How to find large and duplicate files on iPhone
Open the Files app, go to a folder such as Downloads, switch to list view and sort by Size to see the biggest files first. iOS has no duplicate finder for files, so copies have to be spotted by name and size. Deleted files stay in Recently Deleted in Files for 30 days.
1. Find the biggest files
- Open the Files app and tap Browse.
- Start with Downloads: Safari saves there, in iCloud Drive, or in On My iPhone if iCloud Drive is off.
- Tap the More button (…) at the top, choose List, then sort by Size. The biggest files come first.
- Do the same in the other folders under On My iPhone and iCloud Drive.
2. Spot the duplicates
The Files app can't compare files. A copy of a download usually has the same name with a number added, or sits in a second folder. Sorted by size, two files of exactly the same size side by side are worth a look: open both before you delete either.
3. Delete, then empty Recently Deleted
- Touch and hold a file, then tap Delete.
- Deleted files go to Browse → Recently Deleted and stay there for 30 days.
- To get the space back now, open Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose the files and delete them.
4. Keep it in iCloud, not on the phone
A file in iCloud Drive can stay in iCloud and leave the phone: touch and hold it and tap Remove Download. It downloads again the next time you open it.
With RefreshMyPhone
RefreshMyPhone's Files clean-up looks in folders you choose, such as Downloads or On My iPhone, and finds two things: identical copies, compared byte for byte, and files over 50 MB, largest first. It can only see the folders you pick.
In each set of copies the oldest is kept, which is usually the original, and you can tap another to keep that one instead. Files go to Recently Deleted in the Files app where the folder allows it; if one can only be deleted for good, you're asked first. The Android app does the same in folders such as Documents.
On the App Store now; coming soon to Google Play. Free to scan; €9.99 a year unlocks every clean-up.