data. Select Cached Images and Files (and optionally Cookies and Browsing History). Choose All Time and tap Delete Data
Samsung Internet: Open the browser, Settings, Privacy and Security, Delete Browsing Data. Select Cached Images and Files
Browser caches can grow to 1 to 3 GB over time with heavy browsing. Clearing them is safe and has no effect other than pages loading slightly slower on the first visit

Clear message attachments

Messaging apps accumulate attachments over months and years:

iMessage (iPhone): Settings, General, iPhone Storage, Messages. iOS shows a breakdown of Photos, Videos, GIFs and Stickers, and Other. Tap Review Large Attachments to see the biggest files. Swipe to delete individual items or tap Edit to select multiple. Deleting large video and photo attachments from old conversations can free gigabytes
WhatsApp: Open WhatsApp, Settings, Storage and Data, Manage Storage. It shows your largest files and frequently forwarded items. Select and delete what you no longer need. WhatsApp stores a local copy of every photo and video sent or received, which adds up quickly in group chats
Telegram: Settings, Data and Storage, Storage Usage, Clear Cache. Telegram caches media aggressively for fast loading

Remove downloaded offline content

Content you downloaded for offline use counts as Other storage and is easy to forget about:

Spotify: Open Spotify, Settings, Storage, and see how much space downloads use. Remove downloaded playlists you no longer need by toggling off the download toggle on each playlist
Netflix: Open Netflix, My Netflix (or More), Downloads. Delete shows and movies you have already watched. Also check Settings, Downloads, and toggle off Smart Downloads if you do not use them
YouTube: Library, Downloads. Delete watched videos. YouTube Music: Library, Downloads
Maps: Google Maps and Apple Maps allow offline map downloads that can be hundreds of megabytes each. Open Maps, check for downloaded offline areas, and delete any you no longer need
Podcasts: Podcast apps store downloaded episodes. In Apple Podcasts: Library, Downloaded, remove old episodes. In Spotify or other podcast apps, check their download settings

Restart your phone

A restart clears temporary system files, purges RAM caches that may be counted in storage, and resets diagnostic logs. After a restart, check your storage again — you may see Other reduced by a few hundred megabytes to a gigabyte as temporary files are cleaned up.

Update your phone software

Major software updates sometimes include storage optimization improvements. iOS updates frequently reclaim Other storage by compressing system data and clearing obsolete caches
Ironically, downloading an update temporarily increases Other storage (the update file itself is stored there). After the update installs and you restart, the update file is deleted and Other typically decreases
If Other storage seems extremely large (more than 15 to 20 GB) and does not reduce with the steps above, a factory reset and restore from backup may be needed as a last resort. This clears all accumulated system data. Back up your phone first, then erase: Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings (iPhone) or Settings, System, Reset Options, Erase All Data (Android)

Need help freeing storage?

If your phone storage is critically full, you cannot install updates, and you are not sure what is safe to delete, Marion Phone Repair can review your storage usage, safely remove unnecessary cached data and system files, and help you set up automatic cleanup to prevent the problem from recurring.