What "Documents and Data" means on your iPhone

Documents and Data is the storage space your iPhone uses for app files, caches, and temporary information that apps create while running. This includes email attachments you've downloaded, web pages Safari has cached, app settings, and fragments of files left behind when you delete apps. It's separate from your photos, videos, and the apps themselves — those live in different storage categories.

When you check Settings > General > iPhone Storage, you see a breakdown of what's using space. Documents and Data often grows large because apps keep copies of things you've already seen, thinking you might want them again quickly. Unlike your actual documents or photos, most of this data is safe to remove — the apps will rebuild it the next time you use them.

The amount of space it takes up varies widely. A heavy email user might have gigabytes of cached attachments. Someone who streams everything might have almost none. The point is that clearing it costs you nothing except a few minutes of app startup time while they rebuild their caches.

Key Takeaways

  • Documents and Data is temporary storage apps create while running, separate from your actual files and photos.
  • The fastest way to clear it is to offload and reinstall apps one at a time, which removes the data without deleting your login information.
  • You can also clear Safari cache, email cache, and app-specific data through Settings without removing the apps themselves.
  • Clearing Documents and Data is safe — apps will rebuild what they need the next time you use them.
  • If you're running low on storage, clearing this category usually frees up more space than deleting individual photos or videos.

Offload and reinstall apps to clear their data

The most complete way to clear Documents and Data is to offload an app, which removes it but keeps your login information and settings, then reinstall it. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage, find the app you want to clear, tap it, and select "Offload App." The app disappears from your home screen and its data is deleted, but your account stays linked.

After offloading, go to the App Store, search for the app by name, and tap the cloud icon to reinstall it. When it opens, you'll still be logged in — your username and password are stored separately from the Documents and Data. This method works for any app and clears everything it cached.

Do this one app at a time for the apps that use the most storage. Mail, Maps, and streaming apps like Netflix or Spotify often hold the largest caches. Check your iPhone Storage list to see which apps are taking the most space in the Documents and Data category, then start with those.

Clear Safari cache and browsing data

Safari stores cached web pages, cookies, and browsing history in Documents and Data. To clear it, go to Settings > Safari and scroll down to "Clear History and Website Data." Tap it and choose how far back to clear — "all time" removes everything, or you can pick the last hour, day, week, or month.

This removes cached pages, cookies, and your browsing history at once. You'll stay logged into websites you visit regularly, but Safari will need to read pages fresh the next time you visit them, which takes a few seconds longer on the first load.

If you want to clear cache without removing history, there's no direct toggle in Settings. Instead, go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data and tap "Remove All Website Data." This clears the cached copies without touching your history.

Clear email cache and attachments

The Mail app caches email messages and their attachments to let you read them offline. If you receive large files or many emails with attachments, this can grow to hundreds of megabytes. To clear it, go to Settings > Mail and scroll down to find the account you want to clear. Tap the account name, then "Account," then "Advanced," then "Remove Downloaded Attachments."

This deletes cached copies of attachments you've already downloaded but keeps the emails themselves. The next time you open an attachment, Mail will read it again. You can also offload and reinstall the Mail app entirely, which clears all cached messages and attachments at once, though you'll need to wait for your mailbox to sync again.

If you use multiple email accounts, repeat this step for each one. Gmail, Outlook, and other third-party email apps have their own cache settings — check each app's settings menu for a "clear cache" or "storage" option.

Clear app-specific cache in Settings

Some apps let you clear their cache directly from Settings without offloading them. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage, find the app, tap it, and look for an option like "Offload App" or "Delete App." If the app has a cache-clearing option, it will appear here. Not all apps offer this — it depends on how the developer built it.

Alternatively, open the app itself and look in its settings or preferences menu. Many apps like Maps, Photos, and music streaming services have their own "Clear Cache" or "Storage" settings. This is faster than offloading if you just want to clear one app's temporary files without removing the app.

Check the apps you use most — Maps caches downloaded regions, music apps cache songs for offline play, and photo editors cache previews and filters. Clearing these individually takes longer than offloading everything at once, but it's useful if you want to keep an app's settings and login information intact.

Check how much space you actually freed

After clearing Documents and Data, go back to Settings > General > iPhone Storage and wait a few seconds for the list to refresh. The Documents and Data number should be smaller. If it barely changed, the apps you cleared weren't storing much — try offloading the next largest app on the list.

Keep in mind that some apps rebuild their cache when ready after you clear it. If you open Mail right after clearing it, the app will start downloading and caching messages again. This is normal and not a sign that the clearing didn't work — you're just seeing the app do what it's designed to do.

If you're still low on storage after clearing Documents and Data, the problem is likely your photos, videos, or the apps themselves. Those categories show separately in iPhone Storage and may need different solutions — like moving photos to iCloud or deleting apps you don't use.

Prevent Documents and Data from growing too fast

You can't stop apps from caching data entirely, but you can limit how much they store. In Settings > General > iPhone Storage, turn on "Offload Unused Apps" if you want iOS to automatically remove apps you haven't used in a while and reinstall them when you open them again. This keeps their cache from building up indefinitely.

For Mail specifically, go to Settings > Mail > Accounts and tap each account. Under "Mailbox Behavior," you can set how long Mail keeps downloaded messages — options range from one week to unlimited. Shorter retention means less cache buildup.

For Safari, enable "Privacy Preserving Ad Measurement" in Settings > Safari to reduce the amount of tracking data websites store on your phone. This won't dramatically cut Documents and Data, but it helps prevent unnecessary buildup over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will clearing Documents and Data delete my photos or messages?

No. Documents and Data is separate from your actual files. Your photos, messages, and documents stay in their own storage categories. Clearing Documents and Data only removes temporary files apps created while running.

What happens if I offload an app and don't reinstall it?

The app and all its data are deleted, but your login information stays on your phone. If you reinstall the app later, you'll still be logged in. If you never reinstall it, the login information takes up almost no space.

Do I need to clear Documents and Data regularly?

Only if you're running low on storage. If you have plenty of free space, clearing it won't improve your phone's performance — it just frees up room for new apps or files. Most people only need to clear it once or twice a year.

Why does Documents and Data keep growing back after I clear it?

Apps rebuild their cache as you use them. Mail downloads messages, Safari caches web pages, Maps stores map tiles. This is normal. If it grows very quickly, you might be using storage-heavy apps like video editors or cloud storage services that cache large files.

Can I clear Documents and Data without losing my passwords and logins?

Yes, if you offload apps instead of deleting them. Offloading removes the app and its cache but keeps your login credentials. If you delete an app instead, you'll need to log in again when you reinstall it.