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How to Delete Documents and Data on iPhone [Verified Tips]

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If you find your iPhone is running out of space, you may want to delete some content to free up some storage. When you head to the Settings app and want to manage the iPhone's storage, you may notice that there are "Documents and Data" under some apps that are consuming large storage space. So, what is "Documents and Data" on iPhone? Why do they take up much storage? More importantly, since the iPhone has not much storage left, how to delete documents and data on iPhone to free up the storage? Now read on to find out the answers.

how to delete documents and data on iphone

What are Documents and Data on iPhone?
Way 1: How to Remove Documents and Data on iPhone Inside Each App
Way 2: How to Get Rid of Documents and Data on iPhone by Reinstalling
Extra Tip: How to Delete iPhone Data Completely and Permanently

What are Documents and Data on iPhone?

What are the documents and data on my iPhone?

Documents and data are mainly made up of some extra data created by the apps, such as cached files, cookies(log-in info), downloaded photos and videos, search history, database files, browser history, app data, etc.

Why do they exist?

These data exist because they can improve the user experience, making the app run or load quickly while using. For example, when you use Safari, the app will record some data and browsing history, enabling you to access the same web pages quickly the next time you visit.

Why should we delete them?

With more and more documents and data gathered on your iPhone, if you don't clear them on a regular basis, their size will become even bigger than the app itself. As these files eat up a large amount of internal storage on your iPhone, you should clear these iPhone documents and data to free up your iPhone.

You may want to know how to see documents and data on iPhone. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't offer a way to access and delete these documents and data directly. But there are some ways we can try to clear them. Just keep reading.

Way 1: How to Remove Documents and Data on iPhone Inside Each App

The first method is to clean up the documents and data manually inside each app. Most apps enable you to clear the browsing data, caches, logs info, or media files by heading to Settings. Note that the specific steps of doing this vary from different apps. Below we will take some popular apps: WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, which may take up large storage space on your iPhone as examples.

How to Clear Documents and Data on iPhone - WhatsApp

As one of the most frequently used messaging app, WhatsApp stores a large amount of information, including media files like videos, images, and GIFs. These documents and data created by WhatsApp eat up massive storage of your iPhone. You can follow the steps below to get rid of them:

  1. Run the WhatsApp app on iPhone.
  2. Tap the Settings icon at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Tap Storage Usage.
  4. Select a contact you want to clear the files.
  5. Tap Manage and select the data type you want to delete, for example, photos, videos, documents, etc.
  6. Click Clear to remove the selected data.

how to delete documents and data on iphone by deleting whatsapp history

Tip: You can also refer to the guide on How to Free Up WhatsApp Storage on iPhone 12/11/Xs Plus/Xs for more information.

How to Get Rid of Documents and Data on iPhone - Facebook

You can follow the steps below to clean the browsing data for your Facebook:

  1. Open the Facebook app and then tap the menu icon on the top-right corner.
  2. Nevi gate to Settings & Privacy.
  3. Tap Settings.
  4. Select Media and Contacts.
  5. Tap Browser.
  6. Tap Clear browsing data.

how to delete documents and data on iphone by clearing facebook data

How to Clean up Documents and Data on iPhone - Snapchat

Snapchat also lets you clear the Snapchat chat history to free up the storage space, here's how:

  1. Launch the Snapchat app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap the Settings icon at the top-right of the screen.
  3. Scroll down and select the Clear Conservatives option.
  4. Browse and select a contact, then tap the "X" icon.
  5. Click Clear on the pop-up window to confirm the action.

delete conversion on snapchat to delete documents and data on iphone

Tip: Click here to learn more about How to Delete Snapchat Data on iPhone.

How to Remove Documents and Data on iPhone - Instagram

Here are the steps to clearing the search history on Instagram, which also a part of the documents and data on iPhone.

  1. Open Instagram on iPhone.
  2. Tap the Profile icon at the bottom right.
  3. Tap the Settings icon at the top-right corner.
  4. Scroll down and tap Clear Search History.
  5. Tap Yes on the pop-up window to confirm.

clear instagram search history to delete documents and data on iphone

How to Delete Documents and Data on iPhone - Safari

You can delete Safari history, cache and cookies via the Settings app on iPhone, here what to do:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Scroll down and select Safari.
  3. Tap Clear History and Website Data.
  4. Confirm the deletion.

how to delete documents and data on iphone by deleting safari data

Way 2: How to Get Rid of Documents and Data on iPhone by Reinstalling

Some apps may not offer the option to delete the search history, caches or media files that consist of the documents and data on iPhone. Here's another workaround - try removing the app from your iPhone to clear the iPhone storage documents and data.

It is to be noted that deleting the entire app may cause losing data that you need. For example, if you delete your Instagram, the drafts you've saved will also be wiped out.

How to delete documents and data on iPhone:

  1. Open Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap General.
  3. Select iPhone Storage.
  4. Choose the app you would like to delete.
  5. Tap Delete app.
  6. Tap Delete to confirm the removal.

dhow to delete documents and data on iphone by reinstalling

In this way, the data associated with the app will be deleted from your iPhone. After deleting the app, you can reinstall the app on iPhone again, check out how:

  1. Open the App Store on iPhone.
  2. Search for the app you need to reinstall.
  3. Select the app and download the app on your iPhone.

Extra Tip: How to Delete iPhone Data Completely and Permanently

If you want to erase all the data on your iPhone in order to improve its performance, you can try Coolmuster iOS Eraser. This powerful software can permanently and completely delete apps & app data, browsing history, settings, contacts, SMS, call logs, music, videos, photos, reminders, calendars, bookmarks, voice memos, notes on your iDevice.

This software is designed to perform a complete erasure for iDevices. Download it and see how to erase data data on iPhone without recovery.

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How to delete all data on iPhone:

Step 1: Run the software on your computer, then connect your iPhone to computer with a USB cable.

Step 2: Click the Erase button > select the security level for erasing > type delete into the blank and then click Erase button to start.

Step 3: After the erasing process is done, your iPhone will go back to scratch.

how to delete data on iphone

Conclusion

Though Apple doesn't offer a straightforward way when it comes to removing documents and data from iPhone. You can try the methods mentioned in this post to clean up the documents and data regularly. If you know any other ways to delete documents and data on iPhone, welcome to share them in the comment section below.

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