How to Check Your Storage on Your Android

A simple guide to finding the total, used, and available storage space on your Android

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: January 6, 2022 Tested

Generally, there is a limited amount of internal memory to install Android applications on, so you should be aware of how much space is available on your device. You should also keep an eye on your external/SD card memory so that you don’t run out of space for your pictures, videos, and music. Luckily, checking your storage on Android is pretty straightforward.

Steps

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It has an icon that resembles a gear. It's can be found in your Apps menu.
2
Tap Storage. It's in the list of search results below the search bar.
- If you do not see Storage in the Settings menu, tap the magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner and type storage in the search bar to search the Settings menu o your device for the Storage menu.
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3
Check the phone’s total and available storage space. At the top of the screen, it displays the total amount of space your Android device has, the total amount of user/system space that is currently in use, and the total amount of space available on your Android device.
- The Android device’s memory is also categorized into different storage sections which allow you to see how much space each type of file on your device is taking up.
4
Check the storage used by Applications. The amount of space used by apps is displayed to the right of "Apps" in the Storage menu. Tap Apps or Applications in the Storage menu to see a list of apps installed on your Android device.
- To Uninstall unneeded apps in the Apps menu, tap the checkbox or circular button next to an app listed in the Apps menu. Then tap Uninstall in the upper-right corner.
5
Check the storage used by Pictures and images. The amount of space used by images on your phone is displayed to the right of "Images" or "Pictures" in the Storage menu. Tap Pictures, or Images to see a list of all images on your Android device. This displays a list of all the images on your Android device.
- To delete images, tap the images you want to delete. Then tap Delete in the upper-right corner.
- Before deleting items to free up storage space, you may want to backup your Android device.
6
Check the storage space used by videos. The amount of space used by video files is displayed to the right of "Videos" in the Storage menu. Tap Videos in the Storage menu to display a list of videos.
- To delete unwanted videos, tap the checkbox or circular button next to the videos you do not want to keep. Then tap Delete in the upper-right corner.
7
Check the storage used by Audio files. The amount of storage used by audio files is displayed next to "Audio" in the Storage menu. Tap Audio to display a list of Audio files on your phone.
- To delete audio files on your phone, tap the checkbox or circular button next to the audio files you do not want to keep. Then tap Delete in the upper-right corner.
8
Check storage space used by documents. The amount of space used by documents is displayed to the right of "Documents" in the Storage menu. Tap Documents to see the amount of space used by app files. Documents can include PDFs, text documents, or save files used by other apps.
- To delete documents in the Documents menu, tap the checkbox or circular button next to the files you want to delete, and tap Delete in the upper-right corner.
9
Check the storage used by Cached Data. This section contains the amount of space occupied by temporary files, or cached data, on your device. The amount of data used by temporary or cached data is displayed to the right of this section in the Storage menu. This is the data that your apps download from the Internet and is stored temporarily so that you don’t have to download it again the next time you are online, like profile pictures. Tapping the “Cached Data” section will prompt you to clear the cached memory. Tap “OK” to clear memory, or tap “Cancel” to go back to the Device Memory screen.
- One some devices, this may be displayed as "App Data". The amount of App Data is displayed next to each individual app below the "App Data" section in the Storage menu.
10
Check the storage used by Miscellaneous files. The “Miscellaneous” section displays the amount of memory space used by the miscellaneous files, like the thumbnails and playlists. Tapping the section will open the Miscellaneous Files screen. Tap the checkboxes in the list to select the files you want to delete, and then tap the delete icon at the top right corner of the screen to free up space.
- This is not available on all Android devices.
11
Check the storage of the external or SD card, if you have one. If you have an SD card installed on your phone, you can check the storage use of your SD card by tapping SD Card in the storage menu. This displays a separate storage menu for your SD card. You can see the total amount of space your SD card has, as well as the amount of space currently in use and space available on your SD card.[Image:Check Your Storage on Your Android Step 9.jpg|center]]
- You can also check the amount of space used by apps, images, videos, audio files, an documents and delete files in the Storage menu for the SD card. Just as you would with the internal Storage menu on your Android device.

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Is Google Photos safe?

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Of course it's safe! Google doesn't make malware. Any software made by Google should be safe.

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Are downloaded pictures safe in the cloud? Can I remove them from the phone now?

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They are not safe in the way that there are people who are able to hack into your cloud and steal them. Try a flash drive and plug your phone into a computer to extract the picture files and keep them on your flash drive.

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How do I check my SD card storage?

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Go to Settings > Storage and scroll down to the bottom. There you'll find SD card total storage and storage used.

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