I recently looked at the storage on my iPhone and saw that the Gmail app is using nearly 700MB of space. That feels really high for an email app. I’m curious if this is standard or if my installation has a problem.
Has anyone run into this same situation with the Gmail app on iOS? The app is functioning well, but I’m worried about how much storage it’s taking since my phone has limited space. I’ve already restarted both the app and my phone, but the storage usage hasn’t changed.
Is there a way to decrease the storage usage of this app without deleting my email data? Should I be concerned, or is this just how it is now? I’d appreciate any tips.
It’s fairly typical for the Gmail app to take up substantial space, as it stores data locally for offline access—including images, attachments, and sync data for all accounts. After heavy use, I experienced a similar situation with my app size reaching around 750MB. To help manage this, adjust your sync settings in the Gmail app to limit local storage to only recent emails. You can do this by opening the app, going to Settings, selecting your account, and modifying the sync options. This adjustment significantly reduced my storage usage while still keeping recent emails readily accessible. Alternatively, deleting and reinstalling the app can reset its storage, though this will temporarily remove offline access to older emails until they sync again.
Yes, the storage usage you’re seeing with the Gmail app is relatively standard for iOS, particularly if you’ve been using it extensively. The app accumulates a lot of cached data, including attachments and images, aiming to enhance performance. I had a similar experience where my Gmail app reached 800MB, which was unnerving. Much of this storage is not from your actual emails but rather from cached content. To free up space while retaining your email data, navigate to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Gmail and select ‘Offload App.’ This removes the app while keeping your data, allowing for a clean reinstallation from the App Store that clears the cache without affecting your account settings. Also, consider whether you have multiple Gmail accounts synced, as each added account could contribute to increased storage usage.
yep, totally normal! gmail grabs a lot in the bg like attachments and pics. try clearing the cache in app settings, will help a lot without losing emails. mine was at 650MB too last month, so don’t sweat it!