{"id":199669,"date":"2026-02-04T12:38:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midatlanticconsulting.com\/blog\/?p=199669"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:38:03","slug":"how-to-reduce-the-space-taken-by-apple-music-on-ios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midatlanticconsulting.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/how-to-reduce-the-space-taken-by-apple-music-on-ios\/","title":{"rendered":"How to reduce the space taken by Apple Music on iOS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Go through these tips to cut down the amount of local storage space Apple Music takes up on your iPhone or iPad.<\/span><\/p>\n

The storage used by high-quality streaming and downloading on Apple Music can quickly balloon to several gigabytes. Once this happens, you may not have sufficient space left for taking pictures, recording videos, downloading new apps, and so forth. Therefore, it’s important that you make some changes if you have an iPhone with base storage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Table of Contents<\/b> hide<\/a> <\/span> <\/div>\n
\n
\n
1)<\/span> Restart your iPhone regularly<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
2)<\/span> Stream instead of downloading<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
3)<\/span> Turn off automatic downloads<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
4)<\/span> Set a lower download quality<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
5)<\/span> Assign a storage limit for downloaded songs<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
6)<\/span> Delete duplicate songs<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
7)<\/span> Get rid of music videos<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
8)<\/span> Free up Apple Music cache<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
9)<\/span> Delete and reinstall the app<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Restart your iPhone regularly<\/span><\/h2>\n

Switching your iPhone off and back on every few days can automatically clear unnecessary cache and offline data, keeping local storage space in check. I generally restart my iPhone<\/a> every 4 to 5 days or sooner if something isn’t working right, which happens often in iOS 26.<\/p>\n

Stream instead of downloading<\/span><\/h2>\n

Saving songs for offline consumption takes up a lot more local iPhone space compared to streaming. So, if you have fast Wi-Fi or unlimited cellular connectivity, keep just a few of your favorite songs offline and stream the rest.<\/p>\n

Turn off automatic downloads<\/span><\/h2>\n

Apple Music lets you enable automatic downloads<\/a>, which saves every song for offline listening when you add it to your library. While handy for some, this feature can quickly eat up a lot of local space on your iPhone or iPad. So, head to iOS Settings<\/strong> > Apps<\/strong> > Music<\/strong> and turn off Automatic Downloads<\/strong>. You can still manually download songs<\/a> that you want.<\/p>\n

Set a lower download quality<\/span><\/h2>\n

Lossless audio consumes more data and takes up more local space when downloaded offline.<\/p>\n

Unless you’re a hardcore audiophile and use high-quality wired earphones\/headphones, you’ll notice no difference between Lossless audio<\/a> and standard audio.<\/p>\n

So, go to iOS Settings<\/strong> > Apps<\/strong> > Music<\/strong> and tap Audio Quality<\/strong>. If Lossless Audio<\/strong> is enabled, turn it off, or select Downloads<\/strong> and set it to High Quality (AAC 256 kbps)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Assign a storage limit for downloaded songs<\/span><\/h2>\n

iOS includes a handy Optimize Storage<\/em> feature that automatically removes songs you haven’t listened to recently when your iPhone runs low on space. However, it will still preserve at least 4 GB of music (about 800 individual tracks), so you continue to have some offline media. Go to iPhone or iPad Settings<\/strong> > Apps<\/strong> > Music<\/strong> > Optimize Storage<\/strong> to turn on this feature and set a minimum storage boundary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Delete duplicate songs<\/span><\/h2>\n

Just like duplicate photos, contacts, and files, you may have duplicate songs in your Apple Music library. These can be the same tracks or another version of the same song (Live, Clean, Explicit, Acoustic, Lo-Fi, Cover, etc.).<\/p>\n

If you have a Mac, use the dedicated duplicate cleaner built into the Music app<\/a>. Thanks to Sync Library<\/a>, songs you delete from your Mac will also be removed from your iOS device.<\/p>\n

But if you only have an iPhone or iPad, follow these steps instead:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Open the Music app<\/strong> and tap Library<\/strong> > Songs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  2. Tap the three dots<\/strong> menu button at the top and select Title<\/strong> to sort all songs by name (A to Z<\/em> or Z to A<\/em>).<\/li>\n
  3. Now, browse through your library, and if you see the same song more than once, delete the version you don’t want to keep.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Get rid of music videos<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Video files can take up significant space on your iPhone or iPad. Go to the Library<\/strong> section of the iOS Music app and tap Music Videos<\/strong> to see if you have downloaded some clips. Then, remove the ones you have already watched or no longer want to rewatch.<\/p>\n

    Free up Apple Music cache<\/span><\/h2>\n

    There are easy ways to clear Apple Music cache<\/a> on Mac and Android. But on iPhone and iPad, you can delete the cache only by doing one of these things:<\/p>\n