What "Documents and Data" means on your iPhone
Documents and Data is the storage space your apps use to store files, settings, caches, and temporary information beyond the app itself. When you open Mail, it stores downloaded messages. When you use Maps, it caches map tiles. When you log into a banking app, it remembers your login details. All of that lives in Documents and Data, separate from the app's main code.
This storage category grows over time because apps rarely delete old data on their own. A messaging app might keep years of conversation history. A photo editor might store every filter preview you ever generated. A news app might cache hundreds of articles you read once. None of this slows your iPhone down, but it does take up storage space — sometimes gigabytes of it — that you could use for photos, videos, or new apps.
You have three ways to clear it: delete and reinstall individual apps, clear data from specific apps without deleting them, or use iPhone's built-in tools to offload apps temporarily. Which one you choose depends on whether you want to keep your app settings and whether you have time to set things up again.
Key Takeaways
- Documents and Data is the cache, settings, and files your apps store — not the app code itself — and it grows over time as you use your phone.
- Deleting and reinstalling an app clears all its data but erases your login details and settings, so you will need to set it up again from scratch.
- Offloading an app removes its code but keeps your data, so you can reinstall it without losing your settings or having to log in again.
- Some apps let you clear their data directly from Settings without deleting the app, though not all developers include this option.
- If storage is critically low, clearing Documents and Data from your largest apps will free up space faster than deleting photos or videos.
Check how much Documents and Data each app is using
Before you delete anything, look at which apps are taking up the most space. Open Settings, then tap General, then Storage. iPhone shows you a list of apps ranked by total size — that number includes the app code plus Documents and Data combined.
Tap any app in the list to see a breakdown. The number shown is the total size of the app plus everything it stores. Unfortunately, iPhone does not show you the exact split between app code and Documents and Data for individual apps, so you cannot see precisely how much cached data versus actual app size you are dealing with. But if an app shows 2 GB and the app itself is only 200 MB, you know the rest is data you can recover.
Write down the top five offenders. These are your targets. Clearing data from a 500 MB app will barely help; clearing data from a 3 GB app will make a real difference.
Delete and reinstall an app to clear everything
The most thorough way to clear Documents and Data is to delete the app entirely and download it again. This removes the app code, all cached data, all stored files, and all settings. When you reinstall it, you start fresh.
Press and hold the app icon on your home screen or in the app library. Tap Remove App, then Remove from Home Screen or Delete App. If you choose Delete App, tap Delete to confirm. The app is now gone.
Go to the App Store, search for the app by name, and tap Get, then Install. Once it finishes downloading, you will need to log in again and reconfigure any settings you had. This takes time if you have many apps to clear, but it is the only way to may provide you have removed all stored data.
Offload an app to keep your data but free up space
If you want to clear the app code but keep your login details and settings, use the Offload feature instead. Offloading removes the app itself but leaves your Documents and Data behind. When you reinstall it, your settings and login are still there.
Go to Settings, tap General, then Storage. Find the app you want to offload and tap it. Tap Offload App, then Offload to confirm. The app disappears from your phone, but the data stays.
To reinstall it, go to the App Store and download it again. When you open it, you will be logged in and your settings will be exactly as you left them. This is faster than deleting and reinstalling if you have many apps to clear, because you do not have to log in to each one again.
Clear data from individual apps without deleting them
Some apps let you clear their stored data directly from the app's settings, without deleting the app itself. This option is not universal — it depends on whether the developer included it — but it is worth checking before you delete anything.
Open the app and look for a Settings or Preferences menu, usually found by tapping a gear icon or your profile picture. Look for options like "Clear Cache," "Clear Data," "Storage," or "Manage Storage." If the option exists, tap it and confirm. The app stays on your phone, but its cached files and temporary data are gone.
This approach is fastest if the app offers it, because you do not have to delete or reinstall anything. The downside is that not many apps include this feature, so you will often find nothing when you look.
Clear Safari cache and browsing data
Safari stores a cache of web pages, cookies, and browsing history that can grow quite large over time. This data lives in Documents and Data but is separate from individual app storage.
Go to Settings, scroll down and tap Safari, then tap Clear History and Website Data. A menu appears asking what time period to clear — Last Hour, Today, Last Week, Last Month, or All Time. Choose All Time to clear everything, then tap Clear History and Data to confirm.
This removes your browsing history, cookies, and cached web pages. You will stay logged out of websites you visit, and pages will load slightly slower the first time you visit them again because Safari has to download them fresh. But you will recover several hundred megabytes of space, especially if you have been using Safari for months or years.
Use iCloud Photos to move photos and videos off your phone
If your Documents and Data is full but you also have thousands of photos and videos taking up space, consider moving them to iCloud Photos instead of deleting them. This frees up local storage without losing the files.
Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud, then Photos. Turn on iCloud Photos. Your phone will begin uploading photos and videos to iCloud in the background. Once the upload finishes, go to Settings, tap General, then Storage, then Photos. Tap Optimize iPhone Storage to keep only thumbnails on your phone while the full-resolution versions stay in iCloud.
This approach takes time — uploads can take hours or days depending on how many photos you have — but it lets you keep your photos without them taking up phone storage. You can still view and edit them normally; they just live in iCloud instead of on your device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will clearing Documents and Data delete my photos or messages?
No. Photos and messages are stored separately from Documents and Data. Clearing Documents and Data removes app caches, settings, and temporary files — not your actual photos, videos, or message history. If you delete the Messages app itself, you will lose your messages, but clearing data from within Settings will not.
What happens if I offload an app and then reinstall it?
Your login details and app settings will still be there. Offloading removes only the app code, not your data. When you download the app again from the App Store, it will log you back in automatically and restore all your preferences exactly as they were.
Can I clear Documents and Data without deleting the app?
Some apps let you clear their cache directly from their settings menu, but not all. Check the app's settings first by looking for options like "Clear Cache" or "Manage Storage." If the option does not exist, your only choices are to offload the app or delete and reinstall it.
How much space will I actually free up?
It depends on the app. A messaging app with years of conversation history might free up 500 MB to 2 GB. A news app might free up 200 MB to 500 MB. A photo editor might free up 100 MB to 1 GB. Check the app's size in Settings before you clear it so you know what to expect.
Do I need to clear Documents and Data regularly?
Only if you are running low on storage. Documents and Data does not slow down your phone or drain your battery — it just takes up space. If you have plenty of free storage, there is no reason to clear it. If you are down to a few gigabytes free, clearing data from your largest apps will help more than deleting individual photos.