I emptied a trash folder I didn't know my phone had and got 12GB back

Android phones don’t offer a system-wide trash folder that you can tap and empty whenever you need to free up space. That means you have to go through individual apps, like Gallery and Files, to empty the recycle bin within each one. And like most people, that’s where I used to stop. I never really realized there was an entirely different category of files taking up space without showing up anywhere obvious.

The more I edited, the more storage I lost

The undo feature comes with a storage cost

Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf Credit: Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf

I’ve always been diligent about emptying the trash folder in the Gallery app right after I delete any photos or videos. After all, Android doesn’t actually make that storage available until those items are truly gone from the trash as well. What I didn’t realize, though, is that the trash folder isn’t the only place where unwanted media can pile up.

Whenever I edit a photo or a video inside the Samsung Gallery app, I almost always choose the Save option instead of Save copy. My logic for this was to simply avoid duplicates. But the truth is, it didn’t matter.

Even when you choose Save, the Gallery app still keeps a copy of the original photo or video on my phone – it’s just not visible in the app. Yes, that hidden backup is what allows the Gallery app to undo edits made weeks or months ago. It’s a handy feature, no doubt, but it comes with a huge downside.

And the worst part is, those original photos and videos don’t have an expiration date. Unlike the trash folder, which automatically clears itself after 30 days, these edited backups can stick around indefinitely. That means every cropped photo and every retouched image ends up taking more storage. And this can easily go out of hand if you love editing videos like me. Even a simple trim on a 4K video can force the Gallery app to create a duplicate. So if that video was taking 500MB before, it could end up consuming twice as much.

This is easy to miss because there’s no obvious indication that it’s happening. I always assumed I was saving space by overwriting the original file, but I had no idea those backups were still taking up storage until I started digging through my phone’s storage settings.

Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge Android Tricks: True or False?

Think you know your way around Android? Put your hidden feature knowledge to the test. Shortcuts Settings Gestures Productivity Hidden Features Begin 01 / 8 Hidden Features True or false: Android has a built-in screen recorder that works without any third-party app on Android 10 and later. A True — it was added natively in Android 10 B True — but only on Android 12 and later C False — Android has never included a native screen recorder D False — it requires a Google account to activate Correct! Android's native screen recorder actually arrived with Android 11, not Android 10. You can access it through the Quick Settings panel by swiping down twice and tapping the Screen Record tile. Not quite. Android's built-in screen recorder was introduced in Android 11, not Android 10 or 12. Swipe down to your Quick Settings panel and look for the Screen Record tile to find it without downloading anything extra. Continue 02 / 8 Shortcuts True or false: You can tap the back of your Android phone to trigger actions like taking a screenshot, without any third-party apps. A True — it works on all Android phones running Android 10+ B True — but only on Pixel phones running Android 12+ C False — back-tap is an iPhone-only feature D False — it requires a special case with NFC sensors Correct! Back Tap is a gesture available on Google Pixel phones running Android 12 and later. You can find it under Settings > System > Gestures and assign actions like screenshot, accessibility shortcuts, and more. Not quite. Back Tap exists on Android, but it is a Pixel-exclusive feature available from Android 12 onwards. Apple has a similar feature on iPhone called Back Tap, but Google brought its own version to Pixel devices through system gestures. Continue 03 / 8 Productivity True or false: Android allows you to pin specific apps so they cannot be exited without entering a PIN or biometric authentication. A False — this feature was removed in Android 9 B False — only Samsung devices support app pinning via Knox C True — it is called App Pinning and is found in Security settings D True — but only works when the screen is in landscape mode Correct! App Pinning is a built-in Android security feature that locks the display to a single app. It is perfect for handing your phone to someone else without worrying they will snoop around, and you can find it under Settings > Security > App Pinning. Not quite. Android does have App Pinning built right in — no Samsung Knox or extra hardware needed. Head to Settings > Security > App Pinning, enable it, then use the Overview screen to pin any app you choose. Continue 04 / 8 Settings True or false: Android's Developer Options menu is visible by default and does not need to be unlocked. A True — it appears in Settings > General on all Android versions B True — but only after connecting the phone to a PC via USB C False — you must tap the build number seven times to unlock it D False — it is permanently hidden and only accessible via ADB commands Correct! Developer Options is hidden by default to prevent accidental changes that could harm performance or stability. To unlock it, go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information and tap the Build Number exactly seven times until you see 'You are now a developer!' Not quite. Developer Options is intentionally hidden on Android. The trick to revealing it is to go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information and tap Build Number seven times in a row. Once unlocked, a whole world of advanced settings opens up. Continue 05 / 8 Gestures True or false: On stock Android, you can switch between your two most recently used apps by swiping across the bottom navigation bar. A False — swiping the nav bar only adjusts screen brightness B True — a quick swipe right on the bottom bar jumps to the last used app C True — but only if gesture navigation is disabled in favor of three-button nav D False — this gesture only exists on Samsung One UI devices Correct! When gesture navigation is enabled on stock Android, a quick swipe to the right along the bottom gesture bar instantly switches you to the last app you used. It is one of the fastest multitasking tricks most users never discover. Not quite. With gesture navigation turned on, a short swipe right along the bottom edge of the screen acts like a quick app switcher, flipping you back to your most recent app. It only works with gesture nav enabled, not the classic three-button layout. Continue 06 / 8 Hidden Features True or false: Android includes a built-in Easter egg mini-game or animation that can be unlocked by repeatedly tapping the Android version number in Settings. A False — Easter eggs were removed after Android 8 for privacy reasons B True — every major Android version since Android 2.3 has included a hidden Easter egg C False — Easter eggs only exist on developer preview builds D True — but the Easter egg is the same cat-collecting game on every version Correct! Google has hidden Easter eggs in Android since version 2.3 Gingerbread. Each version features a unique surprise — from a zombie painting in KitKat to a flappy bird clone in Lollipop. Tap your Android version repeatedly in Settings > About Phone to find yours. Not quite. Android Easter eggs have been a Google tradition since Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and each version gets its own unique hidden treat. The cat-collecting game appeared in Android 7 Nougat specifically. Go to Settings > About Phone and tap the Android version rapidly to discover yours. Continue 07 / 8 Productivity True or false: Android lets you set different volume levels for notifications, media, alarms, and calls all independently of each other. A False — Android only has two volume profiles: silent and full B True — each audio stream has its own independent volume slider C False — independent volume streams require a third-party app like Tasker D True — but only if Do Not Disturb mode is turned off first Correct! Android manages several separate audio streams, each with its own volume level. Press the volume button and tap the small expand arrow to see sliders for media, calls, notifications, and alarms all at once — a hugely useful feature many people miss. Not quite. Android actually separates audio into distinct streams — media, ringtone, notifications, and alarms — each independently adjustable. Press a volume button on your device and look for the small arrow or expand icon to reveal all the individual sliders at once. Continue 08 / 8 Settings True or false: Android's 'Smart Lock' feature can automatically keep your phone unlocked when it detects you are at a trusted location like your home. A False — Smart Lock only works with Bluetooth devices, not locations B True — Smart Lock supports trusted places, devices, and even on-body detection C False — Smart Lock was discontinued after Android 10 D True — but it requires a Google Nest device to be on the same Wi-Fi network Correct! Smart Lock is a versatile Android security shortcut found under Settings > Security > Smart Lock. It can keep your phone unlocked at trusted locations like home, when connected to a trusted Bluetooth device, or even while it detects it is being carried on your body. Not quite. Android's Smart Lock goes well beyond Bluetooth — it supports trusted places using GPS and Wi-Fi, trusted Bluetooth devices, and on-body detection all independently. You can set it up under Settings > Security > Smart Lock and customize exactly when your lock screen steps aside. See My Score Challenge Complete Your Score / 8 Thanks for playing! Try Again

The storage hog was hiding in plain sight

I only had to dig through the storage menu

Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf Credit: Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf

Android’s storage menu is quite detailed. Open it, and it gives you a complete breakdown of where the storage is going, with categories like Apps, Images, Videos, Compressed files, System, and Recycle bin. Most of those are self-explanatory, but there’s one section called “Other files,” which is easy to miss.

When I checked it on my Galaxy phone, it showed me all the photos and videos I had edited using the Gallery app. And that’s where I got my surprise: nearly 12GB of storage was tied up in pre-edit backups. To put that into perspective, that’s more space than all of my videos combined. Thankfully, the cleanup process couldn’t have been simpler. All I had to do was select everything and hit Delete. The good thing is that these pre-edit backups aren’t moved to the trash folder. Once you delete them from here, they’re gone for good.

The “Other files” section also includes a couple more tabs: Pending files and Uncategorized. Unfortunately, neither of these can be cleared from this section. Pending files are files tied to unfinished processes. This could be a Chrome download that failed halfway through or a cloud upload that never completed. The Uncategorized section is simply a catch-all category for files that don’t fit neatly into Pre-edit backups or Pending files. You can select files in either category and choose the Details option to locate and delete them manually if you want.

SanDisk Ultra microSD card Brand SanDisk Capacity 256GB Flash Memory Type microSDXC Hardware Interface microSDXC

A dedicated cleaning app is the way to go

You may already have it installed

Those pre-edit backups are just one example of the kind of storage clutter that can build up after years of use. On an Android phone, there'll always be leftover installation packages, app caches, duplicates, offline files from apps, and folders created by apps you’ve long uninstalled. These things can easily take a few gigabytes of storage without making it obvious.

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Of course, you can clean these things up manually, but I feel using a dedicated app like SD Maid makes the job much less tedious. It can scour through the storage and find such junk files within seconds. If you don’t want to download a separate app for this, Files by Google also offers a cleanup tool. It can find junk files, unused apps, duplicates, and a lot more. It’s best to go through a cleanup like this every few months so you’re not wasting money by buying more storage.