You deleted photos and nothing changed. The space is still there, sitting in trash folders you have never opened. Fix 4 holds your files for a full 30 days.
Settings > Storage shows the real breakdown by category. Start here. Most phones lose the biggest chunk to photos, video and one or two bloated apps.
In Files by Google, tap Clean. It surfaces junk files, duplicates, memes and oversized videos in one list, with a delete button beside each pile.
Deleting in Files by Google only moves items to Trash, where they sit for 30 days and still count against your storage. Open Trash and empty it.
Google Photos keeps deleted items for 60 days when they are backed up, 30 days when they are not. Bin, then Empty bin, is the fastest single win here.
In Google Photos, Manage storage > Free up space deletes the device copies of anything already backed up. The photos stay in the cloud, off your phone.
Settings > Storage and data > Manage storage ranks your chats by size and pools forwarded files over 5 MB. Group media is usually the worst offender.
Settings > Apps > pick an app > Storage & cache > Clear cache. Caches rebuild harmlessly. Never tap Clear storage, which wipes logins and app data.
Sort Settings > Apps by size, then uninstall anything you have not opened in months. Play Store's auto-archive shrinks unused apps but keeps your data.
Files by Google can do this for you. Smart Storage removes backed-up photos and videos after 60 days automatically. Availability varies by phone, so check.
Storage refills unless something offloads it for you. Backing photos and files up properly is the permanent fix, and the free tiers go further than you think.