Another mysterious iPhone bug is eating up over 100GB of some peoples storage
heres how to fix it

Date:
Thu, 02 Jul 2026 20:01:09 +0000

Description:
Some iPhone users are losing over 100GB of storage space to System Data on their devices.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Reddit users have complained of a worrying storage bug in iOS This sees the System Data category eat up huge amounts of storage Fortunately, there are several ways to fix this problem iPhone storage often comes at a premium after all, its not like you can open up any of the best iPhones and add more space after youve bought one. Thats why it can be frustrating to see a massive chunk of your storage taken up by your iPhones System Data category, and especially worrying if this number seems to keep creeping up. Luckily, there are a few solutions you can try to put things right.

This problem was recently illustrated on Reddit , where user TakenToTheRiver posted a screenshot showing that 86.96GB of their iPhones storage was taken
up by the System Data category. Worse, they only had 128GB of total space, meaning a whopping 68% of their iPhones internal storage had already been gobbled up. As they put it, This is not something the average iPhone user should have to deal with. They added that this bug, as they called it, has persisted for years, and we shouldnt have to work around it ourselves. Its also something weve seen elsewhere such as in the Maps app so its not an isolated issue. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

They were also far from the only person struggling with System Data on their iPhone or iPad. User laszlotuss had lost 100.62GB, while for DanscoRed that figure stood at 150.56GB. Clearly, something was amiss. How to reclaim
storage space (Image credit: DenPhotos/Shutterstock) Luckily, there are one
or two ways you can get back precious space eaten up by your iPhones System Data category. They might take a little work, but theyre worth it if youre worried about filling up your device. You may like Android phones come with two built-in tools for freeing up storage space here's how to use them Windows 11 update fixes file that was a black hole eating your drive space
How to check your data usage on iPhone or Android, and save money in the process

Different approaches have worked for different iPhone users. For some, simply backing up their iPhone (either to iCloud or to your computer), resetting it, then restoring from the backup has done the trick.

A similar tip was provided by jg61600 , who said (via machine translation), Back up your entire iPhone in iCloud , and then restore it to DFU mode if youre going to remove all the cache you have. DFU mode restores your firmware to working order and installs a fresh copy of iOS, which could help with runaway System Data. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
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This backup-and-restore method was exactly the one that helped the most when we investigated Apple Maps taking up too much storage space , so it should have a good chance of success. However, its quite a drastic technique, so you might want to try one of the other ideas below first.

For instance, another successful technique has been opening the iPhone's Settings app, going to Apps > App Store, then scrolling down and enabling Offload Unused Apps. This uninstalls apps you havent used for a while (but keeps your documents and data intact), which Dapper_Contest_5695 said seemed to fix the extra system storage issue for them.

Finally, EffectiveEquivalent shared another potential solution: clear the caches for your web browser and podcast app. They also deleted a game that
had an extra download once in the app. They added: I suspect the latter will trip up most people.

Seeing your iPhones storage space slowly diminish without knowing how to stop it can be an exasperating experience, but that doesnt mean theres nothing you can do about it. Try the ideas that have worked for us and others above and you might be able to reclaim lost storage and put an end to the misery.
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