How to free up iCloud space?

If you use an iPhone, iPad or Mac regularly, your free 5 GB of iCloud storage can fill up very fast. Photos, videos, backups and app data slowly pile up until you see the dreaded “iCloud storage is almost full” message. In this guide, you will learn practical, step-by-step ways to free up iCloud space without losing important data.
We will cover how to check what is using your storage, remove unnecessary files safely, and keep your iCloud organized over time.

Check What Is Using Your iCloud Storage .1

Before deleting anything, you should know exactly what is taking up space.

How to check iCloud storage usage (iPhone / iPad)

Steps:

• Open Settings.
• Tap your Apple ID name at the top.
• Select iCloud.
• Tap Manage Account Storage (or Manage Storage).

Here you will see a bar graph and a list of categories such as Backups, Photos, iCloud Drive, Messages, and more. This overview helps you decide where to focus first.

Optimize Photos Storage .2

For many users, Photos is the biggest iCloud consumer. High-resolution photos and 4K videos can fill gigabytes quickly.

Option A: Turn on “Optimize iPhone Storage”

This keeps full-resolution photos in iCloud but stores smaller, optimized versions on your device.

Steps:

• Go to Settings > Photos.
• Enable iCloud Photos (if it’s off).
• Select Optimize iPhone Storage.

This option does not directly reduce iCloud usage, but it helps manage space on your device. To actually free up iCloud space, you must delete unwanted media.

Option B: Delete unwanted photos and videos

Steps:

• Open the Photos app.
• Go to Albums > Recents (or use Search to find old screenshots, screen recordings, etc.).
• Delete photos and videos you no longer need.
• Open Albums > Recently Deleted and tap Select > Delete All to permanently remove them and free up space.

You can also move important photos to an external drive or another cloud service if you don’t want them in iCloud.

Remove Old Device Backups .3

Old backups from previous iPhones or iPads can take up a lot of space, especially if you have used multiple devices over the years.

How to delete unused backups

Steps:

• Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
• Tap Manage Account Storage > Backups.
• You will see a list of devices using iCloud Backup.
• Tap an old device you no longer use.
• Select Delete Backup and confirm.

Be careful not to delete the backup for your current device. Only remove backups for devices you no longer own or use.

Clean Up Messages and Attachments .4

Messages in iCloud can store a huge amount of photos, videos, voice messages and documents shared in chats.

A. Set messages to auto-delete after a period

Steps:

• Go to Settings > Messages.
• Tap Keep Messages.
• Choose 30 Days or 1 Year instead of Forever.

This will automatically remove older messages over time and prevent iCloud from filling up again.

B. Manually delete large attachments

Steps:

• Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Account Storage.
• Tap Messages.
• Under Top Conversations, review threads with the largest storage usage.
• Open a conversation in the Messages app.
• Tap the contact name at the top > Info.
• Scroll down to Photos, Videos, and Documents and delete large files you don’t need.

This allows you to keep important text messages while removing heavy media.

5. Manage iCloud Drive and App Data

Many apps automatically store documents and data in iCloud Drive. Over time, old files and caches from apps you no longer use can consume space.

A. Delete unused files from iCloud Drive

Steps (iPhone / iPad):

• Open the Files app.
• Tap Browse > iCloud Drive.
• Go through folders like Downloads, Documents, or old app folders.
• Tap and hold items you don’t need and choose Delete.
• Open Recently Deleted in Files and empty it to free space.

B. Turn off iCloud for apps that don’t need it

Steps:

• Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
• Scroll down to see apps using iCloud.
• Turn off iCloud sync for apps whose data you don’t need in the cloud.

This stops these apps from using additional iCloud space in the future.

6. Manage Mail Storage in iCloud

If you use iCloud Mail, large attachments and old messages can also fill your storage.

Steps:

• Open the Mail app and go to your iCloud inbox.
• Use search filters like “has:attachment” to find large emails.
• Delete emails you no longer need, especially those with big attachments.
• Empty the Trash folder to permanently remove them.

You can also save important attachments to your device or another storage service before deleting the email.

7. Consider Upgrading iCloud Storage

Sometimes, even after cleaning up, you still need more space for photos, backups and files. In that case, upgrading to iCloud+ can be reasonable, especially if your digital life is heavily tied to Apple devices.

However, good digital hygiene still matters:

• Delete temporary files regularly.
• Keep only essential backups.
• Review apps that use iCloud every few months.

If you manage multiple Apple IDs or devices, it can also help to separate personal and business accounts. Some users use virtual numbers from services like smsonline when creating extra Apple IDs for testing, work devices or family setups. In those cases, having organized accounts helps you control which data goes into which iCloud, so you don’t waste storage across multiple profiles.
If you often verify accounts or use multiple services across regions, you may also look for options to buy google voice number online to handle SMS verification for different platforms. This doesn’t directly free iCloud space, but it can make managing multiple accounts and services cleaner and more secure, which indirectly helps you keep a structured cloud environment.

8. Ongoing Maintenance Tips

To keep your iCloud storage healthy over time, follow these simple habits:

Steps:

• Check iCloud usage monthly

Open Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Account Storage and see what is growing.

 

• Regularly delete old media

Every few weeks, remove old screenshots, screen recordings and unnecessary videos from Photos.

 

• Review backups twice a year

Delete backups for devices you no longer use.

 

• Clean Messages attachments

Clear large videos and photos from group chats and set messages to auto-delete if possible.

 

• Audit iCloud Drive folders

Remove old project files, zip archives, or duplicates that you no not need anymore.

Final Thoughts
Freeing up iCloud space is not difficult, but it requires a clear plan:

• identify what uses the most storage,
• remove unnecessary content safely, and
• maintain good habits so your storage does not immediately fill up again.

By following the step-by-step methods above, you can avoid constant “storage full” alerts, keep your most important data in the cloud, and enjoy smoother backups and sync across your Apple devices.