I’ve been using both for years now—trying to wrangle those messages that balloon up your storage. Here’s the thing nobody’s talking about—the actual workflow that matters when you’re staring at gigabytes of attachments.
Click Messages on that page and it will show you options to view large photos, videos, and other attachments. Not everything will load immediately. Force closing the Settings app after letting those lists load might even bring up the Review Large Attachments option on the Storage page.
Not there unfortunately. If I click top conversations it just lets me delete entire conversations. Documents & data isn’t clickable.
Here’s how they stack up in real life.
Basically
SIDE A
The “view large attachments” method actually works if you’re patient. It lets you see exactly what’s taking up space—those vacation photos, old videos, and random screenshots you forgot about. It’s great for targeted cleanup when you know what you’re looking for. But yeah, you gotta let those lists load first, and sometimes force-closing the app is the only way to get it to show up. It’s precise, but slow.
SIDE B
Deleting entire conversations is the quick-and-dirty approach. It’s fast, no waiting around, and you get instant storage back. But you’re taking out the whole kitchen sink—messages, photos, voice notes, everything. It’s perfect when you don’t care about anything in that conversation, but frustrating when you just want to clear out a few big files without losing the chat history.
THE REAL DIFFERENCE
Here’s what most people miss—the “documents & data” category is where the hidden monsters live. After years of using both, I’ve found that the actual storage hogs aren’t always the big files you can see. They’re often compressed versions of everything you’ve ever synced, tucked away in those unclickable entries. The real difference isn’t which method works—it’s understanding that the system itself might be holding onto more than you think, even after you delete things.
THE VERDICT
From experience, if you’re trying to save specific files or understand what’s taking space, go with the large attachments method—just be patient. But if you’re doing a full cleanup and don’t need anything from certain chats, deleting conversations is the clear winner. It’s faster and more decisive when you’re serious about freeing up space.
That’s About It
So when you’re staring at that storage screen, remember—sometimes the solution isn’t in what you can click, but in what you can’t. Take a breath, let the lists load, and you might find exactly what you need—or realize it’s time for a full reset. Either way, you’ll know you’ve tried the real methods, not just the hype.