Running out of storage is a common frustration for smartphone users, especially since phones with higher storage capacity come at a premium. For people using devices with limited space, the constant “Storage Full” alert—whether while taking photos or downloading apps—can be extremely annoying. Over time, phones quietly fill up with duplicate images, repeated selfies, blurry shots, and multiple copies of photos and videos shared through apps like WhatsApp. These unnecessary files consume a significant amount of space, slowing down the device and affecting overall performance.

What many users don’t realize is that Google Photos has a smart, lesser-known feature that can help free up hundreds of megabytes—or even gigabytes—of storage in just a few taps. This built-in tool automatically identifies duplicate, similar, blurry, and old photos, allowing users to clean their gallery without manually searching through thousands of images. It’s one of the safest and easiest ways to declutter your phone and make it run smoothly again.

Freeing up storage not only improves your phone’s speed and performance but also makes your photo library easier to organize and navigate. Before deleting anything, it’s important to ensure your photos are backed up. Open the Google Photos app, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, go to Photo Settings, and enable “Back up & sync.” Once your photos and videos are safely stored in the cloud, you can use the “Free up space” option to remove already backed-up files from your device.

For even better results, head to the Library tab and open the Utilities section, where the app’s suggestion tools help detect blurry, similar, or old images. You can review these suggestions and delete files individually or in bulk. Large videos can also be moved to the Archive, keeping them safe in the cloud while freeing valuable space on your phone. With these simple steps, you can reclaim storage, reduce clutter, and enjoy a faster, more responsive smartphone experience.