The estimated reading time for this post is 6 minutes
As attached as we are to our cell phones, we can also become frustrated with them. Our phones may run out of space, show meaningless notifications and/or get cluttered with unused apps. We also may be giving up privacy because of long-forgotten app permissions we gave in the past.
By taking a few minutes to clean up our cell phones, we’ll have phones that better suit our needs. They will have more space, give us more relevant notifications, and share less information about us with third-parties.
When we clean our phones we make them work better for us. Who wouldn’t want that?
Here are steps you can take to clean up your phone:
Delete Apps You Don’t Use
If you’ve had your phone for a while, or set a new phone from the backup of an older phone, you may have apps on your phone that you no longer use. Maybe it’s a game app you conquered or a travel app for a place you’re not visiting any time soon.
Or maybe you downloaded an app for a music streaming service you no longer use.
Or maybe you still have 32-bit apps on your iPhone that no longer work after iOS 11. If the developer hasn’t updated the app to 64-bit so it works on iOS 11, then that developer probably isn’t going to release an update ever. See, Why Your Favorite iPhone Apps May Not Work in iOS 11.
Whatever the reason, you should get unused apps off of your phone.
If you still want to keep unused apps on your phone in case you need them later, consider making a folder to put unused apps into so you can find them easily and they’ll be out of the way.
Check out => How to Create App Folders for Your iPhone and iPad and Lifewire, How to Make App Folders on Android.
Automatically Delete Unused Apps iPhone
Beginning in iOS 11, you can have your iPhone automatically delete apps you haven’t used in a while. To turn on this feature, go to Settings => iTunes & App Store => Offload Unused Apps.
If you find you need the app again later, you can download the app from the App Store if it’s still available.
Notifications
Do you like getting notifications on your phone? If you have Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), you may like notifications that show you the latest breaking news and other important developments.
Or you may be bothered and get distracted by notifications that alert you to things that can wait, such as the fact that someone Liked your Facebook post, re-pinned your Pinterest pin, or retweeted your tweet.
Now is a great time to review your notifications so that you’re only getting alerts to items that are truly important.
To change your notifications on iPhone, go to Settings => Notifications. Turn off any you no longer want or turn off Sounds, Badges and/or Banners.
If you have an Apple Watch, be sure to review notifications so your wrist isn’t buzzing more than it needs to. Open the Watch app, go to My Watch => Notifications and adjust or turn off notification for your Watch.
On Android, go to Settings => Applications then tap each application to view the notification settings for it.
Privacy
You may need an app to have access to your location, camera and/or microphone to make it the most useful, but you may not need to continue to give it permission. Turn off permissions for app you use infrequently and apps that don’t need to have access to information about you.
If a gaming app such as a word puzzle asks permission to access your location, camera or microphone, stop and ask yourself why it would need those permissions. Feel free to deny permission for any apps that ask for access you don’t want to give.
=> Also see, How to Know Which Apps Are Tracking Your Location.
Review your permissions in Settings and turn off any that aren’t working for you.
In iPhone, go to Settings => Privacy => Camera (or Location Services or Microphone) and review the apps that have those permissions. Turn off any permission you don’t need.
With Location Services, you can change permissions from Always to Only While Using the App. Beginning with iOS 11, all apps must offer “Only While Using” for Location Services.
On Android, go to Settings => Applications then tap each application to view the permissions settings for it.
Cellular Data
Do you run low on your cellular data allotment towards the end of the month? Instead of paying extra for a plan with more data, check your app settings to see which apps can use cellular data.
If you can wait until you’re connected to Wi-Fi to use some apps, you may save money on your data plan by turning off cellular data for apps you don’t need when you’re on the go. If you find yourself frustrated that you can’t use the apps when you’re away from Wi-Fi, you can always turn cellular data back on for those apps.
On the iPhone, go to Settings => Cellular => Cellular Data and turn off any apps you don’t want using your data. Underneath the list of apps, you can see how much cellular data each app has used.
On Android phones you can turn off mobile data for all apps. Go to Settings => Data Usage and turn off Mobile Data.
You can also control which apps use cellular data when you aren’t using them. This video shows how to turn off background cellular data use for each app:
Learn more at the Ting blog: Control which Android apps use background mobile data.
Update Your Apps
You may not think you need to update your apps, but updated apps often squash bugs, make apps work better, and add security fixes.
For the iPhone, go to the App Store app on your iPhone, then open the Updates section. Tap Update All to begin updating your apps. Make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi so you don’t use your cellular data during the updates.
For Android, go to the Play Store app, then swipe from the left side to open the menu. Tap My Apps, then Update All to update your apps.
Photos
Your phone may be loaded with every picture you’ve ever taken. If you have enough space on your phone, then there’s no problem. But if you’re short on space, you may want to move your photos to services such as Google Photos, Amazon Prime Photos or Flickr that can back up your photos, provide free storage, and don’t take up space on your phone.
See :
- Google Photos — Make the Most of Your Memories Easily!
- Flickr – The Solution to Your Photo Storage Issues
- Free Unlimited Photo Storage for Amazon Prime Members!
Your Thoughts
Have you done any Spring cleaning of your cell phone? What did you get rid of or change? Were you surprised by any of the app permissions you had granted?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
______
*Phone image (edited) courtesy of Pexels and Creative Commons
Now, this has been at the bottom of the to-do list for a while, but my iPhone definitely needs some spring cleaning, and STAT! Thanks for the reminder!
Hi Christopher, You’re not alone. Many of us keep using our phones without really thinking about tidying it up. But if we take a few minutes to clean our phones, they should work much better for us.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Christopher.
Hello
Carolyn,
Very informative post you have written. In todays digital world almost Everyone has a smartphone and they use it daily to do lots of work like chatting, calling, downloading, listening music’s and much more. But, our smartphone get slows with time.
Here you have explained necessary steps which are very helpful to clean our smartphone and make them new again. The step by step guide from your side is very easy to know.
Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes,
Praveen verma
Hi Praveen, I’m so glad you found this article helpful. I hope the steps you take help your phone work much better for you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Praveen!
Thanks For This. I realy Hate it When My Iphone Get Slow.
Hi Ben, Yes, a phone can get slow when it’s overloaded with apps and photos and when the settings haven’t been been optimized. By cleaning up your phone, it may work much better for you.