Transferring, preserving, and processing data is a burden on the environment. Every file and email you handle, as well as social media updates, will increase energy consumption. You can reduce the weight of your carbon and digital footprint, for example, by cleaning up unnecessary data from the devices and cloud services you use.

Cleaning measures also affect the battery life of the device you use and thus prolong the life cycle of your laptop or phone. You can also influence these factors by adjusting the power efficient settings of portable devices and shutting down services that you do not need all the time (e.g. Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi).

Make a digital cleaning

1. Clean up your hard disk:

• Make sure you do not have multiple copies of the same file in several different locations. Remove unnecessary copies. Empty the trash, too.
• Handle files in the cloud service and download your local copy only if needed. This is how you release your computer’s disk space. More information: Save disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows – Microsoft Support.
• Enable Storage Sense on Windows, which automatically removes unnecessary information such as temporary files and wastebin content. More information: Manage drive space with Storage Sense – Microsoft Support.
• As a Mac user, please read the guidelines: Free up storage space on your Mac – Apple Support
• The corresponding instructions for other operating systems you may found on the manufacturer’s support pages.

2. Clean up your email folders:

• Delete unnecessary messages and large amounts of space-consuming attachments. Also clean the Sent folder. Remember to empty the Deleted folder.
• Enable Outlook setting Empty Deleted Items Folder upon exiting and utilize the AutoArchive feature.
• Discontinue subscriptions to newsletters that you do not read.

3. Clean up browsers:

• Www browsers save temporary files, such as cookies and browsing history, in the cache and hard drive of the device. Clear your web browser’s cache, cookies and browsing history from time to time or make use of the browser’s own automatic settings. Browser and operating system specific instructions for this can be found in internet.

4. Go through your phone:

• Remove applications that you do not use.
• Check out the settings of the different applications in relation to the information they collect about you.
• The photos take a lot of space from both the phone and the cloud service. Remove any unnecessary and unsuccessful shots and make it a habit to remove them immediately after photographing.

5. Take advantage of the university’s remote desktops:

• Use remote desktop programs, they do not need to be installed on your device.
• More information: Remote Desktops (UO) (oulu.fi).

General information on university saving practices

• Save the files you need for your job or study primarily in the M365 cloud service, OneDrive.
• Save specially protected, i.e. secret files on your K network drive, or if the group processes the same files, save them on a group-specific S network drive.
• If you save your own personal files on the employer’s cloud service or network drive, name the own folder for them, e.g. Private.

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