iPad Users Stuck with 32 or 64GB of memory know the storage full struggle. Let’s see 7 ways to optimize it.

First Step is the know exactly what is taking up space. 

Go to Settings > General > iPad Storage. I am sure you will see a few surprises here. 

You can simply tap on the app you don’t use at all and delete it. Alternatively, you can also Offload it if you think you might use the app in near future along with its already saved data. 

Second, you can enable automatic setting for app offloading, so you don’t have to do that individually. 

Go to Settings > Apps > App Store and turn ON ‘Offload Unused Apps‘. When iPad is short of storage, this setting will automatically removes unused apps, while retaining the app data, including your Face ID or Touch ID logins. 

Third: Now let’s get rid of the duplicate photos and videos quietly taking up space. Some of you will find this trick a goldmine of storage. 

Go to Photos > Collections > Scroll Down > Utilities > Duplicates. Tap on Select, then Select All, then Merge. You can either merge the identical copies or you can merge same photo or video with different resolutions. It will keep the higher quality one. This will instantly free up significant space. 

Forth: It is now time to clean up Safari’s cache, which builds up over time. 

Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced > Website Data. Delete the cached website data. This just deletes the website cache, while keeping the website history intact. 

Fifth: Now, we will free up many GBs of System Data. Go to Settings > General > iPad Storage. Scroll all the way down to System Data, which keeps piling up. To free up space and to ensure this doesn’t continue occupying space, make sure to restart your iPad every once in a while. For a regular user like me, who uses iPad for 2-3 hours per week, restarting it once every 2-3 weeks works perfectly. Option step (or skip to Sixth): To make the iPad restart process smoother, create a shortcut:

  • Open Shortcuts app
  • Tap on + or Add Shortcut
  • Search for ‘Shut Down’, Tap on the only available option that says ‘Shut Down’
  • Now tap on where it says ‘Shut Down’ in blue, and change it to ‘Restart’
  • Rename to shortcut to ‘Restart’ to avoid confusion. 
  • Now tap on the share icon at the bottom and Add this shortcut to your Home Screen. Use this shortcut to restart your iPad the next time. 

Sixth, whether you are using YouTube, Netflix or any other streaming platform, you might’ve a lot of downloaded content for offline viewing – even after your subscription has expired. Either delete the offline content manually by going into each app, or simply delete (or uninstall) the app to instantly free up many gigs of data. 

Seventh, and the last one: Go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Photos. Make sure your storage option is set to Optimize iPad Storage. This keeps low-quality images on your iPad, while preserving high quality on iCloud. 

That’s it! Try these out and drop a comment if you found these useful or not. If you are struggling with Split Screen on iPad, especially after iPadOS 26 update, you might want to check out this article. iPad Multitasking Guide 2026: Full Screen vs Windowed Apps vs Stage Manager.