Updated
Updated · Android Police · Aug 22
SD Maid 2/SE Frees 5GB on 32GB Android Phone by Clearing Abandoned Files
Updated
Updated · Android Police · Aug 22

SD Maid 2/SE Frees 5GB on 32GB Android Phone by Clearing Abandoned Files

1 articles · Updated · Android Police · Aug 22

Summary

  • About 5GB was recovered on a 32GB Samsung Galaxy A03 without a factory reset or uninstalling apps, giving the phone enough room to install and run a project.
  • Roughly 3GB came from SD Maid 2/SE's CorpseFinder, which identified leftover folders from uninstalled apps that Android and standard storage analyzers could see but could not attribute or safely remove.
  • The remaining space came mostly from AppCleaner clearing hidden app caches through Android's accessibility-driven cache buttons, while SystemCleaner removed empty folders and old logs with only minor gains.
  • Samsung's built-in storage advice and tools like Disky and DiskUsage mainly surfaced active apps, photos and documents, not ownerless files; the phone was on Android 13, missing newer cleanup features available on later Android versions.
  • SD Maid 2/SE is open source and available free on F-Droid, though its bulk automation features require a one-time Pro purchase and future sideloading rules could make installation harder.

Insights

Could the mysterious data draining your smartphone's memory be permanently deleted without a drastic factory reset?
Are built-in storage managers deliberately ignoring abandoned app data to protect you, or are they just flawed?