Before trying to free up space on your iPad, the first thing you should do is analyze how your device\u2019s storage is currently being allocated. That way, you\u2019ll know what clean-up targets to prioritize when you start applying the methods in this guide.<\/p>\r\n
Navigate to the iPad Storage menu by opening the Settings app > General > iPad Storage. At the top of this page, you\u2019ll see exactly what data types are present in your local storage, and how much they actually use.<\/p>\r\n
![\"iPad](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Storage-Settings.png\")
<\/p>\r\n
Have a general idea of where to start? Here are a few examples of how our guide handles these different data types, along with links to the appropriate sections:<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Apps:<\/b> Apps take up more storage than most users notice (many grow more than twice their original size); you can reclaim a lot of space by removing unwanted apps<\/a>, managing cache data<\/a>, and cleaning up offline content<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Photos:<\/b> iPad photos and videos take up a lot of space, especially when used with special modes like Live Photos and HDR. Cleaning up your library<\/a> can easily free up gigabytes’ worth of storage, especially if you have a lot of videos.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Messages & attachments:<\/b> Do you like sending photos, videos, GIFs, and other attachments to your friends? Much of that data gets locally stored on your iPad, so you\u2019ll need to purge unwanted attachments<\/a> every once in a while.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Downloaded files:<\/b> Files that you download from websites or receive through AirDrop also get stored locally and can quickly add up if you don\u2019t regularly clean the Files app<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
<\/span>How to Free Up iPad Storage<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
In this section, we\u2019ll cover known places where iPad data tends to build up, then recommend the fastest and most convenient methods to clean them up safely. When deciding on the order of methods, we prioritized the fixes that free up visible storage the fastest\u2013so start at the top, then work your way down.<\/p>\r\n
<\/span>Method 1:<\/span> Delete Apps You Don\u2019t Use<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Apps usually take up the largest amount of storage space on iPads\u2013one app can easily be several gigabytes in package size. So the fastest way to reclaim storage space on your iPad is to eliminate any apps you no longer use (or don\u2019t use very often).<\/p>\r\n
You have two options: (1) deleting an app<\/b> or (2) offloading it<\/b>. Deletion removes every single file associated with an app, which is perfect if you don\u2019t need it anymore. Offloading an app removes the binary, but preserves local documents and data\u2013so if you ever need to download that app again, you can pick up right where you left off.<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Open the Settings App.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Tap General<\/b>, then select iPad Storage<\/b> from the right pane.
![\"General](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-General-Settings-Page.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Scroll down to your list of iPad apps, then sort them by size or date last used. Tap any app you want to delete or offload.
![\"App](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Apps-iPad-Storage.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- If you want to preserve local data, tap Offload App<\/b>. To uninstall an app and clear its related data, tap Delete App<\/b>.
![\"Offload](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Settings-Offload-App.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Confirm your choice in the dialog box when prompted.
![\"App](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Confirm-Offload-App-iPad.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n💡 A faster way to remove apps from your iPad<\/a> is by tapping its icon on your home screen, then selecting Remove App > Delete App. Don\u2019t select Remove from Home Screen, as this option doesn\u2019t free up storage space.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Method 2:<\/span> Clean Up Your Photo Library<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Did you review your iPad storage as we demonstrated before diving into the cleanup guide? If you noticed that the Photos<\/b> category is taking up a lot of storage space, take it as a signal to clean up your library.<\/p>\r\n
The iPad\u2019s built-in Photos app has several tools that can help, like the Duplicates utility<\/a>, media-type filters, screenshots, videos, and even manual album review. But all of these features still require you to go through your library manually.<\/p>\r\n
For an iPad with a few dozen, or even hundreds, of photos and videos, those can work. But if your media is in the thousands (or you just don\u2019t feel like doing it manually), consider using a third-party cleaner from the App Store. Clever Cleaner<\/a> is a good example we\u2019ll be featuring specifically for this guide, since it\u2019s free to download and use, and it doesn\u2019t flood you with ads.<\/p>\r\n
Here\u2019s a high-level overview of Clever Cleaner\u2019s capabilities:<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Library cleaning tools:<\/b> Clever Cleaner has several tools that can help remove \u201cclutter\u201d from your library. For example, the Similars feature helps you delete similar and duplicate photos (leaving behind one \u201cbest\u201d copy).
![\"Similar](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Clever-Cleaner-Similars.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Media compression:<\/b> For photos and videos you don\u2019t want to delete, you can compress them instead. Compression can reduce the size of media at a small to moderate cost to visual quality. Most apps can only compress videos, so this is pretty cool.
![\"Video](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Clever-Cleaner-Compression.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Smart Cleanup:<\/b> If you don\u2019t want to go through your library manually, the Smart Cleanup feature simultaneously runs several cleanup operations automatically: removing all similar and duplicate photos, converting all Live Photos to still images, and compressing all screenshots.
![\"Smart](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Clever-Cleaner-Smartcleanup.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nTo demonstrate exactly how this app works, we\u2019ll use Clever Cleaner\u2019s Similars tool on our own iPad and walk you through the process:<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Download Clever Cleaner: AI Cleanup App<\/a> from the App Store.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Run Clever Cleaner and wait for it to finish scanning your iPad. Then, tap Similars<\/b>.
![\"Clever](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Clever-Cleaner-Main.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- You can manually select which photos per group you want to delete, or use the Select All<\/b> button to allow Clever Cleaner to do it for you. Once you\u2019ve made your selection, tap Delete<\/b>.
![\"Deleting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Clever-Cleaner-Remove-Similars.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- The Review and delete<\/b> page will appear. Make sure there\u2019s nothing important, then tap the Delete<\/b> button.
![\"Clever](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Clever-Cleaner-Delete-Page.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n⚠️ After deleting any photos and videos in Clever Cleaner, make sure to delete them again from the Recently Deleted folder in the native Photos app. Otherwise, the deleted media will stay there for 30 days (still using up storage space) until permanent auto-deletion.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Method 3:<\/span> Remove App Data and Cache<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
While Method 1 encourages you to remove apps you don\u2019t need anymore, this method considers apps you do need but can potentially be cleaned up. Many apps bloat in size not because of their installer, but because of an overwhelming accumulation of cache data, temporary files, and other app data.<\/p>\r\n
Popular examples include Telegram, WhatsApp, Lightroom, Procreate, and browsers like Safari and Chrome. Fortunately, several of these apps provide their own cache management tool in the Settings app or in their in-app settings pages. We\u2019ll show you how it works in Lightroom.<\/p>\r\n
⚠️ Offloading an app is also an option, but it only makes sense if the app binary itself is worth uninstalling. If it\u2019s the app\u2019s cache files that are taking up most of your storage space, offloading the app (which preserves local documents and data) won\u2019t solve the problem.<\/div>\r\n- \r\n\t
- Open Adobe Lightroom (or any app on your iPad that you want to clean).<\/li>\r\n\t
- Navigate to the main library view. Then, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b> in the top right corner of the screen.
![\"Meatball](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Lightroom-Menu.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Select App settings<\/b>.
![\"Settings](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Lightroom-Settings.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Choose Local Storage<\/b>.
![\"Local](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lightroom-iPad-Storage.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Finally, tap Clear Cache<\/b>.
![\"Local](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lightroom-Local-Storage.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n💡 If the app you need to clean up doesn\u2019t provide a cache management option, you can delete and reinstall<\/b> the app instead. This process removes accumulated documents & data, which make up the app\u2019s cache files. Just make sure to back up any important data first.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Method 4:<\/span> Reduce YouTube Storage on iPad<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
YouTube has its own method in this guide, because a lot of users<\/a> end up with a bloated YouTube app consuming gigabytes of storage space (way more than when it was first installed). This almost always occurs if you have a YouTube Premium subscription or trial activated, which gives you the ability to download videos (that get locally stored on your iPad).<\/p>\r\n
Maybe you accidentally tapped the Download button, or you knowingly downloaded a bunch of videos and forgot. Either way, we\u2019ll show you how to remove individual downloads, as well as a convenient method to remove all downloads at once.<\/p>\r\n
To delete individual downloads:<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Open the YouTube app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Tap the You<\/b> button from the bottom menu. Then, scroll down to the Library<\/b> section and select the Downloads<\/b> category. A stack of your downloaded content will appear\u2013tap it.
![\"Downloads](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-YouTube-Downloads.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Beside each downloaded video you want to delete, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b>.
![\"YouTube](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/YouTube-Downloads-Menu-Button.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- In the pop-up menu that appears, select Delete from downloads<\/b>.
![\"Deleting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-YouTube-Delete-Downloads.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nTo remove all downloaded YouTube videos at once:<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Open the YouTube app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Tap the You<\/b> button from the bottom menu. Then, tap the gear icon<\/b> ⚙️ in the top right corner of the screen to open YouTube\u2019s settings page.
![\"Settings](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/YouTube-Settings-Button.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Scroll down to the Video and audio preferences<\/b> section, then select Background & downloads<\/b>. Tap Delete downloads<\/b>.
![\"Delete](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/YouTube-Download-Settings.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- In the pop-up dialog that appears, tap Delete<\/b> to confirm the action.
![\"Delete](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/YouTube-Settings-Confirm-Delete.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nDo you have Smart Downloads<\/a> enabled? This feature (also available in Netflix) automatically downloads recommended videos to your local storage; this could be the reason why you\u2019re inexplicably running out of space. You can disable it via the YouTube app > You menu > Downloads > menu button \u22ee > Smart Downloads<\/b>.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Method 5:<\/span> Delete Large Messages and Attachments<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
The issue of messages taking up space on iPad is usually attributed to attachments. The Messages app can build up a large amount of local data when conversations contain photos, videos, GIFs, voice messages, and other multimedia files.<\/p>\r\n
We\u2019ll show you the most direct way to remove downloaded attachments from specific conversations, which is especially useful if you already have an idea where most of the attachments are coming from.<\/p>\r\n
If iOS detects that you\u2019ve accumulated a lot of heavy attachments, you may (not always) find a Recommendation<\/b> in your iPad Storage page (Settings app > General > iPad Storage). This feature lets you eliminate the biggest attachments right from the Settings app, without having to manually locate them in your messages.<\/div>\r\n- \r\n\t
- Open the Messages app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Find and open the conversation with the attachments you want to delete. Then, tap your contact\u2019s profile icon right above your messages.
![\"Open](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Messages-Thread.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t - On your contact\u2019s page, tap the Photos<\/b> category. Then, tap Edit<\/b> in the top right corner of the screen.
![\"Message](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Messages-Attachments.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Choose Select Photos<\/b> in the pop-up that appears.
![\"Selecting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Select-Attachments-Messages.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Tap the photo and video attachments you want to remove. Then, tap the trash button 🗑️<\/b> in the bottom right corner of the screen.
![\"Deleting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Delete-Message-Attachments.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Finally, tap Delete Photos<\/b> to confirm the action.
![\"Delete](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Messages-Attachments-Confirm-Delete.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nDeletion may not be necessary if you enable iCloud for Messages; this setting offloads old, unviewed attachments to Apple\u2019s servers and removes them from local storage.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Method 6:<\/span> Clean Up Downloads and the Files App<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Most users treat their iPad more like a computer than a phone, so the Files app often accumulates PDFs, ZIP archives, videos, exported projects, email attachments, browser downloads, and other work-related files.<\/p>\r\n
In this section, we\u2019ll show you how to clean up the Files app on your iPad and where to look for downloaded files and folders.<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Open the Files app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- In the left sidebar under the Locations section, tap On My iPad<\/b>. Then, locate and select the Downloads<\/b> folder. Alternatively, check any large app folders or individual files and folders you may have forgotten about.
![\"Local](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Files-Local-Downloads.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Tap Select<\/b> in the top right corner of the screen.
![\"Selecting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Select-Items-Files-App.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Select the files you want to delete. Then, tap the trash button 🗑️<\/b>in the top right corner of the screen.
![\"Deleting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Files-App-Delete-Downloads.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n⚠️ Don\u2019t forget to delete your files again from the Recently Deleted folder, which you can find in the left sidebar under the Locations section.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Method 7:<\/span> Remove Downloaded Movies, Music, Podcasts<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Offline media is one of the easiest data types to get overlooked, yet it can be devastating for your storage space. Picture this: you downloaded 20 gigabytes worth of music playlists, Netflix episodes, and podcasts to prepare for a 14-hour flight. Then, after your trip, you\u2019ve completely forgotten about your digital haul.<\/p>\r\n
These downloads were saved to your iPad\u2019s local storage, so you can access them without a network connection. You\u2019ll find this feature in most content streaming apps (e.g., Apple Music, Disney+, Prime Video, etc.); while useful, it\u2019s a quick way to run out of space. We\u2019ll show you how to remove downloaded content from the Podcasts app, but the steps should look similar for other apps as well.<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Open the Music app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- In the left sidebar, select Downloaded<\/b>. Then, tap Songs<\/b>.
![\"Downloads](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Music-Downloaded-Page.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Beside each downloaded song you want to remove from your local storage, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b>.
![\"Downloaded](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Music-Downloaded-Songs.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- In the pop-up menu that appears, tap Remove Download<\/b>.
![\"Removing](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Music-Remove-Downloads.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/span>Method 8:<\/span> Keep Files in iCloud Without Keeping Local Copies<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\r\n
If iCloud Drive is enabled on your iPad, a great option to free up local storage space is to remove downloaded copies of iCloud files. This option keeps a file in the same folder location and safe in iCloud\u2019s servers, while its footprint is removed from your device\u2019s storage.<\/p>\r\n
The file only gets re-downloaded to your iPad if you try to view, edit, or share it. This is particularly useful for large PDFs, videos, project files, archives, and documents you don\u2019t need to access offline.<\/p>\r\n
This applies to files already stored in iCloud Drive. If you have files in the On My iPad<\/b> category, you can move them to iCloud Drive so the method works.<\/div>\r\n- \r\n\t
- Open the Files app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- In the left sidebar, tap iCloud Drive<\/b>. Locate the files and folders you want to remove from your local storage. Then, tap Select<\/b> in the top right corner of the screen.
![\"iCloud](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Files-App-iCloud-Drive.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Tap items to make your selection. Then, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b> (not the trash button!).
![\"Selecting](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Select-iCloud-Drive-Files.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- In the pop-up menu that appears, select Remove Download<\/b>.
![\"Removing](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Remove-Downloads-iCloud-iPad.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n⚠️ Make sure you don\u2019t select the Delete<\/b> option by accident! Remove Download<\/b> simply deletes the local copy; Delete<\/b> eliminates the file from all devices.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>What to Do So Your iPad Storage Doesn\u2019t Fill Up Again<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
After freeing up space on your iPad, there\u2019s more you can do to make storage management a bit easier. iPadOS provides several convenient ways to manage and optimize your data, so your files permanently take up less space on your device. In this section, we\u2019ll show you how to access and use these features.<\/p>\r\n
<\/span>Automatically Offload Unused Apps<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Do you install a lot of apps on your iPad, only to completely forget about them later? I do. For people like us, the Automatically Offload Unused Apps<\/b> feature can help reclaim storage space being wasted on apps we won\u2019t want or need to use right now.<\/p>\r\n
Unlike uninstalling an app, offloading it preserves local documents and data; if you ever need to use the app again, you can immediately pick up where you left off. This section will show you how to automate this process, so you don\u2019t need to manually hunt down and offload apps you don\u2019t use.<\/p>\r\n
⚠️ Offloading an app only helps free up storage space if the app binary itself is the problem; if it has accumulated a lot of app files (cache, documents & data), you\u2019ll get better results by deleting and reinstalling the app (which eliminates all local data).<\/div>\r\n- \r\n\t
- Open the Settings app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Scroll down to the very bottom of the left sidebar and select Apps<\/b>. Then, select the App Store<\/b>, which is usually at the very top of the list.
![\"App](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Settings-App-Store.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- On the App Store settings page, scroll down to the bottom and locate the Offload Unused Apps<\/b> setting. Slide the toggle switch to the ON<\/b> position (it should turn green).
![\"Offload](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Offload-Unused-Apps.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/span>Optimize Photo Storage With iCloud<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
If you have a big library, one of the most powerful and convenient ways to manage its storage footprint is to activate the Optimize iPad Storage<\/b> feature for iCloud Photos. When you enable this setting, iPadOS starts uploading the original, high-resolution copies of your photos and videos to iCloud\u2019s servers.<\/p>\r\n
Then, space-saving copies are retained on your device; this means that your library will normally take up much less storage space than it originally did. Don\u2019t worry\u2013the original, high-resolution versions of your media are redownloaded whenever you try to view, edit, or share them.<\/p>\r\n
⚠️ For massive libraries, iCloud\u2019s default 5 GB free storage may not be enough; you might have to upgrade to a paid iCloud+ subscription<\/a>. And you\u2019ll need a reliable internet connection anytime you want to view or export photos and videos in their original quality. So if you often work offline or edit large videos, this feature may not be for you.<\/div>\r\n- \r\n\t
- Open the Settings app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- In the left sidebar, tap your Apple ID<\/b>. Then, scroll down the Apple Account page and select iCloud<\/b>.
![\"iCloud](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-iCloud-Settings.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- In the Saved to iCloud section, tap Photos<\/b>.
![\"iCloud](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-iCloud-Photos.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Beside the Sync this iPad<\/b> setting, slide the toggle switch to the ON<\/b> position (it should turn green). Then, tap the Optimize iPad Storage<\/b> option, which should result in a check mark ✔️<\/b> appearing beside it.
![\"Synchronization](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-iCloud-Sync-Optimization.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/span>Limit Automatic and Offline Downloads<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
Many of the streaming apps that let you download offline content add an automation functionality. If you find a setting that sounds like \u201cSmart Downloads\u201d or \u201cAutomatic Downloads\u201d, it lets you authorize the app to save content on your behalf, based on its recommendation system (e.g., Podcasts auto-downloads 5 episodes of a show).<\/p>\r\n
Often, an auto-delete feature is not included<\/b>. You\u2019ll have to manually remove downloaded content you no longer want or have already consumed. We\u2019ll show you how to disable this feature in the Podcasts app, but the process should look similar for any other streaming app.<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Open the Settings app.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Scroll down to the bottom of the left sidebar and select Apps<\/b>. Then, locate and select Podcasts<\/b> (or whichever app you want to modify the settings for).
![\"Podcasts](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iPad-Settings-Podcasts.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- On the app\u2019s settings page, scroll down to the Automatic Downloads section and tap Automatically Download<\/b>.
![\"Automatically](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Podcasts-Automatically-Download-Setting.png\")
<\/li>\r\n\t- Tap Off<\/b>.
![\"Turning](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Settings-Podcasts-Auto-Off.png\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nSome apps provide this option in their in-app settings page, so make sure you look for and disable any feature that sounds like automatically downloading episodes, videos, playlists, or other content.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Check iPad Storage Periodically<\/span><\/h3>\r\n
The most straightforward way to keep your iPad storage under control is to simply be proactive about keeping it clean. And when you run low, the worst offenders are usually apps or your photo library\u2014so keep an eye on the iPad Storage page (covered in this section) and regularly clean up your photos and videos.<\/p>\r\n
💡 If you capture a lot of photos, videos, or screenshots, we recommend keeping a cleaning app<\/a> installed on your device. Clever Cleaner (which we covered earlier<\/a>) is a good option because it has both manual features (Swipe) and automatic features (Smart cleanup), as well as the ability to compress media.<\/div>\r\n<\/span>Conclusion<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
We covered a lot<\/i> of iPad cleanup strategies. So, here\u2019s a short summary of each method we demonstrated, as well as their links, so you can easily jump back in later:<\/p>\r\n
- \r\n\t
- Start with deleting old or unwanted apps<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Next, clean up your photo library<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- For apps you do want to keep, try cleaning their caches<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Got YouTube installed? If it looks bigger than usual, it may be due for a cleanup<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- If you send and receive a lot of attachments, it\u2019s definitely worth cleaning up your messages<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Downloaded files are easily forgotten. Check the Files app<\/a> for anything you can delete. If you don\u2019t want to delete anything, consider removing their local copies<\/a> instead.<\/li>\r\n\t
- Finally, check your remaining apps for any offline content<\/a> you don\u2019t need.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
<\/span>FAQ<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
- Next, clean up your photo library<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t
- On the app\u2019s settings page, scroll down to the Automatic Downloads section and tap Automatically Download<\/b>.
- In the Saved to iCloud section, tap Photos<\/b>.
- On the App Store settings page, scroll down to the bottom and locate the Offload Unused Apps<\/b> setting. Slide the toggle switch to the ON<\/b> position (it should turn green).
- Tap items to make your selection. Then, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b> (not the trash button!).
- Beside each downloaded song you want to remove from your local storage, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b>.
- Tap Select<\/b> in the top right corner of the screen.
- Choose Select Photos<\/b> in the pop-up that appears.
- Scroll down to the Video and audio preferences<\/b> section, then select Background & downloads<\/b>. Tap Delete downloads<\/b>.
- Beside each downloaded video you want to delete, tap the meatball menu button \u22ef<\/b>.
- Select App settings<\/b>.
- Run Clever Cleaner and wait for it to finish scanning your iPad. Then, tap Similars<\/b>.
- Media compression:<\/b> For photos and videos you don\u2019t want to delete, you can compress them instead. Compression can reduce the size of media at a small to moderate cost to visual quality. Most apps can only compress videos, so this is pretty cool.
- Scroll down to your list of iPad apps, then sort them by size or date last used. Tap any app you want to delete or offload.
- Photos:<\/b> iPad photos and videos take up a lot of space, especially when used with special modes like Live Photos and HDR. Cleaning up your library<\/a> can easily free up gigabytes’ worth of storage, especially if you have a lot of videos.<\/li>\r\n\t