How to stop photos taking up space on your phone

Master your gear and learn new skills with our explainers and guides.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions By David Nield | 10.18.22 Each year, the cameras attached to our phones take better photos and higher quality videos, which in turn take up more space on your device and in the cloud, where you'll usually have to pay extra for backup storage. Getting phones with more built-in storage is expensive and it's a spec that a lot of people will decide they can cut costs on. As the photos and videos collect, free space becomes a problem, especially for future software updates and apps you may want to use. To avoid running out of local storage too quickly or having to pay too much for cloud storage—or both—you can dial down the quality settings for your photos and videos. However, you need to consider just how good your pictures and clips actually need to be, whether you're posting them on social media, sharing them with family, or just keeping them for yourself. Here's how. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. How to Keep Photos and Videos From Taking Up Space on Your Phone Don't use up precious storage space when you don't have to. How to Rid Your Phone of Those Default Apps You Never Use Even the best phones come with bloatware, preinstalled apps that take up precious storage space. Here's how to remove them and speed up your device. Try Grayscale Mode to Curb Your Phone Addiction iOS and Android make it easier than ever to sap the color from your phone, and help you save some sanity in the process. How to Stay Under Your 15 GB of Free Storage From Google If you're smart about how you use your space in the cloud, you don't have to pay extra. Don't Toss That Old Phone! Here's How to Repurpose Your Tech Before you get rid of the phone, laptop, or camera you just replaced, think about giving it a new purpose. GET WIRED Get 1 year of WIRED for less than $1 per month. That includes Steven Levy's exclusive newsletter and a free tote! Subscribe now. Have questions or comments? Reply to this email.   When you buy something using the retail links in this email, we earn a small affiliate commission. Read more about how this works.   This email was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our email address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions