Declutter Your Phone to Make It Run Better and Save Battery Life

The estimated reading time for this post is 4 minutes

Any time is a good time to declutter your phone, so why not do it now? If one of your new year’s resolutions is to tidy up your home, office and/or car, you can also add tidying up your phone to your list.

By taking just a few minutes to declutter, you can make your phone run better and save battery life. You also can protect your privacy by changing your permissions for apps and save time by unsubscribing from emails using your phone.

Delete Unused Apps

The first task in tidying up is to delete unused apps on your phone. Maybe you don’t use some apps on your phone any longer. Or maybe you have an app that you downloaded to your iPad got downloaded onto your iPhone and you never use it there.

Perhaps some apps are obsolete because they aren’t compatible with your phone’s operating system. See  => Why Your Favorite iPhone Apps May Not Work in iOS 11.

Whatever the reason, delete these unused apps from your phone.

Tip: Your iPhone can automatically delete apps you aren’t using. Go to Settings =>Apps => iTunes & App Stores => Offload Unused Apps and turn it on.

Delete Unused Bluetooth Connections

Bluetooth is a handy way to connect your phone to speakers, earbuds, cars, Amazon Echo, and other devices. But when was the last time you checked the Bluetooth connections on your phone?

If you’ve owned your phone a while, you probably have devices you no longer use that are still paired with your phone. Maybe you connected your phone to a rental car on your last vacation. Or maybe you paired your phone with earbuds you lost long ago.

Delete any Bluetooth devices you’re no longer using from your phone. On the iPhone, go to Settings => Bluetooth to see your paired devices. Tap on the ⓘ next to the name of the device, then tap Forget This Device on the next screen. On Android devices, tap Settings => Connected devices => Bluetooth. Tap the name of the device, then tap Unpair or Forget.

Check Your Phone’s Location Settings

Some apps just love to track you, even when they really don’t need to do that in order to work. Some apps must use your location to work well, such as maps and weather. But other apps may have no reason to know where you are, such as a puzzle or calculator app.

Apps may ask for location permission when you first download them, and you may give it, not stopping to think why they may want it.

Don’t miss => How to Know Which Apps Are Tracking Your Location

Ever since iOS 11, iPhone apps must have the option of following your location only when using the app. Be sure to check which option you want for each app:

• Always
• While Using the App
• Never

An app tracking your location can drain the battery and be an invasion of your privacy.

On the iPhone, go to Settings => Privacy => Location Services and check which apps have permission to track your location. For Android, go to Settings => Security & location. Tap the name of the app, then Use Location => Off.

Control Notifications

Notifications are a handy way to get alerts about important events. But sometimes you can get overwhelmed with notifications on your phone if they come too often. They can distract from your everyday life and take attention away from what’s going on in the real world.

With iOS 12 on iPhone, notifications are clustered into groups so your phone screen isn’t covered by repetitive notifications.

Also see, How to Customize Group Notifications on Your iPhone

To manage your notifications on your iPhone, go to Settings => Notifications then adjust the notifications for each app to make them work best for you. On Android, go to Settings => Applications then tap each app to see the notification settings for it.

Medical ID Information

The iPhone has a potentially life-saving feature called Medical ID. Enter health information about yourself, including your emergency contacts, allergies, prescriptions you are taking and any relevant medical conditions. In case of emergency, first responders can access this information from your lock screen.

Check out => ICE: How the Apple Health App May Save Your Life

If you haven’t set up your Medical ID information, do it now. If you set it up a while ago, check it to see if the information is up to date. Make sure your emergency contacts and medical information are current.

To enter or change your Medical ID information, go to the Health app on your iPhone. At the bottom of the screen, tap Medical ID. If you’ve already entered information, you’ll see it there. Tap Edit at the top right corner of the screen to change the information. If you haven’t entered the information, do it now.

Unsubscribe from Emails

Keep your inbox organized by unsubscribing from emails. You may jump at the opportunity to get a discount at checkout by signing up for a merchant’s email list. But when your inbox gets bombarded about 3 times a deal with promo emails, you may regret that decision.

Unsubscribing from emails from your phone has never been easier. Learn more at => 3 Easy Ways to Unsubscribe from Email Lists

Your Thoughts

Have you decluttered your phone recently? Do you have unused apps you need to delete? Do you have your current Medical ID information on your iPhone? What steps do you take to tidy up your phone?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

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*Phone in Air image (edited) courtesy of Neil Soni via Unsplash

**Apps image (edited) courtesy of Photo by Rami Al-zayat via Unsplash