Some how the original post got locked (I will delete this post if someone can unlock the original).
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251923965
Now the "Other" is increasingly filling up. I deleted everything and every app off the iPad but that just made it worse.
iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi
This support page may be helpful to you:
Do you receive messages with photos or other data? Do you delete photos and not delete them from the Recently Deleted folder? There are other things that can show up in Other for a while.
So I ended up just having to reformat the entire freaking thing and it finally removed the fake data, but we will see how long it lasts. I had an old 16gb ipad mini before this and towards the end I had to constantly reformat it about once a month because the "Other" would gradually use up the entire 16gb.
You can use iMessage with your Apple ID. You do not have to have a phone number, since you don't have an iPhone. See this other User provided Tip regarding Other and see if that helps. What is "Other" and What Can I Do About I… - Apple Community
Thanks, I saw that last week and reluctantly upgraded to 14, but it didn't fix anything, and now my battery life is half as long and the iPad is twice as slow and glitchy.
and so it begins...
No, they won't even let me use the Messages app because I don't own a telephone. I don't use their Photos app/service either.
No, they block it "requires two factor blah blah blah."
But that's all beside the point, I don't use it, it isn't taking up any space, let alone 60gb of space.
Imaginary Data Destroying iPad
