View Your iCloud Storage
Take a moment to view a summary of your iCloud storage before you begin. You can access this by opening the Settings app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac and then selecting your Apple ID. This summary is also available in Account Settings on iCloud.com. The summary can quickly tell you what’s consuming your iCloud storage.
Delete Old Backups Data
Your iPhone and iPad will back up to iCloud by default. We don’t recommend deleting Backups data for a device you currently use, but you can free up space by removing old devices you no longer use. These remain on your iCloud account until you remove them.
Manage Videos and Photos in the Photos App
Deleting photos and videos you don’t need is often the best way to clear our iCloud storage. They consume the bulk of iCloud storage for most people and unlike an app, file, or email, which you might eventually delete when it’s no longer needed, videos and photos are rarely removed until it’s a problem.
Delete Data From iMessage
iCloud users into heavy texting might be surprised at how much Messages data can pile up over time. Texts are often used to share photos and videos and they consume space just as they would in your Photos app. On iPad, tap the Photos menu in the top left, then scroll down to the section called Media Types.
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iPhone and iPad users can do this by selecting a video or photo with a long tap and then selecting Delete from Library. Mac users can right-click a file or files and then select Delete from the context menu.
Delete Attachments From Mail
The default Mail app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac will use iCloud storage to sync data like attachments between devices. This often doesn’t take up much space, but users who frequently email large files may be surprised by how much space Mail consumes. iPhone and iPad users can instead choose to delete only select data, such as Top Conversations. This will free up space now but won’t prevent Messages from using iCloud storage in the future. Unlike most apps, iCloud data in the Mail app can’t be managed from the Settings menu on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You must search the Mail app and manually delete emails with attachments from your Inbox. It’s best to use a Mac for this, if possible, as selecting and deleting large groups of email is easier on Mac than on an iPhone or iPad.
Delete Data From Other Apps Using iCloud Storage
The method I described to delete Messages data from iCloud can also be used to delete data from most apps that use iCloud.
Prevent Apps From Using iCloud
Still having iCloud storage issues, or just want to prevent them from occurring in the future? You can permanently turn off iCloud storage for most apps.
Manually Clean Up iCloud Drive
Still need to clear space on iCloud? It’s time to roll up your sleeves and manually delete files from iCloud Drive. iPhone and iPad users will need to tap iCloud. This will display your iCloud storage summary and a list of apps using iCloud storage with a toggle next to each. Turn off the toggle next to an app to stop it from using iCloud storage. iPhone and iPad users can access iCloud Drive file storage through the Files app, while Mac users can access it through the Finder app. You can make manual file management easier if you sort files by size. iPhone and iPad users should click the Options icon in the upper right corner, while Mac users should select the Sort icon in the Finder toolbar.
