How To Free Up iCloud Storage

Updated Apr 28,2018 | by Cody

Many people are looking for how to free up iCloud storage, but most of articles are too complicated to do. This article will provide you a simple way to learn how to free up iCloud storage without spending a penny.

We all enjoy the benefit of iCloud which can keep and sync all of our important videos, photos, documents, and other files up to date across all our devices. But we may receive the popup "Not Enough Storage". This popup means you run out of all your 5GB iCloud free storage and your device can't back up to iCloud. New videos and photos can't upload to iCloud Photo Library either. If this happens, your iPhone will give you the offer to buy more iCloud storage and then you will commit to another charge every months. In fact, there is no need to purchase storage.

Please follow these tips as below to learn how to free up iCloud storage. 

1. View your iCloud storage you have

2. Delete Unnecessary Documents and Data

3. Delete Older Backups

4. Delete Mail

5. Delete Photos/Videos

6. Backup Photos/Videos

View your iCloud storage you have

You need to know how much iCloud storage you have and then you can manually decide what data should be deleted.

If your device installed iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Storage.

If your device installed iOS 10.3 or later, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap iCloud Storage or Manage Storage.

Delete Unnecessary Documents and Data

You can free up iCloud storage by managing your documents and data in iCloud to choose and delete unwanted items. Please follow the below steps to do:

Step 1: Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage

Step 2: Go to Documents & Data to choose an app (The first one usually will take the biggest storage)

Step 3: After selecting the app, you can tap ”Delete All” tab, or tap”Edit” tab to choose the document you want to remove.

Delete Older Backups

Deleting the iCloud backup on your device is a great way to free up iCloud storage space. Please ensure you don’t need to restore any device from an iCloud backup before you delete iCloud backup.

On your iOS 7 device : Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup, then tap Manage Storage.

On your iOS 8 or later device: Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage, then tap Manage Storage.

Delete Mail

You can free up iCloud storage by deleting iCloud email account.

Step 1: Go to iCloud email> select the mail you want to delete or select all mails > tap “Delete”

Step 2: Tap Trash in the list of iCloud mailboxes > tap Edit> tap Delete All.

Reduce the Size of iCloud Photo Library

iCloud Photo Library keeps all of your videos and photos to your iCloud storage space. If you use iCloud Photo Library to delete videos and photos you don’t want, you can free up iCloud space.

Please follow the step below:

On iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Step 1: Open your Photos app> tap “Photos”> tap”Select” to choose one or more photos you want to delete.

Step 2: Click Dustbin icon> tap Delete Photo to delete.

On iCloud.com

Sign in to iCloud.com > Click the Photos app> Select the photos or videos that you want to delete > click Delete.

Turn on Optimize Storage

If you turn on Optimize Storage, iCloud Photo Library will automatically manage your library size on your device and your photos will change to device-sized versions to free up space. All of your original photos will be stored in iCloud and you can download them at any time when you need them.

If you still think photos and videos are taking too much space on iCloud, you can turn off iCloud Photo Library but retain photos on your iPhone.

Backup Photos/Videos on PC

In fact, the best way to free up your iCloud storage, not just for your iCloud, but also for your iOS device, is back up all important photos, videos on your computer.

IOTransfer is a good transfer software to easily manage/transfer/sync/back up photos, music, videos, contacts, etc. across iOS devices and PC.

Step 1: Click Here to download IOTransfer. To learn more it, please click Here.

Step 2: Launch IOTransfer> go to HOME tab > choose the item you want to back up or keep all items selected > Click Transfer to PC to transfer those selected items to your computer. 

Step 3: Or you can manually choose the item you want to back up from Manage tab.

Step 4: Then you can delete the photos and videos which you have backed up to free up iCloud Space.

In conclusion, we provide several methods to free up iCloud storage. Compared with other complicated ways, IOTransfer is the easiest one you really need which offers one-click to back up all of your iOS device data and then you can delete unnecessary data to free up space.

You May Also Like:

How to Manage Your iCloud Storage and Free up Space in iCloud

How to Backup When iCloud Is Full (without Buying Storage)

How to Fix iCloud Not Working on iPhone

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