These overlooked storage hogs could be taking up gigabytes on your phone

Published Nov 15, 2026, 6:00 AM EST I cover Android with a focus on productivity, automation, and Google’s ecosystem, including Gemini and everyday apps. With a background in engineering and software development, I tend to go beyond surface-level tips. Before joining AP, I wrote for tech publications such as Gizbot in 2023 and iJunkie (formerly known as iPhoneHacks) from 2021 to 2022. Your phone's storage can fill up surprisingly quickly, even if you don't take many photos, download large games, or save videos. While it's easy to blame apps and media files, some of the biggest storage hogs are things you might not think about checking. The tricky part is that deleting a few photos or uninstalling unused apps might barely make a dent. Messaging apps, browser caches, offline maps, streaming downloads, and even files sitting in trash folders can take up more space than you expect. However, you don't have to delete important photos or sacrifice your favorite apps to reclaim that space. You need to know where to look and what you can safely remove. AICore can take up gigabytes of storage It downloads large AI models to your phone Android AICore is a Google system service that manages Gemini Nano, the company's on-device AI model, on Android phones running Android 14 or later. AICore supports several features you might already use without realizing they're powered by on-device AI. These include smart replies in messaging apps through Gboard, advanced proofreading, speech transcription, scam detection, text translation, and audio summarization. The AI model runs locally, so these features work offline and process information on your device instead of sending it to Google's servers. The downside is that running AI models locally requires storage. If AICore is taking up an unusually large amount of space, check its storage usage under Settings > Apps > AICore. Messaging apps are saving every photo and video Every group chat could be adding to the problem Messaging apps are among the biggest contributors to storage clutter on Android phones. Think about how many photos, videos, GIFs, voice notes, and documents you receive every day through Telegram, Messages, or WhatsApp. You might not save most of them, but these apps can download media automatically. That means files from group chats and individual conversations pile up in your phone's storage. Messages add to storage clutter through downloaded MMS attachments and RCS conversations containing photos and videos. You can check the app's auto-download settings for MMS attachments by tapping your profile picture, selecting Messages settings > Advanced, and looking for Auto-download MMS. Streaming apps keep downloads you might have forgotten about They're hoarding offline content Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police | SkillUp / Master1305 / Shutterstock Streaming apps make it easy to download movies, TV shows, music, and podcasts so you can enjoy them offline. A few downloaded movies or entire TV show seasons take up several gigabytes, and they eat space until you remove them. You can delete individual titles after watching them on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video from the app's Downloads section. Don't overlook music and podcast apps. Spotify stores downloaded albums, playlists, and podcasts locally, while YouTube Music can automatically download songs based on your listening history through its Smart Downloads feature. On YouTube Music, tap your profile picture and select Settings > Downloads and storage to review these settings and use Clear downloads to reclaim space. Spotify has similar controls under Settings and privacy > Data saving and offline. Finally, check the YouTube app if you download videos for offline viewing. Go to Settings > Downloads > Delete all downloads to remove all of them. You can delete a single video by going to Downloads, tapping the menu icon next to a video, and selecting Delete from downloads. App caches can grow much larger than the apps themselves They're building up piles of cached data Apps such as Instagram, Facebook, Chrome, and Reddit constantly download images, videos, thumbnails, and other temporary files to make content load faster the next time you open them. These files are stored in a cache, and they can accumulate as you use an app. If you regularly scroll through these apps, the cached data can take up hundreds of megabytes or even several gigabytes. You don't have to uninstall these apps to reclaim that space. You can clear an individual app's cache without deleting your account information, settings, or personal files. Open Settings > Apps > See all apps, select an app, tap Storage and cache (or Storage on some phones), and select Clear cache. Repeat this for other apps that have accumulated substantial temporary data. You can also check Chrome, which stores cached images and files from websites you visit. Open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, select Delete browsing data, choose a time range, and select Cached images and files before deleting them. Deleted files might still be sitting in your phone's trash Empty the trash to reclaim storage Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police Deleting photos, videos, and documents doesn't always remove them from your phone immediately. Many Android gallery and file management apps have a Trash or Recycle Bin folder that temporarily holds deleted files, giving you a chance to recover something you removed by mistake. However, these files can occupy storage until you permanently delete them or the retention period expires. If you use Google Photos, open the app, tap Collections > Trash, and review the deleted photos and videos. Google keeps deleted items in Trash for 30 days before permanently removing them. If you don't need them, empty the Trash to reclaim space rather than waiting for automatic deletion. It's worth checking your phone's file manager for a similar option. Depending on the manufacturer and app, you might find separate trash folders for photos, documents, recordings, and other files. When your phone starts running out of storage, uninstalling apps or deleting photos might seem like the obvious solution. But some of the biggest culprits hide in places you probably don't think to check. Messaging attachments, forgotten streaming downloads, app caches, and files sitting in the trash can consume gigabytes without you realizing it. You don't need to install a third-party cleaner or perform a major cleanup every week. A little attention to these overlooked settings can help you reclaim space.