{"id":2747,"date":"2021-02-15T19:13:36","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T19:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/?p=2747"},"modified":"2022-04-04T08:40:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T08:40:39","slug":"how-to-empty-trash-on-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Empty Trash on Android"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Want to know how to empty trash on Android? You&#8217;re in the right place. On our computers, one of the easiest ways of freeing up space is to empty the trash\/recycle bin. It\u2019s only natural to clear out internal trash on our phones. After all, we have limited space on our devices and we need as much of it as possible so that there\u2019s enough space for important files and photos that we record daily. Let&#8217;s see what&#8217;s possible on an Android device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_76 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69dc54918bea6\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69dc54918bea6\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#Where_is_the_Trash_Folder_on_Android\" >Where is the Trash Folder on Android?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#How_to_Empty_Trash_on_Android_Removing_Unwanted_Files\" >How to Empty Trash on Android: Removing Unwanted Files<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#Clearing_Folders_Designated_for_Deleted_Files\" >Clearing Folders Designated for Deleted Files<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#Other_Tips_for_Freeing_up_Space\" >Other Tips for Freeing up Space<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#Run_Cleaning_options_in_Google_Files_App\" >Run Cleaning options in Google Files App<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#Delete_Unused_Downloaded_Files\" >Delete Unused Downloaded Files<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/#Wrapping_Up\" >Wrapping Up<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_is_the_Trash_Folder_on_Android\"><\/span>Where is the Trash Folder on Android?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, there isn&#8217;t a trash folder on Android as there is on Windows. That said, emptying trash on your phone isn&#8217;t as simple as showing you how to empty an android trash bin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Deleted files are handled differently. This is mostly because Android devices usually have far less storage space than a computer. Some apps do have a dedicated folder for deleted files, however. If there is a folder for deleted files and you need to recover a file, it may still be on your device. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a file is deleted on any operating system, it isn&#8217;t usually deleted immediately. It is earmarked to be overwritten by new files. So, if you haven&#8217;t written any new files to your operating system after deleting something, it can be recovered with file recovery software such as <a aria-label=\"Disk Drill (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Disk Drill<\/a> which works with macOS, or <a aria-label=\"FoneLab Android Data Recovery (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fonelab.com\/android-data-recovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"rank-math-link\">FoneLab Android Data Recovery<\/a>, which works with Windows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Empty_Trash_on_Android_Removing_Unwanted_Files\"><\/span>How to Empty Trash on Android: Removing Unwanted Files<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there isn&#8217;t a trash folder per se, let&#8217;s dive into how to empty trash on Android. In other words, we will show you how to delete files you don&#8217;t need to have around on your device anymore. Here&#8217;s how deleted files that are left behind on Android can be cleared from your device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Clearing_Folders_Designated_for_Deleted_Files\"><\/span>Clearing Folders Designated for Deleted Files<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As we mentioned before, some apps have folders that are designated for deleted files. One of the most well-known examples of this is the Google Photos app. In the case of the Photos app, you can access the trash folder from within the app itself. Simply open up the app&#8217;s library tab and select <em>Library.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-photos-example-2.jpg\" alt=\"screenshot from an android phone of google photos and library icon marked red\" class=\"wp-image-2760\" width=\"303\" height=\"623\" title=\"screenshot from an android phone of google photos and library icon marked red\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-photos-example-2.jpg 340w, https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-photos-example-2-122x250.jpg 122w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 303px) 100vw, 303px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you select <em>Bin<\/em>, you will be able to see photos that you deleted from within the Photos app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/photos_example.png\" alt=\"screenshot from an android phone of google photos and Bin icon marked red\" class=\"wp-image-2749\" width=\"308\" height=\"633\" title=\"screenshot from an android phone of google photos and Bin icon marked red\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/photos_example.png 340w, https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/photos_example-122x250.png 122w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>With other apps, you can check their corresponding folder with a file manager. There may be a folder for deleted files but note that this isn&#8217;t the case for every app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Tips_for_Freeing_up_Space\"><\/span>Other Tips for Freeing up Space<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re trying to empty the trash bin on your Android device, then you&#8217;re probably doing this to free up space. Here are some other tips for getting rid of phone trash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-advanced-heading-fc17a97d\" class=\"wp-block-themeisle-blocks-advanced-heading wp-block-themeisle-blocks-advanced-heading-fc17a97d\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Run_Cleaning_options_in_Google_Files_App\"><\/span>Run Cleaning options in Google Files App<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can clean up <a aria-label=\"a lot of unnecessary files (opens in a new tab)\" class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-clear-cookies-on-android-4-browsers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a lot of unnecessary files<\/a> from within the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.google.android.apps.nbu.files&amp;hl=en_CA&amp;gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Files by Google<\/a><\/em> app. From the <em>Clean <\/em>tab of the app, you can delete temporary files, delete duplicate files, and remove unused apps, among other things. Peruse the app to see if there are opportunities for you to free up space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-4_1-2.png\" alt=\"screenshot from an android phone of google files and clean icon marked red\" class=\"wp-image-2757\" width=\"323\" height=\"663\" title=\"screenshot from an android phone of google files and clean icon marked red\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-4_1-2.png 340w, https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-4_1-2-122x250.png 122w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 323px) 100vw, 323px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Delete_Unused_Downloaded_Files\"><\/span>Delete Unused Downloaded Files<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We have all downloaded documents and photos to our device&#8217;s memory, refer to them once and never again. Unfortunately, these files don&#8217;t simply disappear. The good news is that they can be permanently deleted. To do this, you can use the <em><a aria-label=\"Files by Google (opens in a new tab)\" class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.google.android.apps.nbu.files&amp;hl=en_CA&amp;gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Files by Google<\/a><\/em> app to clear your <em>Download<\/em> folder. You can also do this with any other file manager app. To do this, open the app and select the <em>Browse <\/em>tab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-1.jpg\" alt=\"screenshot from an android phone of google files\" class=\"wp-image-2750\" width=\"326\" height=\"670\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-1.jpg 340w, https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-1-122x250.jpg 122w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Then select <em>Internal storage<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-2.jpg\" alt=\"screenshot from an android phone of google files and internal storage icon marked red\" class=\"wp-image-2752\" width=\"328\" height=\"674\" title=\"screenshot from an android phone of google files and internal storage icon marked red\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-2.jpg 340w, https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-2-122x250.jpg 122w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Open up the <em>Download<\/em>  folder and clear out all of the files that you don&#8217;t need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-3.jpg\" alt=\"screenshot from an android phone of internal storage and download icon marked red\" class=\"wp-image-2753\" width=\"328\" height=\"674\" title=\"screenshot from an android phone of internal storage and download icon marked red\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-3.jpg 340w, https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/google-files-3-122x250.jpg 122w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Wrapping_Up\"><\/span>Wrapping Up<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After initially coming here to find out how to empty <em>Trash <\/em>on Android, I&#8217;m sure that we have covered many possibilities. While Android doesn&#8217;t have a trash bin per se, this doesn&#8217;t mean that all deleted files disappear permanently. Deleted files can sometimes be recovered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, some apps have designated folders for deleted files associated with that particular app. There are also a few opportunities for freeing up space such as by clearing out the <em>Download <\/em>folder or by running the cleaning options in the <em>Files by Google<\/em> app. If you&#8217;ve been ripping your hair out asking &#8220;How do I empty trash on my android phone?&#8221; you can clean up unwanted files using these methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the Gizmogrind blog for more useful information to make the best of your mobile device.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to know how to empty trash on Android? You&#8217;re in the right place. On our computers, one of the easiest ways of freeing up space is to empty the trash\/recycle bin. It\u2019s only natural to clear out internal trash on our phones. After all, we have limited space on our devices and we need&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/how-to-empty-trash-on-android\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to Empty Trash on Android<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trade-in-upgrade-guides"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2747"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4085,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2747\/revisions\/4085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gizmogrind.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}