How to Clear iPhone System Data, From Safest Step to Last

iPhone System Data has no delete button. It shrinks only when the caches and app data behind it are removed. Clearing it means working through those sources, cheapest step first.

Apple's storage page lists logs, caches, Siri voices, fonts and the Spotlight index under a category called Other. Macworld notes that Other was renamed iPhone System Data in iOS 15. Apple also says the iPhone removes cached files by itself when it needs more space.

That self-clearing is why the steps matter most on a phone that is nearly full and whose System Data figure stays high.

How to Clear iPhone System Data Step by Step

How do you clear iPhone System Data without resetting?

To clear iPhone System Data without resetting, restart the phone, clear Safari website data, clear or reinstall cache-heavy apps, and install any iOS update. Apple documents what each step removes, apart from the restart, and none of them erases the phone.

Measure as you go. Note the System Data figure in Settings > General > iPhone Storage before the first step, on the same screen used to check iPhone storage. Check it again after each step, and stop once the phone has the room it needs.

1. Restart the iPhone

On iPhone X, 11, 12, 13 and later, press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears. Drag the slider and wait 30 seconds. On iPhone 6, 7, 8 and SE (2nd or 3rd generation), hold the side button alone. Hold the side button again to turn the phone back on.

Apple's restart page says nothing about storage. Treat a restart as a check rather than a fix, and move on to Safari if the figure has not changed.

2. Clear Safari Website Data

Apple's Safari support page gives two ways to clear Safari, and the one that keeps your history costs less:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Safari, then tap Advanced.
2. Tap Website Data, then Remove All Website Data.
3. Tap Remove Now.

Apple says website data includes the data sites use to save login information, so expect to sign in to some sites again.

To clear history as well, tap Clear History and Website Data on the main Safari screen, confirm the timeframe, then tap Clear History. Apple states that this leaves your AutoFill information unchanged. A grey button means there is no data to clear, and Apple suggests checking the web content restrictions in Screen Time.

3. Clear App Caches: In-App Option, Offload or Reinstall

Apple says the iPhone creates cached files when you stream or view content. Tapping an app in iPhone Storage shows its details. Depending on the app, you may be able to delete some of its documents and data there. Some apps also carry their own setting to clear the cache on iPhone.

Offload App, on the same detail screen, frees the storage the app itself uses but keeps its documents and data. That makes it a fit for apps you rarely open, though it leaves whatever the app has stored in place. The storage recommendations may suggest it too: tap Show All, then Enable on the ones you want.

Delete App goes further. Apple says it removes the app and its related data, which clears out an app that offers no clearing option of its own. Before reinstalling, make sure the chats or files it holds are synced or backed up. These per-app figures are what Applications in iPhone storage adds up.

4. Update iOS

Install any waiting update in Settings > General > Software Update, as Apple's update page describes. Apple's update page does not mention System Data, so check the figure afterwards like any other step.

On a nearly full phone, the update may ask to remove apps to make room. Tapping Continue lets the system remove them, and Apple says they are reinstalled automatically after the update. Tapping Cancel leaves you to free the space by hand.

Restart, Safari, app caches and updates differ most in what they take with them.

What Each Step Removes and What It Keeps

Each step removes a different kind of data, and only some of them come with Apple's word that they free space.

Other guides list deleting old messages, notes or downloaded videos as System Data steps. Apple counts app content under each app's Documents & Data, so those deletions shrink the app's own line in iPhone Storage. They free real space, but the change shows under the app, not under System Data.

Erase and restore is the only step that touches everything on the phone.

Erase and Restore: The Last Step for System Data

Erasing and restoring the iPhone is the step to keep for last. It fits a phone that is full, whose System Data stays high after every other step, and that has a complete backup. Apple's reset and restore pages do not mention System Data, and a restore brings back whatever the backup holds.

Apple's factory reset page starts with a backup, so your content, settings and apps can come back. Photos deserve their own check first, and backing up iPhone photos covers the options. The order, with Apple's restore steps, is:

1. Back up the iPhone.
2. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone, then tap Erase All Content and Settings.
3. On the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From iCloud Backup and sign in with your Apple Account.
4. Review the date and size of each backup, then choose the most recent one.
5. Keep the iPhone on Wi-Fi and power until the progress bar finishes.

Erasing an eSIM has one more cost: Apple says you then need to contact your carrier to reactivate the plan.

Why iPhone System Data Fills Up Again

Why does iPhone System Data keep growing?

iPhone System Data keeps growing because the iPhone creates new cached files whenever you stream or view content. Apple says the device removes those files when it needs more space, and the page names no other time it removes them.

The controls Apple's storage page describes on the iPhone are all in Settings: offloading, deleting, an app's documents and data, and the recommendations. An app sold as a System Data cleaner is not among them. Checking what iPhone cleaner apps can safely do before installing one avoids paying for a step Apple does not list.

Clearing Space That Stays Cleared: Photos, Videos and Apps

Photos, videos and apps are the storage you control directly, and space freed there by deleting stays free until new files take it. Every step to free up space on iPhone works on them.

Going through thousands of photos means one decision per photo. Photo cleaner apps show one photo at a time and delete only what you confirm. Apps such as Swipe Quick do this on the device: swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep. Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted in the Photos app for 30 days.

Frequently asked questions

Will clearing System Data delete my photos?

Clearing System Data through Safari, offloading or an update does not delete your photos. Apple describes those steps as acting on website data and apps. Delete App removes that app's own data, and erasing removes everything on the iPhone, so photos come back only if the backup holds them.

Does restarting an iPhone clear System Data?

Restarting an iPhone does not clear System Data in any way Apple documents. Apple's restart steps say nothing about storage. Compare the figure in iPhone Storage before and after to see whether a restart changed it on your phone.