Millions of iPhone users told to turn key feature OFF – ignoring it may cost you

IPHONE owners have been urged to turn off a key feature that could swallow up your storage and make them incur costs further down the line. 

The feature, called Live Photos, captures a mini video every time you snap a photo with your iPhone. 

1

It’s the trick behind a perfect shot, as it lets you choose between several mini frames instead of just one image.

But, perhaps unsurprisingly, it takes up much more storage on your device than a standard photo does.

And if the feature is switched on permanently, you might be considering forking out more cash for iCloud storage when you don’t need to.

Or, you might even be pushed to delete other precious photos to free up space.

What are Live Photos?

With Live Photos, your iPhone records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take a picture.

You take a Live Photo just like you do a traditional photo, so some people might not even realise they are using the feature. 

If the circle bulls-eye style icon in the top right of your camera app doesn’t have a strike through it – then the feature is currently switched on.

The benefit of Live Photos is that since each shot is recorded as a mini video, so you can go through the individual frames to select a different key photo and get the perfect shot.

You can also add fun effects, such as the bounce or loop effects, and edit the Live Photo before you share them with your family and friends.

Despite their perks, Live Photos have a major downside – they take up a lot of storage space.

And since iPhones don’t support storage expansion in the form of memory cards, they can easily fill up – especially if you own one of the lower-priced devices.

Higher storage options significantly raise the costs of an iPhone, so upgrading doesn’t come cheap.

So if you’re not using Live Photos, it’s worth turning off the feature to optimise your iPhone’s storage space and save yourself some serious cash later down the line.

How to turn off Live Photos

To avoid filling up your iPhone’s internal storage and being faced with extra costs in the future, simply turn Live Photos off.

To do this, Apple Support explains that you simply need to navigate from the Camera app and tap the Live Photos button to turn the feature off.

A slash through the Live Photos button means that the feature is off.

However, this won’t keep the feature turned off permanently, as the Camera app turns Live Photos on automatically when loaded up again. 

To keep Live Photos off head over to your phone’s Settings app, tap Camera’ then the Preserve Settings option.

Then simply make sure that the switch next to Live Photo is turned on.

If it’s too late and your iPhone storage is already full, don’t panic – there are ways to fix it.

Check out our iPhone storage guide that details three nifty tricks to free up some space so you can get snapping again in no time.

Best Phone and Gadget tips and hacks

Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered…

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk