Here are clear, practical steps to speed up and optimize your phone without buying a new device. I’ll separate general tips (work for most phones) and platform-specific actions for Android and iPhone.

General (both Android & iPhone)

• Restart regularly: reboot your phone once a day or a few times a week to clear temporary memory and stalled processes.
• Free up storage: keep at least 10–20% of storage free. Delete unused apps, offload or back up photos/videos to cloud or computer, and remove large downloads.
• Remove/disable unused apps and widgets: uninstall apps you don’t use. Disable or remove home-screen widgets and live wallpapers that constantly refresh.
• Update software and apps: install the latest OS updates and app updates — they often include performance and battery fixes.
• Limit background data and sync: turn off automatic syncing for accounts/apps you don’t need running all the time.
• Reduce animations: fewer or faster animations make the interface feel snappier.
• Manage notifications: turn off notifications for apps you don’t care about to reduce background activity and interruptions.
• Use lighter apps/web versions: use “lite” versions of apps or access services through the mobile website (e.g., Facebook Lite, Twitter web).
• Avoid extreme temperatures: heat slows down and can throttle performance; keep your phone in a moderate temperature range.
• Secure storage: run occasional malware/antivirus scans if you install apps from outside trusted stores.

Android-specific

• Clear cache and app data selectively: Settings → Apps → select app → Storage → Clear cache. Only clear data if you’re prepared to re-login or lose app settings.
• Disable or uninstall bloatware: in Settings → Apps, disable preinstalled apps you don’t use. (Some system apps can’t be removed.)
• Limit background processes: Developer Options → Background process limit (caution: can break app behavior). To enable Developer Options: Settings → About phone → tap Build number 7 times.
• Turn off animations: Developer Options → Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, Animator duration scale → set to 0.5x or Off.
• Use a lightweight launcher: replace heavy OEM launcher with a fast one (e.g., Lawnchair, Niagara) if desired.
• Reduce or turn off location/GPS when unused: Settings → Location → turn off or set to “Only while in use”.
• Manage battery optimization: Settings → Battery → Battery optimization / App launch and restrict apps that are allowed to run in background.
• Move media to SD card (if supported): offload photos, videos, and large files to external storage.
• Factory reset as last resort: back up data, then do Settings → System → Reset → Factory data reset. This often restores speed but requires reinstalling apps and restoring data.

iPhone-specific (iOS)

• Offload unused apps: Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Offload Unused Apps (keeps data, removes app binary).
• Clear Safari cache: Settings → Safari → Clear History and Website Data.
• Reduce Motion: Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce Motion (turn on).
• Background App Refresh: Settings → General → Background App Refresh → turn off for apps that don’t need it.
• Limit location & push: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services; Settings → Mail/Accounts → Fetch New Data → set to Manual or less frequent fetch.
• Update to the latest iOS that your device supports: Apple sometimes improves performance or security for older devices, but be cautious if a very recent update is reported to slow a specific older model.
• Reset settings (not full erase) if buggy: Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset → Reset All Settings (keeps data but resets system settings).
• Factory reset as last resort: back up to iCloud or a computer, then Erase All Content and Settings.

Battery & Performance Management (both)

• Battery health: check battery condition (iPhone: Settings → Battery → Battery Health; Android: sometimes in Settings → Battery or use manufacturer app). A degraded battery can cause throttling — replacing the battery (much cheaper than a new phone) can significantly restore performance.
• Lower screen brightness and timeout: less work for GPU and battery.
• Turn off always-on displays and high refresh rates: if your phone supports 90/120 Hz you can switch to 60 Hz for better battery life and sometimes smoother perceived performance on older hardware.
• Use power-saving modes when needed: they reduce background activity and throttling.

Advanced/optional

• Clear system cache partition (Android, on some phones): via recovery mode — can help but follow a reputable guide for your exact model.
• Reinstall OS or use manufacturer’s recovery tools: flashing a clean stock image (advanced; follow official instructions to avoid bricking).
• Consider a lightweight custom ROM (Android, advanced): for older devices a community ROM may run much faster, but this requires unlocking bootloader and technical know-how and can void warranty.

Quick checklist to try now (in this order)

1. Restart phone.
2. Free up 10–20% storage (delete big files/apps or move them to cloud).
3. Update OS and apps.
4. Turn off Background App Refresh/Background Data for nonessential apps.
5. Reduce animations / set lower refresh rate.
6. Check battery health — replace battery if severely degraded.
7. If still slow, back up and do a factory reset.

If you tell me your phone model and OS version (e.g., “iPhone 11 on iOS 17” or “Samsung Galaxy S10 on Android 12”), I can give model-specific steps and precise menu locations.