A new year means an opportunity for a fresh start. Many people make New Year’s resolutions to get in shape, keep a budget under control or spend more time with family. The start of a new year should also mean a fresh start for the device you use the most. If your smartphone feels sluggish, there are a few things you can (and should) do to get it going again.
1. Open Storage on your iPhone or Android device. View large attachments that take up space. These are videos and photos from text messages you’ll receive in 2022 and earlier. This iPhone has more than one and a half accessories that I might delete. Android suggests what you should delete to free up space.
2. Check old text messages and delete unimportant text messages.
3. See which apps are taking up a lot of storage space. Social media apps can take up a lot of space. Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram use space for no reason. The easiest way to free up that space is to delete apps. I deleted TikTok and 613 megabytes of data it didn’t need. After removing the app, reinstall it and log back in. You won’t lose anything and it will run faster.
4. Delete unused applications. Especially freeware that is constantly tracking your activity and draining your battery.
5. Clear the cache, that is, history and data. Think of the cache as a junk drawer, where a lot of stuff from searches and browsing is collected. Something you don’t necessarily need. In the Chrome browser, you’ll find clear browsing data under Privacy and Security.
In Safari on iPhone, go to Settings > Safari and look for Clear History and Website Data. You must log back into the account you are already logged into. You’re actually supposed to do it every two months, but only some people do it.
It’s also a good idea to restart your phone, back it up to your computer, and change your passcode. If your phone is really plagued by a lot of junk that you don’t need, you can back up your phone to the cloud or your computer, then use the backup you just created to reset your phone.
This will make your phone work faster and clear everything you don’t need.