How to find and remove your largest videos

Photos are small. Videos are not. One long video of a school concert can take more room than hundreds of photos. So if your phone is full, your biggest videos are often the quickest win.

This guide shows how to find them with the free tools on your phone, how to keep them somewhere else first, and how to record smaller videos from now on.

Why some videos are so big

A video's size depends mostly on how it was recorded. Apple puts it simply: "Faster frame rates and higher resolutions result in larger video files" (Apple Support, read on 15 October 2026).

The usual suspects:

• 4K instead of HD (1080p).
• 60 fps (frames per second) instead of 30 fps.
• Slo-mo. Apple says it records at 1080 HD at 240 fps from the back camera by default.
• Cinematic mode, especially if you switched it to 4K.
• ProRes, on Pro iPhone models. Apple says ProRes files are "up to 30 times larger than HEVC files" (Apple Support, read on 15 October 2026).
• Most Compatible format. Apple says the newer High Efficiency formats use less storage at the same visual quality.

Your iPhone shows roughly how much space one minute takes for each choice in Settings › Camera › Record Video (not verified). The figures vary by model, so check your own phone rather than a list online.

iPhone: there is no "sort by size"

This surprises many people. The Photos app cannot sort your videos by size. Apple's guide lists only two ways to sort the library: by when items were added and by when they were taken. That is true in the current iOS 27 guide.

So you have to look a little. Here is the quickest way.

Step 1: open your videos

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Tap Collections, scroll down to Media Types, then tap Videos.

On iOS 18 there is no Collections button. Scroll down the main Photos screen and tap Media Types, then Videos.

Step 2: look for long ones

Each video thumbnail shows its length in the corner (not verified). Long videos are usually the big ones. But not always: a short 4K or slo-mo clip can be larger than a longer HD one.

Step 3: check the size

1. Tap a video to open it.
2. Swipe up, or tap the Info button.
3. Apple says this panel shows camera details including the file size.

It is slow to do this for every video, so start with the long ones and anything you know was filmed in 4K or slo-mo.

Step 4: see the total

Go to Settings › General › iPhone Storage and look at Photos. Apple says this screen can also show recommendations. Tap one to review what it suggests. One of them may offer to let you review large videos (not verified). The wording differs between iOS versions.

Before you delete: keep a copy if it matters

Big videos are often precious ones. A wedding, a first step, a last birthday. Please keep a copy somewhere else before you delete.

To a computer. Apple's guide covers both Mac and Windows:

• Mac: connect your iPhone with a cable, open Photos on the Mac, pick the videos, then click Import Selected.
• Windows: install the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store, connect your iPhone, unlock it, and tap Trust if asked. Then import in the Microsoft Photos app.

Once copied, open the copy on the computer and play it. Only delete from the phone when you know the copy works.

A warning about iCloud Photos. If iCloud Photos is on, deleting a video on your iPhone deletes it everywhere: your iPad, your Mac and iCloud. iCloud is not a separate backup in that case. Copy the video to a computer or drive first. On Windows, Apple says to download the full-size originals to your iPhone before you import.

If you would rather keep everything and not delete at all, see how to free up space without deleting photos.

Delete, then empty Recently Deleted

1. In Videos, tap Select, then tap the videos you want to remove.
2. Tap the bin icon and confirm.
3. Tap Collections, then Recently Deleted (below Utilities), then View Album, and unlock.
4. Select the videos and choose Delete.

Apple keeps deleted items in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Your space only comes back after they leave it, so step 4 is the one that frees the room. On iOS 18, swipe up on the main Photos screen to find Recently Deleted. More on this in why storage stays full after deleting.

What about trimming?

You can trim a video in Photos: open it, tap Edit, drag the ends, tap Done. Then Apple offers two choices:

• Save Video saves only the trimmed version. But Apple lets you undo it later with Revert, so the phone keeps what it needs to undo the trim. Don't expect it to free much space (not verified).
• Save Video as New Clip keeps both versions. That uses more space, not less, until you delete the original.

Record smaller videos from now on

This is the step that stops the problem coming back.

1. Go to Settings › Camera › Record Video and pick a smaller setting, such as 1080p HD at 30 fps. Keep 4K for moments that matter.
2. Go to Settings › Camera › Formats and choose High Efficiency.
3. If you have a Pro iPhone, turn off Apple ProRes under Formats unless you edit video professionally.
4. Check Settings › Camera › Record Slo-mo and Record Cinematic. Lower settings make smaller files.

You can also change the resolution and frame rate for a single video. In the Camera app, in Video mode, tap the values at the top of the screen. Options differ between iPhone models.

On Android

Files by Google has a card for this:

1. Open Files by Google.
2. Tap Menu, then Clean.
3. On the Delete large files card, tap Select files.
4. Choose what to remove, then tap Move to Trash and confirm.

Samsung Galaxy: open My Files, scroll to the bottom and tap Analyse storage. Samsung says it then shows duplicate, large and unused files. Inside a My Files folder you may also be able to sort by size (not verified).

Google Photos does not offer a sort by size in its help pages (not verified), so use one of the above to find big files. Remember that deleted items go to the trash, and the space returns once it is emptied. For more, see Android storage full: what actually works.

Where RoomForGems fits, honestly

The free steps work. The hard part on iPhone is the lack of a size sort, which means checking videos one at a time.

RoomForGems lists your largest videos biggest first, with the size and length of each. You can clear the ones you don't need. Or you can keep a video and make it smaller, a whole batch at once, with the likely saving shown before you start. For a long video, you can trim it: keep the best part as a real smaller file. The original goes only after the copy is saved and checked.

Nothing is deleted without your confirmation in the phone's own dialog. Everything happens on your phone; your videos don't leave it.

It is free to scan and free to clear up to 1 GB. After that it is $9.99 once, charged through the App Store or Google Play. There is no subscription.