Large files
Find large files on iPhone and clear them.
The few files that eat most of your storage are videos. Sort them by size, decide file by file, then delete or compress.
Free forever No ads, no subscription Core cleanup runs on-device
The arithmetic that explains your storage
A photo is usually one to four megabytes. A minute of 4K video at 60 fps is roughly 350 to 400 MB, and about half that at 30 fps. ProRAW photos land around 25 MB each, and a two-minute screen recording can pass 150 MB.
Put those numbers side by side and the conclusion is unavoidable: you can delete two thousand photos and free less space than deleting six long videos. Any cleanup that ignores file size is working on the wrong end of the problem, which is why finding your largest files first is the highest-yield move available.
Roughly, per item
- Photo (HEIC): 1–4 MB
- ProRAW photo: 20–30 MB
- Live Photo: about double a still
- Screenshot: 1–3 MB
- Screen recording: 50–200 MB per couple of minutes
- 4K video: 350–400 MB per minute at 60 fps
Sorting your library by size
The Large Files tool lists the biggest items in your photo library with their real sizes and lets you sort by size or date. A threshold control sets the floor, so you can look at everything above 50 MB when you have time, or everything above 500 MB when you have two minutes.
- Sort by size, largest first. The top ten items are usually where the gigabytes are.
- Decide per file. Export the ones worth keeping somewhere else, or compress them in place.
- Share before deleting. Multi-select export writes the originals to a folder you choose, so nothing valuable is lost when the file leaves your library.
- Compress rather than delete for clips you want to keep at full length but do not need at full bitrate.
Files whose size cannot be read, which usually means they are still in iCloud, are counted separately rather than being reported as zero bytes, so the totals you see are honest.
Delete or compress? A simple rule
Delete it
You will not watch it again: an accidental recording, a clip already backed up elsewhere, a long video of an event you have photos of. Deletion returns the full file size and costs you nothing.
Compress it
You want to keep it, but not at 4K: birthday videos, travel footage, anything you might share. Re-encoding typically cuts a file to a fraction of its size while looking identical on a phone screen.
TidyByte does both from the same list, which is the point: you see the file, you see its size, and you decide whether it stays big, gets smaller, or goes.
Where large files usually hide
- Slowed-down and time-lapse clips. Slo-mo footage records at high frame rates, so a few seconds can be large.
- Screen recordings. Frequently forgotten, rarely watched, and often minutes long.
- Imported camera footage. Anything copied from a DSLR or drone arrives at full bitrate.
- Old messages media. Videos saved from chat apps keep their original size.
- Duplicated large videos. A restore can leave you with two copies of the biggest file you own.
Run this tool first on any library that has never been cleaned. Nothing else returns as much space per minute of attention.
How it compares
| TidyByte | iOS Storage settings | Typical paid cleaner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shows individual large files | Sorted list with sizes | Only an app total | Usually only a total |
| Adjustable size threshold | Yes, from a few megabytes up | No | Rarely |
| Share or export before deleting | Yes, multi-select export | One file at a time | Rarely |
| Compress instead of delete | Yes, video and photo presets | No | Sometimes |
| Files with unknown size reported | Yes, counted separately | No | No |
| Cost | Free | Free | Subscription |
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Free forever
No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads.
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Private by design
No TidyByte account, backend, analytics SDK, ads, or tracking.
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On-device only
iPhone-library cleanup runs locally; optional Google Photos connects directly to Google.
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Open source
MIT licensed on GitHub, so every claim is auditable.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the largest files on my iPhone?
TidyByte's Large Files tool lists the biggest items in your photo library with their exact sizes and sorts them by size or date. On most libraries the top of that list is 4K video, followed by screen recordings and ProRAW photos, which is why the tool is usually the fastest way to reclaim real space.
Why do videos take so much more space than photos?
A 4K clip records roughly 350 MB for every minute, while a single photo is usually 2 to 5 MB. A handful of long videos can outweigh thousands of photos, so clearing or compressing them returns far more space per decision than deleting images.
Can I keep a video but make it smaller?
Yes. TidyByte's Video Compression tool re-encodes the clip at a preset you choose, verifies the resulting file is genuinely smaller, saves it to your library, and only then offers to remove the original. You keep the memory and lose the excess bitrate.
What happens to files whose size the app cannot read?
Some iCloud-only assets do not report a size until they are downloaded. TidyByte counts those separately instead of pretending they are zero bytes, so the totals you see are honest and you can decide whether to download them before cleaning.
Is it safe to delete the largest files first?
It is the highest-yield approach, but only after you have looked at them. Export the ones you want to keep elsewhere, then delete. Everything removed goes to Recently Deleted for 30 days, which is your safety net if you change your mind.
Every cleanup tool, in one free app
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Storage cleaner
See exactly what is filling your iPhone, then clear it: duplicates, oversized videos, screenshots, blurry shots and Live Photos. Free, with iPhone-library cleanup on-device.
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Video compression
4K clips are what fill iPhones. Re-encode them at a preset you choose, check the real file size, then decide what to do with the original.
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Burst photos
A ten-second burst is thirty photos, and twenty-nine of them are waste. Group them, keep the best frame, clear the rest.
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Photo cleaner
One free app that clears every kind of photo clutter — duplicates, similar shots, screenshots, screen recordings, chat media, blur, bursts, Live Photos and oversized videos. iPhone-library cleanup runs on-device.
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Duplicate cleaner
Exact copies matched byte-for-byte, plus near-identical shots grouped by Apple's Vision framework. Review every group, keep the best, delete the rest.
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Similar photos
Twenty shots of the same moment, one worth keeping. Group them, score them, keep the best — without a subscription.
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Screenshot cleaner
Screenshots pile up faster than any other kind of photo. Find them all, review them in one list, clear them in a single pass.
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Blurry photos
Sharpness, darkness and overexposure scored on-device, with a sensitivity control you can tune. Keep the memories, bin the misses.
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Live Photo converter
Every Live Photo carries a short video you rarely watch. Keep the still, lose the motion, keep the metadata.
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Image compression
Re-encode the photos that are larger than they need to be, choose the quality, and see exactly how many megabytes each one returned.
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Photo organizer
Sort thirty thousand photos without renaming a single file: browse by category, year or album, and make keep-or-delete decisions in one pass.
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Free, no subscription
No paywall on the delete button. No weekly plan. No ads between photos. Free because there is no TidyByte backend, ad system, or subscription to fund.
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Screen recordings
Screen recordings are the largest files nobody remembers making. Find every one, see its size, and clear them in a single pass.
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Chat media
Every chat app quietly saves photos and videos into your library. Review them by album and clear the ones you never meant to keep.
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AI photo search
Describe what you are looking for. Local AI searches the iPhone library on-device and works offline for photos already available there. Optional Google Photos is separate in enabled builds.
See your biggest files first.
Download TidyByte Free, sort by size, and clear the handful of files holding gigabytes hostage.