How to Find and Delete Large Videos on iPhone

Want to find and delete large videos on your iPhone to free up storage and keep things organized? It’s a smart move, but iOS doesn’t make it as easy as you might expect. That’s why, in this article, we’ll show you exactly where to locate large videos on your iPhone, how to check their size, and ways to delete them.

Where Can Large Videos Be Stored on Your iPhone?

First,  let’s think about where a video often resides within an iPhone. Most commonly they can be found inside the Photos app or within the Files app. But how do they differ? Let’s uncover that.

• Photos App houses most of your video content. It stores videos you capture, those you receive via AirDrop, and those others send to you through various messaging apps. It also holds videos you download from apps like TikTok or those you edit in video editing applications.
• Files App contains a narrower selection of videos. It typically includes videos you download directly from the internet, those you import from other devices, or those you save from messaging apps, assuming you have set preferences to do so.

These two applications represent the main repositories for large videos on your iPhone. Additionally, some spots keep videos that are easy to overlook. We will discuss these in detail later.

Clearing large videos to open up space on an iPhone may not always achieve the intended result. For thorough cleanup, it is wise to check out different ways to get more storage on iPhone without paying.

How to Find Large Videos in the Photos App and Delete Them

Since the Photos app is the main space where videos are kept, we’ll start there. And yet, iOS doesn’t offer a built-in option to sort videos by size in the Photos app. To locate ones that take up more space, you can consider their duration, as longer videos generally consume more storage, or look at the file size by checking the video details.

Here’s how you can check video size on your iPhone:

1. Open the Photos app on the iPhone. 
2. Go to the Media Type section and find Videos. 
3. Select a video, then tap the info button to check details, like the file size and other information.

Reddit users recommend using the Shortcuts app to find large videos. We tested this method, and while it does successfully identify and list the largest videos, it doesn’t provide a way to delete them—you can only view them.

A more convenient option is to use an iPhone cleaner that supports video file management. One such app is Clever Cleaner. What caught our attention is that it’s completely free to download and use, with no hidden paywalls or third-party ads—something rare among free apps. When it comes to videos, Clever Cleaner can identify the largest ones in your photo gallery, letting you preview and delete them effortlessly.

Here’s how you can sort videos by size on your iPhone and remove them using Clever Cleaner: 

1. Find and download Clever Cleaner for iPhone on the App Store.
2. Launch the application and grant permission to access the Photos library.
3. Tap on the Heavies option at the bottom of the screen to open the necessary feature for large files.
4. The app will display your videos, sorted from largest to smallest, with details like file size and duration.

5. Tap on a video to enter the selection screen. Here, you can swipe to preview each video. To delete multiple videos, tap Select All.
6. Press Move to Trash to delete the marked videos.
7. Tap the Empty Trash button. This action opens the app’s trash can, where you can review and, if necessary, restore wrongly marked videos.
8. Confirm the deletion, and the app will move the selected videos to the Recently Deleted album in your Photos app. You can permanently delete them from there to free up space immediately.

While following the steps, you might have noticed that you had to select the “Heavies” option. However, the app includes three other useful features:

• Similars – finds and groups duplicate and similar photos on your iPhone, automatically selects the best shot in each group, and lets you confirm the deletion.
• Screenshots – iIdentifies all screenshots in your gallery, allowing you to review and delete either a few or all at once.
• Lives – a unique feature we haven’t seen in other iPhone cleaners. It removes motion effects and sound from Live Photos, converting them into standard images. You can then decide whether to delete or keep the original.

How to Get Large Videos Off iPhone Stored in the Files App

Now that the videos in the Photos app are organized, attention can shift to the Files app. Here, things are much simpler since the app includes built-in sorting options. However, a limitation exists – when sorting by size, all file types are displayed, not just videos. For example, if a PDF file is larger than a video, it will appear higher in the list.

Here’s how you can delete large videos from the Files app on your iPhone after sorting them:

1. Open the Files app on an iPhone. 
2. Find the section where the video is kept, whether under On My iPhone or another folder. 
3. Look at the top corner of the screen and tap on the three dots to reveal sorting choices. 
4. Choose By Size to arrange the files, starting with the largest. 
5. Browse through the organized list for a video. A thumbnail preview often helps in spotting it quickly. 
6. When a large video is located, press and hold it. A menu will appear. Pick Delete and agree to the deletion to free up storage space.

Additional Places Where You Can Find Large Videos on Your iPhone

As promised at the beginning of this article, we will now discuss less obvious locations on your iPhone where large videos might hide. Although these areas typically contain fewer videos than the Photos app and Files app, examining them can contribute to a more thorough cleaning:

• Attachments in Messages – if you frequently send or receive videos and other media files, they can pile up on your iPhone while remaining stored within your messages. Instead of going through each conversation manually, you can quickly check and manage them through your iPhone’s storage settings via Settings > General > iPhone Storage, and then selecting the Messages app to review large attachments.

• Offline downloads in media apps -apps like YouTube and Netflix let you download videos for offline viewing. While the actual video files remain on the service’s servers, your iPhone stores access files.  To free up space, go to the app, find the downloads section, and delete any videos you no longer need.

• Video editing applications – if you use iMovie or VN to edit videos, your projects aren’t just saved in the Photos app, they also remain within the app itself. If you’re done editing and don’t need to make any more changes, you can delete these project files.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you understand how to find and delete large videos on your iPhone. We recommend starting with the Photos app, as it typically contains the most extensive collection of videos. After addressing this app, you should proceed to the Files app and then explore additional areas such as attachments in messages and offline downloads from media apps.

If you’re deleting large videos to free up storage, don’t stop there. Clear out unnecessary photos, screenshots, apps, and notes as well. This will free up even more space and keep your iPhone running smoothly.