How to check iPhone storage

To check iPhone storage, open Settings → General → iPhone Storage. The bar at the top shows how much is used and by what; below are tips and a list of apps sorted by size. Here is how to read that screen and what to do next.

Step by step

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General → iPhone Storage (on iPad — iPad Storage).
3. Wait a few seconds: the first time, the screen may say “Calculating”.

The line above the bar shows, for example, “87.4 GB of 128 GB used”. Total capacity is a bit smaller than the number on the box because iOS itself takes part of it.

Just need the free space number?

Open Settings → General → About and look at Capacity and Available. This screen loads instantly and shows no breakdown.

What the categories mean

• Apps — the apps themselves plus their data: cache, downloads, offline maps, chat media.
• Photos — your photo and video library, including Recently Deleted.
• Media — downloaded music, movies, podcasts and books.
• Messages — conversations in iMessage and SMS with their photos and videos.
• iOS — the operating system. You cannot shrink it.
• System Data — caches, logs and temporary iOS files. If it is unusually large, see System Data on iPhone.

Recommendations

Under the bar, iOS shows suggestions based on your phone. Common ones:

• Offload Unused Apps — removes apps you do not use but keeps their data.
• Review Large Attachments — photos, videos and files in Messages, sorted by size.
• iCloud Photos — store originals in iCloud and keep smaller copies on the phone.
• Review Personal Videos or Review Downloaded Videos — long videos in your library or downloads in the TV app.

Each suggestion shows how much space it would free. Tap to review before agreeing.

What is taking up space: the app list

Below the recommendations, apps are sorted by size. Tap one to see two numbers:

• App Size — the app itself. Offloading the app frees this part.
• Documents & Data — everything the app stored: cache, downloaded media, files. Usually this is the bigger part in messengers, browsers, social and streaming apps.

Typical heavy hitters: Photos, Telegram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Spotify, Netflix, Safari, games. For a Photos-heavy phone, the next stop is finding large videos; for apps with big Documents & Data, see how to clear cache on iPhone.

Check iPhone storage on a Mac or PC

• Mac: connect the iPhone, open Finder and select it in the sidebar. The colored bar at the bottom of the General tab shows storage by category; hover over a segment to see its size.
• Windows: the Apple Devices app (or iTunes) shows a similar bar on the device summary page.

Why the numbers do not add up

• The calculation is not real-time. After big deletions, wait or restart the iPhone.
• Photos in Recently Deleted still count until it is emptied or 30 days pass.
• Finder and Settings may show slightly different numbers — they categorize some data differently.
• iCloud storage is a separate thing: it is the space in your Apple account, not on the phone. If you see “iCloud Storage Full”, read this guide instead.

What to do next

Start with the biggest category — for most people it is Photos. Videos and screenshots give the fastest wins. Instead of ticking thumbnails, you can go through them one at a time in Temfy: separate filters for videos and screenshots, swipe left to delete, right to keep, and a counter of freed megabytes. The full list of methods is in how to free up storage on iPhone.