Quick way to clear photo storage without losing memories?

Fastest low-cost method is to back up, then use the app's built in free up space. On Android, open Google Photos, tap your profile picture, go to Photos settings > Backup, turn it on, set Upload size to Storage saver, wait for the checkmarks to finish, then go to Library > Utilities > Free up space to remove device copies that are safely backed up.

On iPhone, you can do the same in Google Photos and use Free up space, which deletes local copies but keeps them in Google Photos, or turn on Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos and choose Optimize iPhone Storage to auto offload full resolution files without deleting them from iCloud. Important caveat: with iCloud Photos, deleting a photo in the Photos app deletes it from iCloud too, so do not bulk delete unless you have a second backup.

Everything wants a monthly fee now, which is ridiculous for my own photos. I use a cheap USB OTG stick, move the big videos first in the Files app, confirm they play on the stick, then delete them from the phone and clear Recently Deleted. One tip that saves a ton fast is sorting by size and nuking screen recordings before you touch the baby photos.

No subscriptions. Phone auto-syncs to a home box with Syncthing over Wi‑Fi, then a script de-duplicates and the phone clears local copies once the hash matches. External drive holds two rotating backups. I export a small JPEG set for quick browsing.

Set a 20 minute timer and do a lightning sweep: I plug the phone into the laptop, dump everything into a Year-Month folder, and only pause to favorite the true keepers, then clear the camera roll and breathe again. Last Saturday I made tea while the copy bar crawled across the screen, the sun hit the desk just right, and I could almost feel storage coming back like opening a window. Afterward I skim the new folder once, rename a couple shots, and it feels so good I end up cleaning the drawer next to the desk too.

I copy the camera roll to a computer, file by year and month, then clear the phone. A few favorites get printed and go in an album, and a verified copy sits on an external drive or a disc.