Phone storage still full after deleting photos?

1. Find the largest item.

   Open Settings → General → iPhone Storage. Check whether Photos, apps or downloaded content is actually using the space.

2. Check the recovery folder.

   Photos keeps deleted items in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Confirm you have a separate copy of anything you want to keep before permanently removing selected items. With iCloud Photos, deletion also affects your other signed-in devices.

3. If apps are larger, start there.

   Offload App removes the app but keeps its documents and data. Delete App also removes its related data.

Using Google Photos? Confirm backup is complete, then use Free up space on this device. On iPhone, finish by removing those same items from Apple Photos’ Recently Deleted—not the Google Photos trash.

1. Open Settings → Storage.

   Look at the largest category. Menu names vary by phone. Remove downloaded films or music through the app you downloaded them in.

2. Keep cache and data separate.

   Clear cache removes temporary files. Clear storage or Clear data permanently deletes app data; it is not the same action.

3. For backed-up Google Photos, use Free up space.

   Confirm backup is complete, then open your profile → Free up space on this device. This removes eligible device copies, not your backed-up library.

Photos removed from the device may no longer appear in its built-in gallery or be available offline.

1. Check Settings → your name → iCloud.

   This quota is separate from iPhone Storage. More iCloud capacity does not increase the phone’s built-in capacity.

2. Review what fills iCloud.

   Photos, backups and other files share this space. Check the category before deleting items; iCloud Photos synchronizes deletions across connected devices.

If the phone is full but iCloud has room, Optimize iPhone Storage can keep smaller device copies while originals stay in iCloud. It needs enough iCloud space.

1. Open Google Photos → profile → Photos settings → Backup → Manage storage.

   This manages cloud storage. Free up space on this device is the separate option for phone storage.

2. Check which service is using the quota.

   Gmail, Drive and Photos share account storage. Deleting an older upload that does not count toward your quota will not free that quota.

3. Allow time after a large deletion.

   Google says the storage total can take up to 48–72 hours to update after many files are deleted. Review the relevant trash too; permanently emptying it removes the recovery option.

Before deleting a Google Photos item, check which device copies will also be affected.