I deleted some files on my iPhone using the Files app, but my storage still looks full. I’m trying to find where the trash or Recently Deleted folder is and how to permanently empty it from the Files app. Can someone explain the exact steps?
If your iPhone storage bar barely changes after you delete a bunch of stuff, the usual reason is simple: most of it is still sitting in “Recently Deleted.” It feels deleted, but iOS is still keeping it around for a while, so the storage is not actually freed yet.
Start by emptying the hidden trash folders
Apple keeps deleted items for about 30 days in different places, depending on the app. Until you clear those folders, the files can keep taking up the same space.
Files app
This one is easy to miss. Open Files, go to Browse, then keep tapping the back arrow in the upper-left until you are at the top-level Locations screen. You should see Recently Deleted with a trash icon. Open it, tap the three dots in the top-right, choose Select, then Delete All. If you download big PDFs, videos, work files, ZIPs, or random documents, this folder can be surprisingly large.
Photos
Open Photos, go to Albums, then scroll down to Utilities and open Recently Deleted. Photos will show how many days each item has left before it is removed for good. Recover anything you still need, then use Select and Delete All if you want the storage back now.
Messages
This is the one a lot of people forget. Deleted conversations can still keep their photos and videos until you delete them again from the Recently Deleted section. Open Messages, tap Edit or the filter icon in the upper-left, then choose Show Recently Deleted. Select the old threads and delete them permanently.
Notes
Go back to the main folder list in Notes and look for Recently Deleted. It works the same way, with the same 30-day holding period.
One important thing: if iCloud is turned on, permanently deleting something from Recently Deleted can remove it from iCloud and your other Apple devices using the same Apple ID. So take a quick look before hitting Delete All. Once it is gone from there, there is no normal undo button.
Why this matters for performance too
When your iPhone is nearly full, iOS has less room for temporary files and background tasks. That is when weird slowdowns start showing up: the camera takes forever to open, apps crash, and switching between apps feels laggy. Emptying Recently Deleted helps, but it usually only fixes the stuff you already tried to remove.
The bigger problem is usually the photo library itself.
After clearing Recently Deleted, use Clever Cleaner if you want to find the media that is still taking up space. It is free, has no ads, and does not require a subscription.
- Heavies shows your biggest files first, with exact file sizes. This is where old 4K videos and large screen recordings usually stand out.
- Similars groups near-duplicate photos and marks a Best Shot, so you can clear out several almost-identical pictures at once.
- Screenshots shows screenshot sizes too, which is useful because they pile up without you noticing.
- Everything is processed on the device, so your photos and data are not uploaded somewhere else.
The order that tends to work best is: clear Recently Deleted in Files, Photos, Messages, and Notes first. Then check the photo library with Clever Cleaner for the huge videos, screenshots, and near-duplicates that the regular cleanup does not catch. Once both parts are done, the storage bar is much more likely to actually move.
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Permanently deleting from Files can remove the item from iCloud Drive too, so do not treat it like a local-only cleanup unless you know where the file lived. For the Files app specifically, open Files, tap Browse, back out until you see the main Locations page, then open Recently Deleted. Tap the three-dot menu, choose Select, then Delete All, or select only the items you are sure about. If you deleted from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or another connected location inside Files, that service may still have its own trash outside Apple’s Recently Deleted, so check the actual app or website too. After emptying it, give storage a minute and restart if the number does not update right away.
Do not assume every file you see in Files is actually taking up space on the phone. If it was in iCloud Drive and only shown as a cloud item, deleting it may clean up iCloud storage but barely move iPhone Storage. For the Files app trash, go to Files > Browse, tap back until you see Locations, open Recently Deleted, then use the three-dot menu to Select and delete permanently. The bigger catch is to check Settings > General > iPhone Storage afterward and see which app is really using the space. If “Files” is not the large item, emptying Files trash will not fix much. Look especially for downloaded videos in VLC/Netflix/YouTube, Safari downloads, podcast downloads, or Photos, because those often get blamed on Files when they are stored somewhere else.
After you delete everything from Files > Browse > Recently Deleted, restart the iPhone before judging the storage number. iPhone Storage can lag or still count app caches as “Documents & Data,” so if Files is not the big item under Settings > General > iPhone Storage, there probably is not more Files trash to empty.