Manage Memory on Android Easy Ways to Free Up Space

Nextwave Now August 28, 2025

Manage Memory on Android: Simple Tips to Free Up Storage

Android phones and tablets can fill up quickly as you download apps, add media files such as music and movies, and cache data for offline use. Many lower-end devices may only include a few gigabytes of storage, exacerbating this issue. The less space you have, the more time you will have to spend managing the internal storage. If you frequently run out of space and need to manage it, try following these suggestions.

Manage Memory on Android: Easy Ways to Free Up Space

Use Android’s Built-in Storage Tool

To find this, open the Settings Screen and tap Storage. You can see how much space is used up by apps and their data, by pictures and videos, audio files, downloads, Cached data, and miscellaneous other files. Tap downloads to view the download list, where you can remove files, and tap cached data to clear the data of all installed apps. Use the other options to view which files are taking up space and remove the ones you do not want.

Every Android device comes with a built-in tool to check what’s eating up your storage.

Open Settings > Storage

You’ll see categories like Apps, Pictures, Videos, Audio, Downloads, and Cached Data.

From here, you can:

Tap Downloads to delete unnecessary files.

Tap Cached Data to clear temporary files from all installed apps.

Check other categories and delete large files you don’t need.

This is the easiest first step to recover storage space without installing third-party apps.

See Which Folders and Files Take Up the Most Space

You can delete them right from within the Disk Usage app to see up space. For Maple, you might see a leftover folder from a game or app you've uninstalled. The app should have removed that data, but you can do it by hand with this app. Select a folder or file, tap the menu button, and tap Delete to remove it.

Sometimes, old apps leave behind junk files. To find them, you can use a Disk Usage app from the Play Store.

Open the app and scan your storage.

You’ll see a visual map of folders.

Select unwanted files or leftover app folders.

Tap the Delete option to free up space instantly.

This method is handy if you want precise control over what gets deleted.

Add an SD Card and Move Data There

If your phone or tablet does have a micro OT, you can purchase one to gain more storage. Insert the D card, format it as port e or Internal Storage, then connect your device to your computer and move your music and other files to the D card's free space. The D card will be seen as local storage on that device. The system will determine which apps make the most sense to move to the D card, then go ahead and move them over. You can't discern between true internal storage and a D card formatted for internal use, so there's now a way to manually move individual PPS over. If you are running a pre - pre-Marshmallow version of Android, you can move some apps using Android's built-in features.

If your phone or tablet supports microSD cards, this is the best long-term solution.

Insert a microSD card.

Format it as Portable or Internal Storage.

Move files like photos, videos, and music to the card.

On Android Marshmallow and later, you can even let the system automatically decide which apps can be moved to SD. This trick helps if your phone has a small internal memory.

Move Photos to the Cloud

Rather than storing Photos on your phone, you could use an online account, key Google Photos, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Flickr, or something else. Google Photos is integrated into the app on your Android device and offers unlimited storage of photos. You can access them from within the Photos app.

Photos and videos often take up the most space. Instead of storing them locally, move them to the cloud.

Google Photos – Free unlimited storage for photos up to 16MP.

Dropbox – Great for syncing across devices.

Microsoft OneDrive – Comes with free storage and integrates with Windows PCs.

Flickr – Offers 1TB of free photo storage.

Once uploaded, you can safely delete the local copies. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to access them anytime with an internet connection.

Clear Data of Apps Using Too Much Space

This will clear up all of the data related to an application. If you erase the files for an app like Facebook, you have to re-enter the passwords. This is something to use with precaution. For example, saved games will probably also get erased.

Some apps, like Facebook or Instagram, store a huge amount of data. If you clear their data.

The app resets as if newly installed.

All cached images, videos, and login details are removed.

⚠️ Warning: This may erase saved games, preferences, and passwords. Use this only when absolutely necessary.

Empty the Cache Regularly

This is also a domain that requires common sense. In fact, what we are about to do is delete the cache for certain apps that are taking up a lot of room. The cache, as mentioned before, is a type of library where your apps store their files to retrieve later on. It can be emptied from time to time. Emptying the cache will allow you to block an application that does not work anymore, like Google Play after its failed update.

Cached files help apps load faster, but over time, they take up gigabytes of space. Clearing the cache won’t affect your personal files.

Go to Settings > Apps > Select App > Storage > Clear Cache.

Repeat for apps taking up the most storage.

For example, clearing the Google Play Store cache can fix update issues and free storage at the same time.

Final Thoughts

Managing storage on Android is not difficult; it just requires a bit of housekeeping. Use the built-in storage tool, remove leftover files, add an SD card, and move photos to the cloud. Clearing data and cache can also give your phone a fresh start.

By following these steps, you’ll never have to deal with that dreaded “Storage Almost Full” notification again.