Estimate storage freed by deleting files.
Decluttering pays off unevenly. Duplicate photos feel like the obvious target but at four megabytes each you need hundreds to reclaim a gigabyte, while a handful of old video files often frees more in a single pass. Sizing each category separately identifies where to start, and converting the total into avoided cloud subscription cost shows the recurring benefit rather than the one-off one.
Space from duplicates
Duplicate photo GB = duplicate count x average photo size MB / 1024
Total reclaimed
Total GB freed = duplicate photo GB + old video GB + unused app GB
Burst mode, messaging apps saving received copies, and repeated imports of the same card. Burst sequences are usually the largest single source on a phone.
Deletions propagate to every device, so check the trash retention period first — most services keep deleted items for around thirty days, which is your only recovery window.