How to free up space on Sony phones

Free up space on a Sony phone

1. Check what is using space. Open Settings > Storage on the Sony phone.
2. Clear duplicates and junk. Use Google Photos: Free up space on this device (Google Photos > profile picture > Free up space on this device) or Files by Google's Clean tab to remove duplicate files and memes.
3. Remove backed-up copies. In Google Photos, tap your profile picture, then Free up space, if your photos are backed up.
4. Empty the trash. Open Google Photos > Collections > Trash and empty it; space returns only then.

Where is storage on a Sony phone?

• Android 10 and later: Settings > Storage

Sony phones run Xperia UI (near-stock Android). The storage screen lists apps, images, videos and system files; images and videos are usually the part you can safely shrink.

Where do deleted photos go on Sony phones?

Google Photos keeps deleted items in Trash for 30 days: Google Photos > Collections > Trash. Recent Xperia phones use Google Photos as the photo app. Google says deleted items stay in Trash for 30 days, whether or not they were backed up (device-only items on Android 11 and up). Sony's own help guides could not be fetched for this check.

Which built-in cleaners do Sony phones have?

• Google Photos: Free up space on this device (Google Photos app): Google Photos > profile picture > Free up space on this device. Deletes the on-phone copies of photos and videos already backed up to your Google Account.
• Files by Google cleaning suggestions (Files by Google app): Files by Google > Clean. Suggests junk files, duplicates, large files and old media to delete.
• Files by Google: available on Google Play — Google's Files app can find large files, duplicates and junk on Xperia phones..
• Google Photos: Google Photos is the photo app on Xperia 1, 5 and 10 phones from 2020 on. Deleting a backed-up photo there also removes it from your Google account on every device.

What is different about Sony storage?

• Every Xperia 1, 5 and 10 model listed here has a microSD slot (up to 1, 1.5 or 2 TB depending on the model), so photos and videos can move to a card.
• Xperia 1 and 5 models from the 5 II on record 4K at 120 fps, which makes much larger files than 4K 30.
• From the Xperia 1 VI, the main camera has a 48 MP mode. Normal photos are 12 MP.
• The camera app's Pro mode on the Xperia 1 and 5 series can save RAW files, which are much larger than JPEGs.

How long do Sony phones get updates?

Xperia 1 VII, 10 VII, 1 VIII and 10 VIII: up to 4 Android upgrades and 6 years of security updates. Xperia 1 VI: up to 3 upgrades and 4 years of security updates; 10 VI: up to 2 upgrades and 4 years. Xperia 1 V, 5 V, 1 IV and 5 IV: up to 2 upgrades and 3 years.

How do Sony phones differ on storage and photos?

• Xperia 10 (4 models, 2021–2026): storage from 128 GB to 128 GB, 4 with microSD, default photos of 12 MP (about 3.6–3.6 MB), and 0 that shoot RAW.
• Xperia 1 (7 models, 2020–2026): storage from 256 GB to 512 GB, 7 with microSD, default photos of 12 MP (about 3.6–3.6 MB), and 7 that shoot RAW.
• Xperia 5 (4 models, 2020–2023): storage from 128 GB to 128 GB, 4 with microSD, default photos of 12 MP (about 3.6–3.6 MB), and 4 that shoot RAW.

The newest Sony phone here is the Xperia 10 VIII (September 2026), which starts at 128 GB; the oldest is the Xperia 1 II (May 2020). 2 of them launched before Android 11, so their system trash depends on later updates.

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