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How to Delete “Other” on iPhone and iPad in iOS 13

Dhvanesh Adhiya
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Have you ever wondered what is “Other” on iPhone storage? To speak the truth, you are not alone to have found it a bit mysterious. It’s the home to a variety of stuff like browser history, cookies, logs, caches of photos and videos, database files and more compiled by your apps. And if you don’t delete “Other” from your iPhone, the redundant files can pile up to eat into tons of storage on your device.

With just a bit of care, you can stop the junk files from going overboard. Frankly speaking, clearing “Other” data from the iPhone had never been so straightforward before. Moreover, you have multiple ways to get rid of the Other data from iPhone or iPad storage.

How to Delete “Other” Data from iPhone Storage

Step #1. Launch Settings app on your iOS device → Now, tap on General.

Tap on Settings then General on iPhone or iPad

Step #2. Next, tap on iPhone/iPad Storage → Now, check out how much storage has been used and how much space is left.

Check iPhone Storage

Have a look at the thing that has consumed most space on your device. The most obvious villains would be Other, apps, photos, media and even mail.

Scroll down to see how much storage each app has eaten into. Most likely, you will be surprised to see the total amount of space some of the apps, which you have been using for long, have consumed. The so-called “other data” of respective apps may be a lot larger than their actual size.

Once you have found the culprits that have virtually hijacked the storage on your device, go for the mission cleanup. Unlike before, iOS offers you more flexibility.

Step #3. Tap on the app which data you wish to eradicate.

Tap on iPhone Storage and Tap on the App you Want to Remove Documents and Data on iPhone

Step #4. Next up, you have two options: Offload App or Delete app, select the option based on your need. As we are talking about removing the data of particular apps, deleting would serve the purpose.

Offload App: By offloading apps on your iOS device, you will be able to free up storage used by the app but keep its data. And when you reinstall the app, you will be able to reinstate the associated data.

Offload App on iPhone or iPad

Delete App: Choose it if you want to delete not just the app but also its entire data.

Delete App to Clear Documents and Data on iPhone or iPad

Manually Get Rid of Other Data from Your iOS Device From Time to Time

They say, “A stitch in time saves nine.” You can easily prevent your device from being cluttered by managing apps smartly. One of the most helpful tricks is to clear the cache and redundant files from time to time. As most apps let you remove the cache with ease, you won’t find it difficult to stop them from cluttering your device. Let’s check out all the possible ways.

Delete Safari Cache and Website Data

Safari keeps a record of the things you search so that the next time you wish to revisit a site or jump to the same thing, you can access them instantly. Though it’s very helpful, the cache and website data, if not deleted regularly, can pile up to be problematic. So, it’s worth clearing Safari Cache and Website Data.

Review and Delete Large Attachments in Messages App On a Frequent Basis

If you love sharing fun-loving videos, hilarious GIFs, and gorgeous images a lot, there is a strong chance that you have a number of large attachments. Getting rid of them can do a world of good for the storage of your device.

Step #1. Open Settings → Tap on General.

Tap on Settings then General on iPhone or iPad

Step #2. Tap on iPhone/iPad Storage → Tap on Messages.

Tap on iPhone Storage then Messages on iPhone or iPad

Step #3. Under Documents & Data, you have the option to view how much storage your photos, videos, GIFs, stickers, and even conversations have eaten into. Head to the respective section and delete the unwanted things.

For instance, if you want to remove the unnecessary Videos, tap on Videos → tap on Edit button.

Select Message's Media and Tap on Edit on iPhone or iPad

Step #4. Select the Video/s you want to delete and then hit the Trash button.

Delete Message's Media on iPhone or iPad Settings

Clear Your Mail Cache

If not dealt strictly, even Mail cache can go on to capture a fair amount of storage. To get rid of it, simply delete your email account from the device and then re-add it. To do so,

Step #1. Open Settings → Tap on Accounts & Passwords.

Tap on Settings then Accounts & Passwords in iPhone or iPad Settings

Step #2. Tap on the Email account.

Tap on Mail Account on iPhone or iPad Settings

Step #3. Tap on Delete Account and confirm.

Delete Mail Account from iPhone or iPad

Now, tap on the back button and then hit the Add Account. Next, add the account as usual.

Clear History of Third-party Apps

Don’t let the junk files of third-party apps become too large. It can go a long way in letting you manage the storage of your iOS device perfectly.

Restore Your Device

Haven’t been able to completely remove “Other” from your iOS device as yet? It’s time to restore the device as new or from the previous backup. It can play a vital role in eradicating the useless files. Jump here to Restore your iPhone from iCloud or iTunes Backup.

Find It Too Tedious to Manually Remove “Other” from Your iPhone? Go for iPhone Storage Cleaners

If you want to have more control or wish to clear “other” from your iOS device more efficiently, choose one of the best iPhone storage cleaner apps or software. They can’t just save your valuable time but also help you to keep your device in top-gear by keeping redundant data at bay.

Wrapping up:

Assuming, you have found the right ways to stop cache and junk files from making life difficult for your iPhone’s storage. Have any question? Shoot it in the comments below.

You might want to refer these posts as well:

How to Delete Other Data from iPhone Storage

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Dhvanesh Adhiyahttps://www.igeeksblog.com
The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.

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116 COMMENTS

  1. Worked beautifully for my iPhone 4. Wiped 13GB of other off the phone! A couple of apps did get ‘stuck’ but I found that I just needed to re-download them via the App Store on the phone rather than my desktop iTunes.

  2. I tried this and it actually worked on my iPhone 6s plus, it significantly reduced the ‘others’ file from 8 to almost 9 gb to about 500+ mb, yet I’m having trouble syncing back my apps to the phone. It’s taking forever and loads of my apps are stuck at being dimmed and labeled ‘waiting…’ which is kinda annoying and i don’t know what to do now

  3. I think Apple intentionally does that to force ppl buy more expensive devices. It is the huge problem experienced by everyone, and no official reaction from Apple whatsoever. Pretty clear.

    I got Other from 7GB to 0 once I removed a bunch of apps (NOT via iTunes, on the phone directly). Once I connected it to iTunes, it immediately started “synchronizing” and Other went up to 1.5 GB. Backing up/restoring did not help

    Dont connect iTunes, my advice. Piece of crap software.

  4. I had 54 G of blessed “other ” on my 64 G iPhone 6 …Rediced it to 2 by doing this…. BACK UP PHONE … THEN GO TO SETTINGS/ GENERAL/RESET/ERASE ALL DATA AND SETTINGS…..in a while you will have the opportunity TO RESTORE FROM YOUR JUST MADE BACK UP – NOT AS A NEW PHONE.. Hope this helps *** You will need access to the internet for this entire process though so if you’re using your phone for connection ensure you have an alternate internet connection capability ***

      • It worked for me, but I also had to reduce the number of photos I was storing on the device. When I didn’t reduce the number of photos, it would have too much data on the device, and then revert to the last complete backup. That backup included the HUGE 5GB “other data” category. I was able to get rid of almost all of it. After I got it fixed, I made another backup to get rid of all of that ‘other data” on my computer, and added back some of my old photos. So I think you have to give some extra room for the device and your computer to work back and forth.

  6. PhoneClean is a piece of junk, if your app requires me to pay for it, don’t let me download it and scan my stuff before pulling the rug out from under me you duplicitous. -1 of 5 stars

  7. I did all this and my other increased. Went yoyoing from 3.5 to about 2 then up to 4.5 where it sits now. Got documents and data down to about 100MB, so my other is something far more strange than just old messages and idle cache.

  12. This worked great for me! My 16 GB ipad went from 1.2 GB free to 5.5 GB after backing up and restoring. Judging from the comments it doesn’t work for everyone but it’s worth trying.

  14. 7I wiped as suggested, backep up, wiped, back back, still iPad (128 gb) has 77 gigabytes in the OTHER … big failure! Any suggestions? THANKS, God bless.

  19. Went from 5.72 GB of Other to 1.95 GB. 1.95 still pretty bad on my 16 GB phone that I can hardly get 9 GB of space on, but it’s a significant improvement.

  21. That ‘Other’ on my ipad has had me grumpy for quite a while. Tonight I solved the problem and just had to share. Most of the ‘Other’ is associated to movie watching! By changing the setting for movies, from play were left off. To Play from the beginning. The ipad doesn’t store such a big cookie. Turn the pad on and off again and the Other is all but Gone. Let me know if this works for you.

    • tried this out and surprisingly enough, it works! weird that a seemingly innocuous setting would take up so much “other” space but i went from 2.5 gb of other to 2 gb – not a lot, but still siginificant! thanks for the tip.

  23. Erasing all contents and restoring from backup… What an efficient way to clear cache,.. Guess, what I could do this in my Android phone with a simple ‘clear cache’ button on many apps or physically open the folders myself and delete them… Way to go iPhone… thanks but no thanks…

    • Photos in the albums or clicked by the camera remain on the phone. However, Im not sure of the whatsapp conversations.
      I’d love to have someone answer that.

      • A trick I found on another site, was to change the date back as far as you can on your device. for some reason this brings back the photos not properly deleted. Delete properly and reset your clock and for some reason, its all good.

  26. So I did this and everything was deleted like apps and music… But NOT the Other! I did it exactly how it says here so I have no clue what went wrong :(

  29. Worked perfectly on iPhone 5s. Backed up with iTunes, wiped, restored, everything back as it was except the 25GB of “Other” (that had suddenly appeared for no good reason) is now less than 2GB! Thanks!

  34. I was hesitant but after over 2 weeks trying tons of things I did this…thought nothing would happen since thats been the trend…but nope.. backed up, erased all data on my phone, restored and went from 33 GB to 1GB of OTHER space.

  35. I just did this. I began with around 5.5 GB of documents and data. After restoring from my backup, I have 7.49 GB. And though I have more available space now, I still need to reinstall my apps and my music. Bleh! Any other tips from you other folks?

  37. Worked perfectly, freed up about 2GB. Note, if you have encrypted your backup, make sure you know the password before you erase anything, that will be needed to restore your iphone. Thanks for the tip.

  42. I just did this with extreme trepidation but my “Other” was over 21 GB and I could not sync my phone to get new purchases on it. But that sucked. Trying to go through and clean out your pics manually and trim your music is also not fun. One thing you can do that will help before doing a wipe is deleting all your text threads. But I did this wipe after backing up my phone first and then restoring, (takes about an hour to restore and you will have no use of your phone during that time, FYI). It freed up a LOT of space, my Other went down to 257 MB. Makes me think there was a glitch on iTunes thinking that space was full of something, but I’m not sure. Anyways, this worked! I have a 64 GB 5 and it should *not* have been full. Thanks for the tips.

  43. Awesome! This worked perfectly! I followed step by step. Now have 5.50 GB free on my iphone 5s and down to 1.02 GB on Other. Before I did this my phone had no free space because of the Other Data. So far doesn’t look like I lost anything. I still have all my apps and music once I restored from back up.

  45. Can you restore from backup without using your computer? I need to update my iPad but, of course, don’t have enough space. I have just backed it up to iCloud but I’m don’t want to erase it if I can’t restore from the cloud. My primary computer (that is connected to my apple account and has all of my music on it) is currently crashed. (Thanks for nothing avg) . I have another computer, but it isn’t linked to my apple account and I don’t have any music on it. So, just need to know if I will be able to recover info without ever connecting to iTunes.

  46. I just did this & I STILL have 1.87 GB of “Other” on my iPhone! All it essentially did was wipe out all of my music. Why can’t I get rid of this “Other” data???

  47. This worked great! I went from 3GB to 700 MB in “other” as well as applications! Apparently even though I deleted apps, they were still in the cache! I now have over 7GB available. Thank you!

    • I have 27 GB of other and can’t seem to figure out where it is. It doesn’t show up on any app. I think it is an error in trying to sync my phone, but not sure how to do it as the restore would be from the back up that still shows the Other information.

  53. On WhatsApp, photos and videos take up maximum space and on iOS 8, the phone stores them on «photos and camera” app as well as backup data for WhatsApp. To free up space on WhatsApp on ios8, simply swipe right from any chat you wish to check. iPhone gives you the videos and photos associated with that particular chat ( individual or group) stored In the phone. Delete your way to glory !

  54. worked great for me and I’m not too savvy with all this–got 2.0 G back! (might not sound like much but I’ve got a 4 with only 6 G total, so it’s a lot for me!

  56. I set up my iPhone 6 as new phone and even before installing whatever applications I had 1GB of “other” data shown both on iTunes and on the Phone. This is not the OS as the phone’s capacity is 11.8 GB (out of 16 GB), which is presumably IOS. Where does this data come from? I have no emails, no music and photos.

  61. There’s a better way that doesn’t require erasing all of your data.
    1) There’s an app called “ifun box.” You can look into the apps and manually delete the cache by searching in the app then “documents.” Anything in the cache folder can be deleted.
    2) Delete and re-install the app is another option.
    Some software will tell you that they can delete the junk on your phone, but most do a poor job at it. Restoring is only a good idea after you’ve run out of so much space. I would backup my photos to my computer, drop box, google drive, or other services before I restore because iTunes does not always restore your photos! It does for me if I restore from iCloud, but it will not restore any music that didn’t get purchased from iTunes. You’ll have to manually re-add that.

    • Should be an issue with backups then. I know it’s a pain but can you try
      to set up your device as new and start afresh? Alternatively, you can
      try this: remove data selectively from your iPhone (like delete apps that
      you no longer use, delete data from apps like WhatsApp) and then backup.
      Then, restore your device as new. And then use the backup to get back
      the data.

  71. My doc & data is still a lot… it just went from 3.36GB to 3.30GB but holy cow my “other” went down TREMENDOUSLY i went from 2.46 GB to 4.92! I have sooooo much space now! Excellent just excellent! Thank You!!!!

    • Great for this video. it can help you Remove Junk Files & Clear Private Data on iPhone. including App Caches/Cookies/Temp files/Crash Logs, Photo Caches, Safari Cookies/Caches/History, and so on.

  82. This is bullshit.
    All my photos and videos were deleted.

    This article is misleading, it says only cache and internet stored data is deleted.
    Now all my photos and videos are gone.

      • its possible that you lost your music and videos because you don’t sync your music automatically but rather do it manually. Videos in VLC or even in Videos (and Music for that matter) are not saved in the backup – they are just re-synced from your iTunes. If you’ve put your media on your device manually then it won’t re-sync. I like to do it manually. But i created a playlist, in iTunes, for music, called “For iDevice” so when i have to restore from backup for any reason i can just manually drag that playlist onto the music library of my iDevice and all is good.

        Movies i generally don’t store on my iDevice, and I only use VLC. In that situation i just take a screen shot of the movies i have in VLC and just drag them back on when the restore is complete. So def make note of that.

  83. Thank you!!! After reading many confusing posts, I decided to give this a try as it seemed the simplest! “Other” went from almost 5gb down to 622mb. Simple! :)

  86. “Other” data is real data including your system files and cached content that you put on your device by using the built-in apps. It’s just that as you use the phone, it will grow. This includes:

    Messages and attachments
    Contacts
    Reminders
    Safari bookmarks and cache
    Email messages and attachments
    Calendar entries
    Genius data
    Music catalog and cover art
    Operating system settings
    Game Center status

    I tried PhoneClean, iLike and CleanmyiPhone to clean up my iPhone, all of them are very useful to me

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