iPhone storage full because of photos: what to clear first

See what is using the space

Open Settings, General, iPhone Storage. The Photos row shows the total for the library. It does not show which items are the heavy ones, so the rest of this guide goes in order of size.

1. Large videos

Videos are almost always the biggest share. Start here.

• In Photos, open Utilities, Videos and look for long clips you no longer need.
• Poof lists your videos sorted by size, so the ten heaviest are at the top.
• If you want to keep a video but not its size, Poof Pro compresses it to 1080p, 720p or 540p. You see the measured size before and after, you can watch the compressed copy, and the original stays until you approve the swap.

2. Exact copies

The same photo saved twice from a chat, or a video exported and imported again. These are free to clear: Photos has a Duplicates album under Utilities, and Poof deletes every exact copy of a photo or video for free.

3. Screenshots and blurry shots

Screenshots pile up because nobody goes back to them. Photos keeps them under Utilities, Screenshots. Poof Pro finds screenshots and blurry shots and ticks them for you to review.

4. Live Photos

A Live Photo is a still plus a short video. In Photos you can duplicate one as a still and delete the original, one at a time. Poof Pro slims Live Photos to stills in bulk. The picture stays and the motion file goes.

5. Chat photos

WhatsApp, Telegram and other chat apps save received media to your library. Poof Pro finds these through the chat apps' own albums, so forwarded images and memes can go in one review.

6. Empty Recently Deleted

Nothing above changes your storage until this step. Open Photos, Utilities, Recently Deleted and tap Delete All. Until then iOS keeps everything for 30 days and still counts it.

Related guides

• How to delete duplicate photos on an iPhone
• How to compress videos on an iPhone without losing the original
• How to delete all screenshots on an iPhone at once

Questions

What takes the most photo storage on an iPhone?

Videos, by a wide margin. One minute of 4K video at 60 frames per second is roughly 400 MB, about the same as 150 to 200 photos.

Does deleting photos free space immediately?

No. Deleted items stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days and keep using space. Empty Recently Deleted in Photos to free it at once.

Does Optimize iPhone Storage delete my photos?

No. It keeps full size originals in iCloud and smaller versions on the iPhone. It only helps if you pay for enough iCloud storage to hold the library.

Do Live Photos take more space?

Yes. A Live Photo stores a still plus a short video, so it is roughly twice the size of a normal photo.