Do you regularly get the message that the memory of your smartphone is (almost) full, but you have no idea what it actually contains? With the Files by Google application, you can quickly and easily sweep through your phone. PlusOnline explains.
Files by Google is very user-friendly and shows a clear summary of what is on your phone. The app also offers suggestions for cleaning your smartphone. For example, you can see which apps are never used, but do take up space. You can also see which files are taking up a lot of space. With a few clicks you can delete these files and this will free up space on the device.
That is how it works
On some smartphones, the Google application is already installed by default. Search your apps for Files by Google. Isn’t it on your phone yet? Download the application here before continuing with the step-by-step plan below.
clean up
- Open Files by Google
Now you can immediately see how much space is being used on the device and what the total capacity of the device is.
We’ll start with getting rid of temporary files. These are residual files that have become redundant and you can safely throw them away.
- Tap on Unwanted files
- Tap on clean up
After that, you can proceed to delete media and videos in WhatsApp, large files, downloaded files and old screenshots. Click each category and then select and delete the media you no longer use.
You may not see all the categories mentioned above. The app only shows the options that apply to your files. If you don’t have old screenshots, you won’t see that either.
Unused apps
We will briefly highlight unused apps. Chances are the app will show this category.
- Click under Remove unused apps on Select apps.
You will now see some apps that you probably never use.
- Select the apps you want to remove and click Remove.
Set up notifications
Files has another handy option. The app can notify you if the storage space on your device is running out. Then you don’t have to keep checking Files yourself to see if the space is running out. You choose for which category you enable a notification, for example for:
- Unused apps (app that hasn’t been used for more than 30 days)
- Downloaded files (which take up a lot of space)
- Duplicate files
You can enable notifications like this:
- Open the app Traffic jams
- Tap the three horizontal lines at the top left
- Tap on Institutions
- Tap on notifications
- Tap the option for which you want to receive a notification (if the slider is blue, the notification is active)
- Close the app
