Just like “Other,” “Documents & Data” is a slightly baffling part of your iPhone storage that turns out to be a bother when you run out of space. A lot of people come up with one persistent question: how to clear “Documents and Data” on my iPhone and reclaim free space?
Once you understand what that “Documents & Data” really is, it becomes easy to figure out ways to clear all of it and still have your iPhone work smoothly. The documents and data come from a variety of sources including stock apps, third-party apps, and even iCloud documents. It's cache files stored by individual apps.
Why do apps need to store cache? They store cache to let you have smooth sailing experience. As for instance, when you search anything in Safari, the web browser keeps a record of it to let you access it instantly next time. Likewise, YouTube keeps a record of your watch history to recommend the type of videos which interest you the most.
Let's check out how you can find and remove cache, cookie and other miscellaneous data stored by apps and reclaim valuable space on your iPhone!
How to Clear “Documents and Data” On iPhone & iPad
Delete and Reinstall App(s)
One of the easiest ways to get rid of the documents and data of specific app is to delete them and then reinstall them.
Step #1. Tap on the Settings → General.
Step #2. Tap on Storage & iCloud Usage.
Step #3. Tap on Manage Storage under the Storage section.
Step #4. Tap on the individual app which data you want to delete.
Step #5. Tap on Delete App and confirm.
Step #6. Reinstall the same.
Delete Documents and Data of Specific Apps from iCloud on iPhone and iPad
Step #1. Launch Settings app on your iOS device.
Step #2. Tap on your profile picture. (If your iPhone is running the previous iOS 10.2 or earlier, tap on iCloud.)
Step #3. Tap on iCloud.
Step #4. Now, you should see used space and available space in your iCloud account. Tap on iCloud under Storage.
Step #5. Tap on Manage Storage.
Step #6. Tap on Show All under Documents & Data section.
Step #7. Tap on the app which data you want to delete. (You can delete the documents and data of some stock apps like Notes, Keynote, iMovie.)
Step #8. Tap on Edit at the top right corner.
Step #9. Tap on Delete All and confirm.
That's how you can get rid of the cache of individual apps from all of your devices synced with the same iCloud devices.
Tip: Allow only selected apps to store their data in iCloud. It will help you manage your iCloud storage in a better way.
Step #1. Open Settings app.
Step #2. Tap on your Profile.
Step #3. Tap on iCloud.
Step #4. Now turn off the switch next to the app which data you no longer want to save in the iCloud.
Clear Out Music, Movies & TV Shows, Thumbnail Cache
All your iTunes purchases (made on the iPhone/iPad or synced from the computer) are part of the media. It's usually categorized under the Audio/Video part of your storage, but some of it goes to “Documents and Data.” This could include thumbnail cache or related files.
One of the best things you can do to clear cache is to remove all music from your iPhone and then re-sync it through the computer. This way, you will be clearing out all cache on the iPhone, and because these aren't created during a re-sync, you get some free space.
Clean Up Photos and Messages
There may be a number of unnecessary photos in your Camera Roll. Getting rid of them can help you reclaim some valuable space.
Step #1. Open Photos app → Photos tab → tap on Select at the top right corner.
Step #2. Select the photos you want to delete and tap on the trash button at the bottom right corner.
To delete messages,
Step #1. Open Messages app → open conversation → simply touch and hold any message → tap on More.
Step #2. Select the message you want to delete and then tap on Delete All at the top left the corner.
Follow this guide to delete photos from the Messages app on your iPhone.
Turn Off Photo Stream
When Photo Stream is enabled, it automatically uploads your new photos and syncs them all of your iCloud devices. Turning it off can help in taking control the storage.
Step #1. Tap on Settings.
Step #2. Tap on Profile (earlier iCloud.)
Step #3. Tap on iCloud.
Step #4. Tap on Photos.
Step #5. Turn off the switch next to My Photo Stream.
It will delete all of the Photo Stream photos from your iPhone.
Mail: clearing out old mail and attachments
If you use the stock Mail app, there's a lot of cache that builds around this. All the synced mail that you access through the app is stored on your iPhone for quick access. And over time, there's data pile-up. Add to this all the attachments that you open on the iPhone.
One simple way of clearing out all mail cache and data is:
Step #1. Tap on Settings → Tap on Accounts.
Step #2. Tap on the email account.
Step #3. Tap on Delete Account → and confirm.
Now, re-add the account by tapping on Add New.
Clean Up Safari History and Website Data
It's better to clear out Safari history and website data from time to time to ensure the web browser continues to run smoothly and doesn’t pile too much of cache. Head over to this complete guide to clean up Safari.
Voicemail: Delete all voicemail
It turns out that all of your Voicemail contributes to the “Documents and Data” part of the Phone app. Hence make sure to delete unwanted voicemails regularly to ensure they don’t clutter your device for space.
Phone app → Voicemail → select the voicemail → Now, you need to tap on it or swipe right to left across it to reveal Delete button → tap on Delete button.
To delete multiple voicemails, open Phone app → Voicemails → tap on Edit → select the voicemails → tap on Delete.
Clean Up Third-Party Apps
One of the easiest ways to prevent your iPhone from running out of space is to clean up the third-party apps from time to time. Many apps easily allow you to clear cache and history.
- How to clear cache in Dropbox on iPhone
- How to delete individual media files from individual WhatsApp chat history on iPhone
Check out: How to Remove/Reinstall Stock Apps in iOS 10 on iPhone or iPad
Using software to remove app data and cache
If you'd like some more control over the documents that apps store, then use software to easily manage the data and keep your device junk-free.
Luckily, there is handy software like PhoneClean that can take away all the stress and help you carry out the task of removing unnecessary files with ease.
Wrap Up
I hope you have now fully understood what documents and data is and how to clear it off on your iOS device. By cleaning it off regularly, you can keep your device junk-free; preventing it from running out of storage.
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