How to move apps to SD card from your internal storage

Phone storage is such an important factor when it comes to purchasing your new smartphone, especially for power users, but even for photo and video hounds. Honestly, too little storage is something that can completely turn you off from even considering a particular phone model. After all, you need room for all those songs, photos, and apps. Top that off with an operating system that eats through your internal storage, and you’re going to need at least 16 gigs or more to work with.
These days, there are different methods to compensate for this such as the Cloud and massive sized internal memory configurations. However, SD cards are still a viable option in today’s market and this is probably the cheapest way to maximize your space. While not every smartphone in the Android camp has microSD support, after a bit of a decline a few years back, microSD adoption by OEMs has picked up considerably. Major flagships from LG, Samsung, and HTC all include support, though phones like the Pixel unfortunately do not.
If you do have a phone that supports microSD, and you pick one up you’re going to want to move your apps to it. Thankfully, the process is quite simple and should only take you a few seconds.
With that in mind, let’s jump in and explain how to move apps to your SD card!
Editor’s note:  The following guide was written using a Samsung device, though most (but not all) Android devices allow you to move apps to SD and follow a relatively similar procedure.

Move apps to your SD Card
The first step is to open your Settings app. You can always find it within your app drawer.

 Next, swipe down to your application manager and launch it. Keep in mind considering the make or model of your phone, the steps here might be slightly different.

Now you will be brought to a list of all of your apps. Simply select the one you want, and it will display a screen with many options such as “Clear Cache” and “Force Stop”. Tap the one that says “Move to SD Card”, and you’re good to go. It probably goes without saying, but you must have a compatible microSDd card inserted for this option to show up.

Exceptions
When moving apps to your SD card, you must keep in mind a few things. The first is that not all devices support this functionality. You can access the apps through the application manager, but it will not display the “Move to SD Card” option (I have ran into this problem with Moto X Pure, for example).
Second is that not all apps can be transferred to your SD card. This is usually for apps that come pre-installed in your phone such as Google Chrome, YouTube, Messages, and more. In these cases, the “Move to SD Card” will be grayed out, and tapping it will do nothing. Lastly, there are a few specific phones that can move part of an app to the SD card while keeping the rest on internal storage. While it doesn’t help quite as much as simply moving the entire app, every bit counts.

Cloud or SD Card?
How do you guys store things on your phone? Do you prefer getting phones with massive storage? Would you rather get an SD card? Do you use the Cloud instead? We want to know! Talk to us in the comments about the way you optimize your storage and stay tuned for more how-tos on all things Android.