Quick pic tip: How to clean up your photo library fast

As fun as it is to take more than five pics of every cute animal, life event or meal, your phone has a limit. For every beautiful shot, you’re probably saving a bunch of junk. Are you getting that “storage full” message? It’s a pain.

On an iPhone, do this one thing to get storage space back in an instant.

A complete overhaul of your photo collection is a big project, but it doesn’t have to be. I clean my photo library up in a flash! Tap or click for the steps I use to clean my digital photo library.

Easily remove duplicates on your iPhone

Apple added a valuable tool for iOS 16. Your iPhone now has a “duplicate photos” folder where you can merge anything duplicated. It’s so easy to use. Here’s how:

● Open the Photos app and select Albums.

● Scroll down and select Duplicates. It’s under Utilities.

● You can either select all of them by hitting Select > Select all > Merge or select individual photos and tap Merge.

● Confirm your choice and take back some storage space.

Clean up your photo folder on Android

Android phones have a trick to clear up space you might not know. It takes just a few taps.

Rather than manually locating and deleting everything you don’t need, open the Files by Google app, then select Clean. If you don’t have it, head to the Google Play Store and download it for free.

Tap Confirm and free up > See junk files and select what you want to clear. When you’re ready, tap Clear > Clear.

That’s all it takes to remove screenshots, memes, duplicates and other junk hiding among the important photos.

Tip within a tip: Stop scrolling forever to find the picture you want. You can search your photo gallery. Here’s how — and some tricks to find what you want.

Speed up your smartphone

Clearing out files, images and apps from your smartphone helps it run faster and smoother. It improves your battery’s performance and extends its life. Tap or click here for 7 simple ways to speed up your phone.

While you’re cleaning out your phone, clean the cookies. These tiny files slow down your phone and help companies track your online activities. It’s worth doing this now and then. Tap or click here for complete steps to get the job done.

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

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