Free up app storage

Free up Facebook storage

Facebook caches photos, Reels, and videos from Feed so they play fast. If you tap Save on a photo or video, a copy can also land in Photos, Gallery, or a Facebook folder. Posts and messages stay on your account.

See how much space Facebook is using

iPhone

1. Open the iPhone Settings app.
2. Tap General > iPhone Storage.
3. Tap Facebook.

Android

1. Open your phone Settings > Apps (or Apps and notifications).
2. Tap Facebook.
3. Tap Storage or Storage and cache.

Facebook does not have a WhatsApp-style Free up Storage screen. Use the system page for the total, then clear cache and stop saving media to the phone.

Open Media and Storage settings

1. Open Facebook and tap the menu (your profile picture or the three lines).
2. Tap Settings and privacy > Settings.
3. Open Media (older versions say Media and contacts). Search for Media or Storage if the list is long.

Here you can turn off video autoplay, use Data Saver / lower video quality, and control whether Facebook keeps using the in-app browser. That slows how fast cache grows. It is not a dump of old Feed videos.

Stop saving copies to Photos or Gallery

1. In Facebook Settings, open Media / Media and contacts.
2. Turn off any option that saves photos or videos to the device if you see one.
3. When you save a post, know that it usually writes a file into Photos, Gallery, or DCIM/Facebook on Android.

Delete those saved copies in Photos or Gallery, including Recently Deleted / Trash. Saved items inside Facebook (the bookmark) stay in your account and do not use the same space.

Use less data so media does not keep downloading

1. Open Media in Facebook Settings.
2. Set autoplay to Never Autoplay Videos if you want the strongest limit.
3. Turn on Data Saver or lower video quality if those toggles are shown.

After this, videos load when you tap them instead of filling cache in the background.

Clear Facebook cache on Android

1. Open your phone Settings > Apps > Facebook.
2. Tap Storage or Storage and cache.
3. Tap Clear cache.

Do not tap Clear storage / Clear data unless you mean to reset Facebook. That signs you out and wipes local app data.

iPhone does not offer a separate Facebook cache button. Offload or delete the app in iPhone Storage if the system total stays high.

Reinstall the app if storage is still high

If you already cleaned media and Facebook still looks huge, a fresh install can clear leftover cache and temp files that are hard to reach by hand.

1. Posts, photos, and messages stay on Facebook. Save any local drafts first.
2. Delete the app from your phone.
3. Restart your phone.
4. Install Facebook again from the App Store or Google Play.
5. Sign in and restore from backup if the app offers it.

This often frees a lot of space. You may need to download some media again after restore.

What to do next

After Facebook is lighter, check your photo library for duplicates and similar shots. That is what Dedupo is for.

More app guides: Free up app storage.