The ultimate guide: Discover how to increase your phone storage

Every snap you take, app you use, and music playlist you love and so much more is stored on your phone. Managing the space you have and making sure there’s always room to keep the next best moment close by is key.

Discover all you need to know about how to increase your phone storage, so that struggle becomes a thing of the past.

Phone storage refers to the amount of internal memory a device has. This memory is used to store data, such as apps, photos, videos and downloads on your smartphone. Unlike RAM (Random Access Memory), more related to app usability and performance, your phone’s internal storage is a space for the content you add to a device, like images and apps.

Before finding out how to increase phone storage, it’s a good idea to know where to look to find out exactly how much space you have in the first place. This can be done by heading to your phone’s settings. 

There may be a section on your device titled “About Phone”, “Storage” or “Device Care”. It's here that you’ll see how much storage you have in total, how much is already in use and how much space you have to spare.

Feel you need more space? No problem. There are many ways to free up space, so you can start storing new memories, important files and more.

• Delete old photos: if you have any photos or videos from years ago that you no longer need to keep hold of, delete them from your device. Clearing out images can significantly help to free up internal storage.

• Delete unused apps: apps are known for taking up quite a lot of storage on devices. Remember that app you downloaded on a whim and never opened again? If you don’t need it, hit uninstall.

• Clear app caches: temporary files from apps can impact your internal phone storage. Frequently clearing your app caches can improve how much space remains on your device. Simply go into app settings to clear this.

• Empty your recycle bin: a simple tip, but easily overlooked, your recycle bin can be an unsuspecting harbourer of storage space.

• Delete your downloads: that restaurant menu you downloaded a few months ago, do you need it? The downloads folder can be a hub of storage-zapping files.

• Clean up the data: to make cleaning up phone storage a seamless process, check if your device has a clean up option. Head to the “Smart Storage” feature in your Pixel phone to automatically clear backed-up photos and videos.

Each model in the Pixel line-up offers a variety of internal phone storage. You can choose whether you opt for large capacity, like an impressive 1 TB, or go to a more budget-friendly option with 128 GB to keep the essentials on hand. How you use your phone and what data you tend to store will influence which option you select.

• Pixel 9 Pro Fold: you have either 256 GB or 512 GB to choose from with Pixel 9 Pro Fold. 

• Pixel 9 Pro: enjoy four storage options with Pixel 9 Pro. You can select a device with 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB or a whopping 1 TB of internal storage.

• Pixel 9: in this model, you have the option of either 128 GB or 256 GB of internal memory.

There are several options for expanding phone storage if you feel you’re running low on space even after cleaning up your data. You can add more space by using Google Cloud, upgrading your device to a phone with larger internal memory or using external storage.

Take advantage of Google Cloud and store your special memories in a secure online space. Each Google Account comes with 15 GB of free storage¹, which can be used for your favourite photos, funny family videos, important documents and so much more.

You can even expand your Google Cloud storage further by signing up to Google One. You’ll receive greater storage across Google Drive, Google Photos and Gmail. Options to expand your space start at 100 GB, but plans can go up to as much as 2000 GB.

If you’d rather not expand your space in Google Cloud and prefer the idea of keeping more on your physical device, it may be worth thinking about upgrading your phone. 

Different models have different amounts of storage capacity, and if you’ve found yourself running low and unable to clean out any unnecessary files or apps, looking into the latest models for enhanced internal memory could be helpful. 

In addition to tackling your storage situation, you may also benefit from new and improved features, such as the latest AI-powered tools, increased camera quality and more. Why not compare the Pixel devices to discover what’s on offer and the specs you could enjoy by upgrading?

If your device has an SD card slot, it’s the perfect candidate for external storage. SD cards come in a wide range of sizes, allowing you to choose exactly how much storage you want and need regardless of your device’s internal memory. Make the most of external memory by moving files like videos and high quality photos, that usually take up more space, over to it, freeing up more of your phone’s internal storage.