# iPhone memory consumed by mystery pics **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483 "2020-03-28T02:28:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/1 "2020-03-28T02:28:47Z")
I’m trying to free up space. I deleted all but about 5 pics (no videos) and then deleted them from the Recently Deleted folder. However, Photos are still taking up more memory than anything else. 300MB Many of my contacts have profile pics but when I deleted half of the pics, it didn’t drop the memory. I’ll try deleting the others but I expect a similar result. I’ve looked around in other places like Notes but can’t find where these pics might live. I imagine if the pics reside within another app, it would show as memory consumed by that specific app, not to Photos generally. How can I find these pics? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/2 "2020-03-28T04:14:38Z")
Did you look at photos in your text messages? Settings - General - iPhone Storage - Messages - Photos ---
**Author:** ![icbm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@icbm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icbm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/3 "2020-03-28T15:52:05Z")
Release notes of iOS 13.4, which came out a couple of days ago: > [@](#): > > Addresses an issue where Photos may appear to use excess storage From: > **[iOS and iPadOS 13.4 is now available with iPad trackpad and mouse support,...](https://www.macworld.com/article/233813/ios-ipados-13-4-features-release-date-how-to-install-trackpad-folder-sharing.html)** > > iOS and iPadOS 13.4 add big new features like trackpad and mouse support for iPads, iCloud folder sharing, and Universal Purchase support. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/4 "2020-03-28T20:12:38Z")
I deleted all photos from texts and updated my iOS to 13.4. No luck. I know I added many photos in the GameMaster5 app but I would think those would show as Documents and Data for that app and not Photos generally. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/5 "2020-03-28T20:39:28Z")
Are you really obsessing over 300MB? How much free space do you have on your phone? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/6 "2020-03-29T00:55:17Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Are you really obsessing over 300MB? > How much free space do you have on your phone? 16GB total I usually run at around 13.5 to 14GB used. It usually starts getting laggy at about 14.5 used. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/7 "2020-03-29T01:18:21Z")
If you go to General, and then iPhone Storage, you’ll see how much memory each application takes. On my phone, GarageBand, which I’ve never used, takes 1.58GB, Apple TV about 600MB. I have enough storage, but if it was an issue, I’d use this to see what to delete. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/8 "2020-03-29T04:59:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you go to General, and then iPhone Storage, you’ll see how much memory each application takes. On my phone, GarageBand, which I’ve never used, takes 1.58GB, Apple TV about 600MB. I have enough storage, but if it was an issue, I’d use this to see what to delete. That’s where Photos sits at the top of the list at 330MB even though my Camera Roll has only 1 photo in it, including the empty Recently Deleted items folder, no pics in my Contacts, only a few pics in Notes, no pics in Calendar or Reminders, and I have the Books offloaded… The only thing I can come up with is that it is counting pics within other apps as Photos instead of counting them as Documents and Data within the app itself. Though I just offloaded the Files app and the Photos count dropped from 330MB to 295. I think this solves the mystery. Photos in other apps may count as Photo memory, not necessarily as Documents and Data memory within the app itself. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/9 "2020-03-29T05:45:11Z")
Did you ever hide any photos? Might want to check the Hidden photos album. If not, in Settings, go to General \> Date & Time, uncheck “Set Automatically” and then roll the date counter back a few years worth. This might cause a few weird mail server pop ups, but just tap through them, close Settings, open Photos and check the Recently Deleted album. If there are photos there, delete them, then go back to Date & Time and check “Set Automatically.” ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-memory-consumed-by-mystery-pics/850483/10 "2020-05-11T05:09:04Z")
I finally got around to upgrading my phone, and the old “missing” pics showed up there somehow. Available memory is no longer an issue. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk