How to Delete Documents and Data on iPhone?

‘My iPhone 13 has 16.1GB of “documents & data” in Messages. How can I get rid of it to free up the needed space on iPhone?’

‘Documents & Data’ folder on your iPhone refers to the data stored by an app every time it is opened or used. It can include browsing history, cache, cookies, temporary files, logs, database files, and other information specific to the app.

These files are stored by the app to open quickly and efficiently; when you open the application.

However, with the app usage over time, the ‘Documents & Data’ folder builds up with these files, occupying significant storage space on your device.

As a result, your iPhone may get slow or may not be able to store new photos, videos, recordings, or apps.

Hence, deleting the ‘Documents & Data’ on the iPhone is the best solution to enhance your iPhone performance.

As of now, Apple doesn’t allow you to delete ‘Documents & Data’ folder directly. Although if your iPhone has low storage, it automatically frees up space by removing temporary files and cache. But this is not enough.

You do need to make space by removing unwanted documents and data on iPhone.

Here’s how to do it. Read on…

How to delete Documents and Data on iPhone, iPad

The only way to get rid of the large space taken by documents and data is to delete the app from your iOS device.

Before this gives you jitters, remember you can always reinstall the app anytime.

The only care you should take, is not to forget to create backup in iCloud or iTunes of your important app data (photos, videos, recordings, contacts, messages etc.) before deleting the iPhone app.

You can apply the given methods to delete documents & data on series of iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, SE 2, XR and below models and latest iOS 16.

Methods to delete Documents and Data on iPhone, iPad

1. Delete App and Reinstall
2. Erase All Content and Settings
3. Use iPhone data eraser

Method 1: Delete App and Reinstall

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, WeChat, and other apps store many media files, chat history, recordings, cache, cookies, temp files, and other documents that occupy excessive space on your device.

You can clear app data and documents and free up storage space on iPhone or iPad directly through your iPhone’s Settings.

Delete ‘Document and Data’ on the iPhone by deleting the app, i.e., uninstalling. This will also delete all the unnecessary app data, including cache, cookies, and temp files stored on iPhone.

Note: By deleting an app on iPhone, you would lose complete app’s data, logins, related media files, and other documents of that app. So please back up the app’s data on iCloud before deleting it. For instance, if you have backed up Instagram photos and videos on iCloud, they won’t get deleted after uninstalling Instagram from your iPhone.

Next, reinstall the app from the Apple Store on your iOS device for reuse. Reinstalling will automatically get you the latest version of the app.

Steps to delete app/ uninstall app on iPhone:

1. Open to follow Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
2. You will see the amount of storage occupied by your apps on the iPhone. Click on the desired app from the list, which you want to clean.
3. You will see the space occupied by the app’s ‘Documents and Data’ on the iPhone. Scroll down and click on Delete App.
4. Next, click Confirm.

Note: Once you reinstall the app, its ‘Documents & Data’ folder would have no unnecessary files. But with more usage over time, slowly cache and cookies will start accumulating. You can repeat the same method to clear documents and data on iPhone when required.

Method 2: Erase All Content and Settings

‘Erase All Content and Settings’ feature resets your iPhone. It removes all the app’s content and settings from the device. This will also clear apps data and documents. After using this feature, all your apps settings, cookies, cache, temp files, passcodes, photos, videos, audio recordings, and other data is deleted.

It is the best way to clean the iPhone and make storage space on your device. However, make sure to take back-up of your important data on iCloud or iTunes before using this method.

Steps to Erase All Content and Settings:

1. On the iPhone, go to Settings.
2. Click and follow General > Reset.
3. Click Erase All Content and Settings.
4. A dialog box appears, click Erase Now.
5. Enter Passcode and Apple ID password, if prompted. This will delete iPhone data.

Method 3: Use iPhone cleaner software

There are various iOS cleaner software available in Apple Store that deletes data and documents on the iPhone for free. The iPhone cleaner apps scan the iOS devices for specific apps such as Photos, Contacts, Messages, etc., to remove their data.

Some tools remove the iPhone apps, which automatically deletes the documents and data associated with them. While others only clear cache, temporary files, cookies, corrupt data, and junk files on your iOS device.

Some popular iPhone cleaners are Smart Cleaner, Cisdem iPhone Cleaner, PhoneClean, Magic Phone Cleaner, etc.

You may also try Stellar Toolkit for iPhone that securely erases all extra apps, data and documents, cache, cookies, junk files, and other data from your iPhone or iPad.

Prefer it when you want to use your iPhone as a new clean device.

Can I delete Documents and Data from iCloud without deleting app?

iCloud keeps your iPhone apps and their data as back-up. Data stored in the cloud doesn’t affect the iPhone storage space. But you may want to delete unwanted data and documents of some apps stored in iCloud.

Unlike the above methods, you can delete iCloud ‘Documents and Data’ without deleting the app itself. Follow the given below steps.

Steps to delete ‘Documents and Data’ from iCloud on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage. A complete list of apps appears that shows the storage space occupied by each.
2. Click on the app for which you want to delete data.
3. Click Edit.
4. Click Delete All. This deletes the documents and data for that app in iCloud.

Conclusion

You can delete documents and data on iPhone by uninstalling and then reinstalling an app.

Another method is to erase all content and settings that delete complete data from your iPhone or iPad. Professional iPhone cleaner software like Stellar Toolkit for iPhone can delete documents, data, cache, cookies, and junk files in one go.

In case you want to delete iCloud back-up documents and data, delete it via iCloud Storage under Settings on iPhone. Here, you don’t need to delete the app from iPhone to remove its data and documents.