Is your photo library on your iPhone pushing 10,000, 20,000, or even 30,000 photos? Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. The truth is you’re not alone.
Nowadays, screenshotting is becoming more common as we send copies of documents, texts, images, memes, and so much more. And that means our photo libraries can get clogged beyond belief. But take a deep breath: there is a way out. Following these five simple steps will save you from endless alerts that your iCloud storage is full.
1. Sync Your iCloud and Photos
You’ve spent hours shopping for cute iPhone 14 Pro Max cases! You’ve taken thousands of pictures on your new iPhone—why wouldn’t you protect all that time and money invested in your phone and the case by not syncing it all?
Syncing protects your photos from deletion and your phone from clogged-up memory. But if you have over 1,000 photos, your iCloud and Photos app are probably not synced. The free version of iCloud only allows for five gigs of storage, and photos take up a surprisingly large amount of storage when they begin to stack up.
The two ways you can solve the issue of your Cloud not backing up all your photos is to 1) pay for an upgrade and be able to sync more than five gigs, but that payment is monthly, or 2) delete enough photos so that they all sync.
Both are valid options, but imagine the feeling of freedom that comes with a clean and organized phone.
2. Delete Duplicates
It’s easy to delete duplicate photos on a computer by searching the name of the image file. Duplicates will have near exact duplicate file names as well. On iPhones, this isn’t as easy.
Fortunately, there are now apps to take care of this flaw in the manufacturer’s design. An app like Gemini Photos or Smart Cleaner can instantly identify duplicate or near-copy images and allow you to delete them, saving you a ton of space quickly.
3. Create Folders
After you’ve gone through your photos and pared down the sheer volume, you’ll probably have a better sense of what kind of photos you have. Now, you can separate photos into groups like Vacation, Pets, Food, etc.
Creating photo folders in and of itself is a fun activity, not that we need any more reason to spend time on our phones. Studies have shown that excessive smartphone usage can cause cognition issues. Then again, one Harvard study showed that social media has positive mental health effects. Perhaps it’s up to you to decide!
4. Utilize the Mass Select Tool
There may be vast swaths of photos that you want to delete. Don’t waste time clicking them all on select mode. Turn on select mode, click one, hold your finger down, and drag it up. You can select multiple and delete them all at once.
5. Use Folders Like Screenshots and Selfies to Sort Faster
You can utilize automatically populated folders like selfies and screenshots to sort and delete with even more ease. Go ahead and build the rest of your folder organization around these handy ones.
De-Clutter and Calm Down
You should view cleaning out your iPhone like cleaning any other room in your house. You spend a lot of time there; you ought to keep it spic and span!
