The internal storage of the iPhone 15 Pro, which has a capacity of 256GB, was nearly full due to an unexpected rise in the System Data category. This data, which includes app caches and system logs, ballooned to 134.91GB, significantly affecting the phone's performance and causing apps to crash.
Initially, the user was unaware of the issue while attempting to use the Duolingo app, which failed to load. After investigating the Storage settings, it became clear that the System Data was consuming an excessive amount of space, far exceeding the normal threshold of around 20GB.
Common troubleshooting methods, including restarting the device and clearing Safari caches, proved ineffective. Adjusting the "Keep Messages" setting also did not resolve the issue. Some users have found success by changing the date on their iPhone, a method intended to trigger the removal of outdated cached files, though it carries risks for other applications.