Why it’s a good idea to add your smartphone to the list of “spring cleaning” items

KSNF/KODE  — Now that spring is here, you might be thinking about the items on your spring-cleaning list.

If so, one item you may want to add to that list is your smartphone.

While you wash windows, organize closets and rearrange spaces, spring is also a good time to clean, organize and declutter mobile devices.

This will help increase efficiency when searching through apps and enable devices to operate more effectively.

Major U.S. mobile carriers suggest checking off these five tasks as part of spring-cleaning regimes for mobile devices:

SIMPLIFY APPS

Mobile apps take a toll on storage space, battery life and the visual appeal of screens.

Mobile carriers suggest that you go through your current apps and delete those that are obsolete or no longer used regularly.

Once decluttered, make any needed updates and adjust notification and background app refresh settings according to your personal preferences.

One tip to consider is organizing alphabetically or by color, category or frequency of use.

Creating folders, widgets and themed home screens can also prove helpful and aid in the ability to quickly find apps.

DE-CLUTTER HISTORY

Phone calls, voicemails and text messages add up rapidly over time.

Mobile carriers suggest that you go through and clear call history, voicemails and text chains no longer needed.

Also, it may helpful to go through and update your phone’s contacts.

ORGANIZE CAMERA CONTENT

Photos and videos, both taken and recieved, use a lot of storage space.

If a device becomes overloaded, visual content will automatically be replaced with smaller, device-size versions.

Delete unwanted photos and video and then backup to an app such as iCloud, DropBox, Google Drive or Amazon Drive.

If available space doesn’t permit one to do so, consider downloading to a flash drive.

Mobile carriers say organizing visual content is also key.

This can be done by creating albums according to year, people, places or other categories.

CLEAR THOSE COOKIES

Cache, cookies and downloaded files hold personal data used to track shopping habits, interests and more.

Clearing it protects privacy and frees up space – the following steps will walk you through the process:

• iPhone users can go to settings, scroll down and select Safari and tap on “Clear History and Website Data.” A message will then appear, warning the user that the history and other browsing data will be removed, and tap on “Clear History and Data.”

• Android users can launch the web browser; press the three vertical dots at the top right; tap “History;” select “Clear browsing data…;” select “Browsing History,” “Cookies and site data” and “Cached images and files;” next to “Time Range” choose a time range or select “All Time” to delete the entire browser cache; and then tap “Clear data.”

• This personal data can also be removed from tablets.

DEEP CLEAN DEVICES

Mobile carriers say to use a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe or disinfecting wipes to gently clean all hard, nonporous surfaces.

There are several types of phone cleaning wipes you can purchase that will leave your smartphone streak-free and help to protect against bacteria.