Large attachments deleted but storage not freed up

Hi iPhonehater2,

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities. We understand you deleted large attachments from Messages but you're not seeing any extra storage space. You may want to restart your iPhone as the storage may not update right way and sometimes restarting can help. You may also consider managing your photo and video storage to save space by importing the photos and videos you don't need on your device to a computer. This article explains more: Manage your photo and video storage.

"Learn how photos and videos use the storage on your iPhone and iPad, and how you can optimize storage and save space on your devices using iCloud Photos.

The photos, music, apps, and other content that you use and enjoy on your iPhone and iPad take up space in your device’s storage capacity. Your device can fill up quickly depending on the size of its storage capacity and how much content you have. If you see a message that your device's storage is full, you can free up space by using iCloud Photos or deleting content on your device. 

Check to see how much storage you have

See how much storage you have left on your device and in iCloud, and which apps use the most space.

Device storage

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap [device] Storage.

You might see recommendations for optimizing your storage, a list of your apps, and the amount of space that each one uses.

iCloud storage

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap iCloud.

You see how much space you have left in iCloud and if you need to upgrade your storage plan. Tap Manage Account Storage to see how apps are using your storage. 

Store your photos and videos in iCloud

By default, your photos and videos are stored on your device in their original, high-resolution version. This means that they use a lot of space on your iPhone and iPad. With iCloud Photos, you can make more space available on your device and still have access to your entire full-resolution collection wherever you go.

Get started with iCloud Photos:

1. Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos.
2. Tap Sync this iPhone. In iOS 15 or earlier, tap to turn on iCloud Photos.
3. Select Optimize iPhone Storage to save space on your device.

When Optimize Storage is turned on, full-resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud, and, when needed, space-saving copies are stored on your device. And as long as you have enough space in iCloud, you can store as many photos and videos as you want.

If you need more storage

• When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you need more iCloud storage, you can upgrade to iCloud+. 
• If you need more storage on your device, you can transfer the photos and videos that you don't want to store in iCloud to your computer.
• If you need more help with your storage plan — for example, if you bought more storage but you don't see it in your account — contact Apple Support.
• With Recommended for You in iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or later, you can check if there are photos, large files, or backups that you might not need anymore and can delete."

Take care.