Signal stores every photo, video, voice message, and GIF you've sent or received, and those can quietly add up to gigabytes. You can clear that media using Signal's built-in Manage Storage tool without deleting your conversations.
Short answer:
- Open Signal Settings > Data and Storage > Manage Storage to review and delete media by size or conversation.
- Set Keep Messages and Conversation Length Limit to auto-trim old media.
- Your chat text stays intact, only the attachments you choose are removed.
Why Signal Uses So Much Storage
Signal is privacy-first, which means your messages and media live on your device, not on a cloud server. That's great for security, but it also means every received video, photo, voice note, and sticker accumulates locally with nothing offloading it automatically.
To check the impact on Android, go to Settings > Apps > Signal > Storage & cache. On iPhone, open Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Signal and look at Documents & Data, which holds all that media.
The good news is Signal gives you precise, built-in control over this media, so you rarely need to touch your actual conversations.
Use Signal's Built-In Manage Storage Tool
This is the safest and most powerful method, and it keeps your chats.
- Open Signal and tap your profile icon (or the menu), then Settings.
- Tap Data and Storage.
- Tap Manage Storage.
Here you can review media in two ways:
- By Review (largest files): Signal lists your biggest attachments first. Select the heavy videos and images you don't need and delete them.
- By Conversation: See which chats hold the most media, open one, and clear its photos, videos, or files individually.
Everything you delete here is media only. The conversation text, your message history, remains fully intact.
Set Auto-Trim Limits to Prevent Buildup
To stop media from piling up again, use Signal's automatic limits.
- In Data and Storage, find Conversation Length Limit. Enable it and set a cap (for example, keep the most recent 10,000 messages per chat). Older messages and their media are trimmed automatically.
- Some versions also offer a Keep Messages duration. Setting it to a defined window auto-removes older content over time.
These limits run quietly in the background, keeping Signal's footprint stable without you having to remember to clean up.
Control What Signal Saves Automatically
Signal can auto-save incoming media to your phone's gallery, which doubles the storage cost by creating copies in Photos.
In Data and Storage, review the Media auto-download settings for photos, audio, video, and documents. Turn off auto-download on cellular, or entirely, so large files only download when you choose to view them.
If Signal has already filled your gallery with saved media, clean the duplicates with your phone's photo tools, or review near-identical shots with help from similar photos cleanup.
Clear the Cache Without Losing Anything
Beyond media, Signal holds a small cache that's safe to clear.
- Android: Settings > Apps > Signal > Storage & cache > Clear cache. Never tap Clear storage, that wipes your local Signal data and could log you out or remove unsynced messages.
- iPhone: There's no per-app cache button. Avoid deleting the Signal app casually, since your messages live on-device; instead rely on Manage Storage above.
Because Signal keeps everything locally, treat it more carefully than cloud-backed apps like WhatsApp.
Back Up Before Any Heavy Cleanup
Because Signal stores everything on-device, your data isn't sitting in a cloud waiting to restore. That makes backups important before you do anything drastic.
- Android: Signal can create local backups. Go to Settings > Chats > Chat backups, enable backups, and note the passphrase, you cannot restore without it. Keep the backup file somewhere safe.
- iPhone: Signal does not offer the same local backup file. Your messages transfer device-to-device during setup using Transfer account, so avoid deleting the app casually, you could lose unsynced history.
With a backup in place, you can clean media through Manage Storage confidently, knowing your conversations are recoverable. This is the key difference from cloud-backed apps like WhatsApp, where deleting and reinstalling restores chats automatically. With Signal, the safety net is the one you set up yourself.
Keep Signal and Your Phone Lean
A simple routine keeps Signal under control:
- Run Manage Storage every month or two to clear large media.
- Keep Conversation Length Limit enabled.
- Turn off auto-download for video on cellular.
Signal is just one app, though, and storage pressure usually comes from media across your whole phone. A review-first cleaner like Clenoir for iOS (or Cleanor for Android) scans on-device and surfaces large videos and duplicate photos, showing everything before you confirm a deletion. For a fuller routine, see the clean up phone storage hub and the storage cleanup FAQ.
Want the fast version? Cleanor for iPhone scans on-device — nothing uploaded — and surfaces your largest videos, duplicate photos, and heavy caches in one pass. For the full routine, see the free up phone storage guide.
FAQ
Why does Signal use so much storage on my phone?
Signal is privacy-first, so your messages and media live on your device rather than on a cloud server, which means every received video, photo, voice note, and sticker accumulates locally with nothing offloading it automatically. You can check the impact under Documents & Data in Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Signal on iPhone.
How do I clear Signal media without deleting my chats?
Open Signal Settings > Data and Storage > Manage Storage, where you can review media by largest files or by conversation and delete the heavy videos and images you don't need. Everything you delete there is media only, so your conversation text and message history remain fully intact.
Should I delete and reinstall Signal to free space?
No, treat Signal more carefully than cloud-backed apps because your messages live on-device and aren't sitting in a cloud waiting to restore. Back up first (on Android via Settings > Chats > Chat backups, noting the passphrase you can't restore without), and rely on Manage Storage rather than deleting the app, which could lose unsynced history.