What’s in the “other” section of my storage?
My storage on my phone is full but the section that’s taking up most of it is the “other” section. What’s in the “other” section of my storage?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 7 Plus
Question marked as
About cached files in "Other"
iTunes categorizes cached music, videos, and photos as Other instead of actual songs, videos, or photos. Cached files are created when you stream or view content like music, videos, and photos. When you stream music or video, that content is stored as cached files on your iOS device so you can quickly access it again.
Your iOS device automatically removes cached files and temporary files when your device needs more space.
If storage on an iOS device differs from what you see in iTunes
Since iTunes categorizes cached files as Other, reported usage for Music or Videos might differ. To view usage on your iOS device, go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage.
Content categories
iOS divides the used content in these categories:
- Apps: Installed apps and their content
- Photos: Photos and videos stored in the Photos app
- Media: Music, videos, podcasts, ringtones, and artwork
- Mail: Emails and their attachments
- Apple Books: Books and PDFs in the Books app
- Messages: Messages and their attachments
- iCloud Drive: iCloud Drive content that has been downloaded locally to your device.
- Other: Everything else, like system files, software updates, Siri voices, cached files, logs, and more.
iOS only displays the top categories. If a category doesn't take much space, it might be counted as "Other." Storage space taken by "System" is a combination of space taken by iOS and its supporting files. The amount of space required by "System" varies from device to device depending on the device type, model, country, carrier, Siri voices, and more.
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