If you want to free up space on your iPhone as fast as humanly possible, stop deleting photos and start deleting videos. A single 10-minute video can take up the same amount of space as 1,000 photos.
But finding the largest videos in a camera roll of 20,000 items can be tricky. Here is the absolute fastest way to track them down and delete them.
Method 1: The Hidden Storage Manager
Most people try to find videos by scrolling through the Photos app. This is the wrong way to do it because the Photos app does not let you sort by file size. Instead, use the Settings app.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap General, then tap iPhone Storage.
- Wait a few seconds for the list to load, then tap on the Photos app.
- Tap on Review Personal Videos.
This hidden menu is a lifesaver. It automatically lists all the videos on your iPhone, starting with the absolute largest file at the top. It will show you exactly how many megabytes (or gigabytes) each video is using.
To delete one, simply swipe left on the video in the list and tap the red Delete button.
Method 2: The Videos Album
If you want to watch the videos before deciding to delete them, the Settings app method is a bit clunky. The native Photos app is better for reviewing.
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap on Albums at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down to the "Media Types" section and tap Videos.
This filters out all your photos and shows only videos. Look for the timestamps in the bottom right corner of the thumbnails. Any video longer than 3 minutes is likely taking up a massive amount of space. Tap Select in the top right, pick the long videos you no longer care about, and hit the trash can.
Method 3: Check iMessage Videos
Sometimes the videos taking up all your space are not in your camera roll at all. They are in your text messages.
- Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Messages.
- Tap on Videos.
This shows every video someone has ever texted you. You can safely delete these large files here without deleting the actual text conversation.
Crucial Final Step
When you delete a video from the Photos app, your iPhone does not actually destroy the file. It moves it to the "Recently Deleted" folder for 30 days, meaning you haven't freed up any storage space yet.
To finish the job, go to Albums, scroll down to Recently Deleted, authenticate, tap Select, and tap Delete All.
A Faster Way to Review
If you have hundreds of short videos (like concert clips or pet videos) and you only want to keep the best ones, tapping thumbnails is tedious. Use Swipe Photo Cleaner. It plays your videos in full screen automatically. If the video is boring or blurry, swipe left to trash it. If it is a great memory, swipe right to keep it. It is the fastest way to curate your media.