Freeing up storage space on my phone can be a task, and doing it manually can be time-consuming.
Plenty of utility apps can remove app junk, duplicate images, and other large files, but many rely on ads that ruin the experience.
I came across an open source utility app that let me delete three other apps, and I saved 12GB of storage space.
Managing storage space feels like a game of Jenga, but an app solved the problem
One app to rule them all
Earlier, I ran three apps that targeted duplicate files, images, and other large downloads to free up storage space.
The irony was that a storage cleaner app, an image-organizing app, and a media compression tool were taking up storage space too.
My workflow became more time-consuming than it should have been, and some of the apps weren’t even great at what they advertised.
That’s when I found Amaze File Utilities, an open source app from the same team that made Amaze File Manager.
The “aha” moment came when I realized this open source app could do the job of all three apps I used before. The app can analyze images, remove duplicates, and compress media files when I need to.
Amaze File Utilities (AFU) also has built-in media playback, so I could delete VLC Media Player if I wanted to. But if I looked closer, it could also replace another app many Android users use.
While I don’t use Wi-Fi Direct to transfer apps because I have a Synology NAS for backups, many people like to transfer images and videos across devices.
AFU also has built-in Wi-Fi transfers, so a dedicated app for this purpose is redundant.
How Amaze Files Utilities helped me save 12GB of storage space
Freeing up storage space has never been this easy
When I try to find an app to free up storage, search engines always recommend SD Maid 2/SE to purge storage junk.
But when it comes to analyzing images, videos, and duplicate files, I prefer AFU because its scanning feature and overall experience are superior.
The app scans your phone’s storage and organizes images, videos, and other media into easier-to-review categories.
For example, it can identify screenshots, duplicates, blurry images, cluttered videos, and old downloads I had forgotten about.
What’s neat is that the app puts old screenshots and downloads into a separate category I can delete, since I probably won’t need them anymore.
It can also scan images used by messaging apps and other app data that grows over time.
If you thought SD Maid 2/SE was the only app that could scan leftover APKs and uninstalled app junk, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Amaze Files Utilities can do the same job, but with a much cleaner, easier-to-use interface.
To make freeing up storage stress-free, AFU lets me take bulk actions and search, sort, or group images in list or grid view. If I don’t want to delete media but still want to free up space, I can compress it.
Compressing media reduces quality, but I only apply it to old videos I don’t need right now.
After using these features, I got back at least 12GB of storage after the app deleted duplicate images, APKs, and junk files I’d been ignoring for a long time.
On top of the freed-up storage, I deleted the three apps I was using earlier. That let me get 700MB to 800MB of storage space back.
The app also does more than manage images and junk files. I can also free up RAM to make my phone snappier and delete the apps I use least.
One major caveat, though: Amaze File Utilities isn’t free. You get 20 days to use the app, but to keep using it, you’ll pay a small fee or subscription to support the developers.
Amaze File Utilities costs $1 per year or $3 for a lifetime membership. The trial period doesn’t paywall any features and lasts 20 days.
In my opinion, the subscription or lifetime license is worth it; it doesn’t cost a leg and genuinely makes my life easier. AFU has no telemetry, ads, or cloud storage subscriptions, and since it’s open source, I didn’t mind paying for the lifetime license.
What’s cool is that I got to test out the app for 20 days for free, and it gave me enough confidence to support the developers.
One app was more than enough to help me get storage back
The combination of powerful image scanning, media compression, junk/large-file analysis, and the ability to free up RAM in one app was a life changer.
Amaze File Utilities might be a relatively unknown open source app, but it does a fantastic job of identifying redundancies unlike any other app I’ve used.
I highly recommend trying the trial to see if it makes a meaningful difference. If it does, upgrading doesn’t cost much.
