Documents & Data
Also known as: app documents and data, documents & data iPhone, app data
Documents & Data is the storage an app accumulates on top of its install size — downloads, saved files, login state, and cached media. It often dwarfs the app itself, which is why a small app can occupy several gigabytes.
- Separate from an app’s App Store download size
- Holds downloads, caches, and saved app files
- No universal iOS button to clear it
Where the space goes
In Settings > General > iPhone Storage, tapping an app shows its size split into the App Size (the download from the App Store) and Documents & Data (everything it has saved or cached since). For messaging, streaming, and social apps, Documents & Data is usually the larger of the two.
It mixes things you want to keep, such as offline downloads and saved files, with things you do not, such as image caches and temporary media. iOS gives no per-item breakdown, so you cannot see which is which from this screen.
How to shrink it
There is no universal "clear data" button on iOS. To reset an app’s Documents & Data, you usually delete and reinstall the app, or use an in-app cache-clearing option if one exists. Offloading keeps Documents & Data intact, so it does not reduce this number.