Free Up Disk Space on Windows with Storage Sense: Settings That Matter
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How we wrote this: A plain-English summary of Microsoft's support page on Storage Sense, checked October 29, 2026.
What Storage Sense does
Storage Sense can automatically free up space by removing things you don't need, like temporary files and old Recycle Bin items. Microsoft says:
- It's off by default. If your PC runs low on space and you've never used it, Windows may turn it on to clean select temporary files, then notify you.
- With default settings, it runs when you're low on disk space. It cleans temporary files and eventually empties old Recycle Bin items.
- It won't touch Downloads or OneDrive files unless you set it to.
- It works on the system drive (C:) only. For other drives, use Advanced storage settings, then Storage used on other drives.
- Settings are per user.
- It runs only when you're signed in and online for more than 10 minutes.
Set it up
Open Settings, then System, then Storage, then Storage Sense, and choose:
- Run Storage Sense: how often it runs.
- Recycle Bin: delete files after a set number of days.
- Downloads: delete files not opened for a set time. Be careful: these files are deleted.
- Cloud content: make OneDrive files online-only if not opened for a while. Since Windows 11 version 22H2, the default for OneDrive is 30 days. This doesn't delete them, and files marked Always keep on this device are exempt.
Delete Windows.old after an upgrade
Under disk usage, select Temporary files, check Previous Windows Installation(s), and choose Remove files. This removes the old installation's files after an upgrade.
Why it matters
Microsoft notes that low disk space can hurt performance and make it harder to install system upgrades. Back up before deleting anything big; see Windows Backup and 3-2-1 backups.
Related: keeping software updated, free up storage on a Mac, System Restore.