Android doesn’t have a trash system like a desktop computer. Most Android apps take care of their own trash, which you have to empty one by one to make room on your phone. Here’s what you need to do.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to empty the trash in Google Photos and Files by Google, two of the most popular gallery and file manager apps for this operating system. If you use a different app, look for and remove deleted files in the “Recently Deleted” folder, “Trash,” or similar locations.
Table of Content
Things You Should Now About Trash on Android
- Cleaning trash on Android can be done in various ways, from the smartphone itself and third-party apps.
- Most trash stored in Android’s storage results from apps and system operations. It is recommended to perform regular cleaning.
- If your Android device is getting slow, you can do a factory reset instead.
Empty trash on Google Photos
Google Photos can be your best way to perform cleaning on your Android. It has a feature where the deleted photos are still kept for 30 days. The folder bin has the same role as in Windows Recycle Bin. You can follow the steps below:
1. Start the Google Photos app on your Android phone.
2. Then, select the photos and videos you want to delete.
3. Tap “Library” in the bottom bar of Photos.
4. Tap “Bin” at the top of the Library screen.
5. Tap the three dots in the top right corner of the Bin page.
6. Choose “Empty bin” from the menu with three dots.
7. Choose “Allow” at the prompt to confirm your choice.
8. And everything in the folder will be permanently deleted.
| Note: Clearing the trash in the “Trash” folder means you permanently remove all the files. So, make sure you’re not deleting your important files. |
Empty trash in the Files
If you use Files by Google as your file manager and need to empty the trash, you must first open the Files by Google app on your mobile device. Complete the steps as follows:
- When the app launches, tap the hamburger menu in the top-left corner.
- Select “Trash” from the option that appears.
- Your deleted files are displayed on the “Trash” page. Choose “All Items” to choose all of your files. Then, at the bottom, tap “Delete” button.
- Choose “Delete” from the prompt that appears.
- All files in the folder will be permanently deleted.
| Note: Deleting all files in the folder is undone. Make sure you select the files you want to delete. |
Another way to empty trash on your Android
If you feel your Android phone is still slow, maybe you need to clear out more trash. It could be caused by the large files and unused apps or files in the downloads folder. There is another way to empty the trash. Follow the steps below.
- Open the Settings.
- Find the Storage section in Settings.
- You will see a list of apps installed on your Android.
- Tap the app you want to clear the cache for.
- The Storage option should be shown at the bottom of the details.
- Click on the Clear Cache button. This will only clear the cache, not the data.
- If you want to clear the cache and app data, tap the Clear Storage button.
- This will remove all settings, accounts, files, and more.
Empty the trash using third-party apps
Cleaning the trash on your Android phone can also be done by using the third-apps. One of the options is Dropbox. Dropbox is a free cloud-based app that allows us to back up and manages our data at the same time. Because the free version only allows for 2 GB of storage space, it is recommended that you periodically clear junk files from your Android’s Dropbox app.
- Open Dropbox and select the trash icon on the top.
- This will display a list of deleted data from your Dropbox account.
- You can select all the files in the Trash folder and tap on the trash icon.
- This will automatically delete all selected files.
- You should have freed some space from your Android storage now.
All four methods of how to empty trash on Android can be done on the latest version of the Android system. Make sure to select the unnecessary files to be deleted because all actions are undone.
Tips
- To get better performance on your Android, do regular cleaning and maintenance.
- You can update your Android system to the latest version available. It should bring new features and get your Android performance better.
- The Factory Reset should only be performed if your Android has issues on its system, such as lagging, can’t load files, and being stuck.
