What is the difference between autophagy and phagocytosis?

Autophagy is the process of degrading damaged or dysfunctional organelles and cellular components, which helps to alleviate stress and maintain cellular integrity. On the other hand, phagocytosis a form of endocytosis and is involved in degrading foreign materials. These foreign materials include food that can provide nutrients to the cell, as well as pathogens that need to be destroyed. Both mechanisms are digestive processes and involve merging with a lysosome, where enzymes degrade the target.