this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2026

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How do i stop the android system from using all my free space? (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by postmateDumbass@lemmy.world to c/askandroid

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hours ago i freed up ~600 mb of space.

It is now gone and i have downloaded less than 10mb of items.

Android ate all the remaining space and now will not stop nagging me to delete my files.

Android should delete whatever it decided to do that ate up 500+mb.

It happens all the goddamn time.

I feel violated by the operating system.

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[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Most likely you don't have enough space on your phone...

Delete all your cache, then turn the size for it down as low as possible.

But you'll most likely still need to delete something else to give the operating system some breathing room.

You can't just get your phone to slightly below limit and then use it. Everything on there is going to cache data. You need to leave some headroom, so delete some apps or media after you lower the caches.

[+] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world -6 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Do you lack reading comprehension?

Go back and try again.

See where i did make space.

See where andriid ate it.

Now tell me how to stop it.

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I understand it can be frustrating when people don't read what you've written properly, but no need to be a dickhead. They were still trying to help.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 7 points 6 days ago

OP didnt even provide enough information to go on.

500mb on a phone today is Jack and shit. If 500mb is causing them to run out of space, something is very wrong - without knowing what phone and what Android version we can't help them.

I'll lay odds that OP has a bunch of crap on his phone that he put there.

I have an answer for him, but given his attitude he can pound sand.

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 6 points 6 days ago

Also, for the record, I agree with them, your device doesn't have enough disk space and probably RAM. Hence whatever service keeps offloading whatever to disk.

It seems reminiscent of the people with Xiaomi phones that are very vocal about their disappointment in Mozilla for their inability to circumvent Xiaomi's aggressive memory management… just buy a better phone. A decent phone, Pixel 6 Pro can easily last five years. In fact, even a second hand one is still eligible for updates for the next couple years.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Now tell me how to stop it.

I already did, you just didn't understand and got upset, why would you think I'd try again?

You do realize you're asking people for help, not calling into T-Mobile customer support, right?

[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

How much storage space does your phone have total?

[–] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's because Android is designed to run every goddamned app you have installed just on the off chance it needs to phone home and/or gets a notification. You can't keep apps installed that you only use once every few months or something, or they'll be run in the background without notice, too. Android gives the user little to no control over this.

Every app gets run, then swapped out to cache files (where all your space is going) because it makes Android seem "faster" (especially on older or more limited hardware) as the initialization routines of the app are already done - all it needs to do is bring the cache files back into active RAM and it's ready to use. Nice if you actually USE all those apps constantly, but if you have a large number of apps installed while only using a small subset of them regularly then it just results in wasted storage space, CPU cycles, battery power, etc

There are a number of apps that will "freeze" most other apps to try to prevent them from running, but it doesn't always work (I'm not an expert, so I'm not going to try to explain why as I'll probably get some details wrong). Nonetheless, they are helpful enough with most to be worth using, IMHO. I personally use "Hail" with "Shizuku" (for the elevated privileges necessary). Both are available on F-Droid.

ETA: Another option is to "back up" the APK file (there are a number of apps that'll do this) to local storage, then uninstall the app & only install it when you need to use it. Recent versions of Android will let you keep the app data so it's there when you need it upon reinstalling. Just make sure to clear the cache to free up space before uninstalling (might work afterwards with a cache cleaner, too - not sure).