# What on my phone can I delete? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126 "2020-07-23T15:22:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/1 "2020-07-23T15:22:04Z")
My phone (Moto G4, Android) is chronically short of space. Checking my storage, the bulk of my usage is apps, and the biggest offenders are things I didn’t install myself, and don’t use (at least, not directly). But a lot of it looks like stuff that might be necessary behind the scenes. What of the following can/should be deleted? Google Play Services My Verizon Google Text-to-speech Engine Gboard Photos YouTube Translate Android System WebView MotoCare VZ Navigator HP Print Service Plugin ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/2 "2020-07-23T15:33:24Z")
I don’t use a android phone but friends who do love ccleaner for Android. Have you tried it ? ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/3 "2020-07-23T17:34:02Z")
Anything you CAN (and wish to) delete without root access. Simply attempt to uninstall it. If uninstall option is not there you typically can’t get rid of it without rooting the phone. I used to root phones but I no longer find it worth it. My guess is any google or verizon stuff that came with the phone is not getting off the phone without root. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/4 "2020-07-23T18:26:59Z")
OK, on looking closer, it doesn’t let me completely delete any of those apps, but most of them have an option to clear their data. That buys me a little breathing room, at least. @am77494, is that what ccleaner does? I’d heard of it, but didn’t know what it was for. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/5 "2020-07-23T18:46:24Z")
Check the app options to disable. Some apps can’t be uninstalled, but you can still disable them, so they won’t use any storage, memory, battery, or even show up in your app tray. But they’re still there for some reason. Of course, other apps can’t be disabled or uninstalled. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![vonespy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vonespy/32/6204_2.png) [@vonespy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vonespy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/6 "2020-07-23T18:50:38Z")
Do you have a lot of media (pictures, videos, music, books, etc.) on your phone? If so, it might make sense to move that off onto a a flash drive (there are flash drives specifically for phones like this). Or store that stuff in the cloud but keep it accessible via your phone. Generally it’s not the applications that consume the majority of storage, it’s the data for those apps. In this case, the media. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/7 "2020-07-23T19:09:35Z")
> [@vonespy](#): > > Generally it’s not the applications that consume the majority of storage, it’s the data for those apps. In this case, the media. Yeah–apps aren’t the problem if you’ve disabled them and cleared the data. It’s video and sound files, which you should move to cloud storage. Get one of those apps which shows you which files are taking up all the space. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/8 "2020-07-23T22:08:55Z")
That’s the thing-- I hardly have any media (pictures, video, or music) on my phone, or at least, not that I’ve downloaded myself. But out of 8 GB total, the OS takes 2.4 GB, and apps take 3.98 GB. And those apps are skewed to a few big ones, like Google at 390 MB, Google Play Services at 323 MB, and My Verizon at 257 MB. Meanwhile, pictures and videos are only 15 MB total, and audio 43 MB. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/9 "2020-07-25T15:53:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > My phone (Moto G4, Android) is chronically short of space. Checking my storage, the bulk of my usage is apps, and the biggest offenders are things I didn’t install myself, and don’t use (at least, not directly). But a lot of it looks like stuff that might be necessary behind the scenes. What of the following can/should be deleted? > > Google Play Services > My Verizon > Google Text-to-speech Engine > Gboard > Photos > YouTube > Translate > Android System WebView > MotoCare > VZ Navigator > HP Print Service Plugin Out of allnof these, Android system webview is the only one I’m not sure of. The rest are bloat and/or blatant spy-on-you software. Most of them can probably be removed without root but that would require a little research a computer and some additional software. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/10 "2020-07-25T17:35:41Z")
I hate to be one of those jerks that says “get a new phone”, but 8 GB is just a critically, obscenely low amount of storage (given that they insist on undeleteable bloatware). A replacement phone with an also nearly obsolete 16 GB should cost you next to nothing. ---
**Author:** ![vonespy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vonespy/32/6204_2.png) [@vonespy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vonespy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/11 "2020-07-26T00:54:25Z")
I just checked out the Moto M4 online and it looks like it can be easily expanded with a MicroSDXC card. 32gb cards are $10. If you can, swap the memory card and you’ve now got 4x the space… (Funny how we forget that 5 years ago, putting memory cards in phones was SOP. Now everything is soldered in. Bastards.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/12 "2020-07-26T00:58:28Z")
Don’t just remove data. Also uninstall updates. If it has an MicroSD slot, install that, and then move as many apps as you can to that. Other than that, you can’t do much unless you root your phone. Anything that came with the device is permanent otherwise. Everything you mentioned looks like it came with the phone. Oh, and removing the data from Play Services is pointless. It will come back, and possibly even try to install new apps. And you probably shouldn’t downgrade the Google Play Store unless you’re sure you’ll never want to install another app. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/13 "2020-07-26T02:30:18Z")
I see that the G4 does let you format an SD card as internal storage. (Not every phone does.) Buy one of those $10 32 GB cards. Format it as internal storage. Bam! You now have 40 GB internal storage. [https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/indevice\_detail/a\_id/112871/p/30,6720,9809](https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/indevice_detail/a_id/112871/p/30,6720,9809) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/14 "2020-07-26T12:59:24Z")
Yeah, despite this phone getting very long in the tooth by tech standards, the low storage is the only thing about it I find at all inadequate for my needs. Whenever I eventually do get a new one, I’ll make sure to get more. I didn’t realize, though, that it was upgradable with a microSD. That’s definitely something to look into. How do I access the slot? The guides online show just removing the back cover, but that doesn’t reveal any card slots (just a battery that says it’s not user-removable and some screws). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/15 "2020-07-26T13:35:09Z")
There’s a diagram [and instructions here](https://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/2016/06/how-to-get-more-space-on-your-moto-g4/) [![](https://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/combine_images.jpg) ](https://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/combine_images.jpg) I’ve never used Motorola phones, so I have no idea if that applies to all models of the Moto G4 or not (seems like there’s a few different types, but this guide doesn’t distinguish them.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/16 "2020-07-26T18:23:37Z")
Yup, that’s the diagram that I’m seeing in many places online. Which would be helpful, if it were what my phone looks like under the back cover. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/17 "2020-07-26T18:37:14Z")
Hmm. No idea then. The Moto G4 specs say all three models: standard, Play, and Plus accept MicroSD storage. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/18 "2020-07-26T23:53:37Z")
Hm. Take the back cover off your phone, hold it up to a mirror, take a nude selfie of the phone. Give us a look. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/19 "2020-07-27T15:29:28Z")
Everything _needs_ to have it’s own app. 🙄 Youtube & Google are one button quicker if you use them in the app vs. in a browser. If you don’t care about your search history, you can delete the data from the Google app. While you probably can’t delete them (w/o rooting) you can delete all of their data & disable them if you want to. Similarly, Play Services will rebuild what it needs if you delete all data from it, & that’s a lot of data there. _Any_ Verizon app is bloatware; delete all data; big deal, you’ll need to sign in again as opposed to having your username & password prefilled for automated signin. VZ Navigator is their version of Maps, but it costs you $4.99/month. Get rid of that (& make sure they’re no longer charging your for it if you ever turned it on.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126/20 "2020-07-28T12:22:54Z")
That’s a good idea, @Darren_Garrison, but I couldn’t get good pictures. I think the phone was focusing on the surface of the mirror instead of on the reflection twice as far away. Short answer is that there are indentations that vaguely resemble card slots with cards in them, but that they appear to be continuously molded out of the same piece of plastic as the rest of the body. Poking at them with both my thumbnail and a pin didn’t get anything to open up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-my-phone-can-i-delete/916126.md?page=2)