I’m running out of space on iCloud, and it says my storage is full. I want to understand what is taking up so much space and how to manage it better. Any tips or recommendations for freeing up space?
Ugh, iCloud storage always feels like one of those infomercial gadgets—promises so much, but you’re out of space before you even know it. Basically, you’ve got 5GB free (let’s be real, that’s, like, nothing), so if you’re snapping photos like a wannabe influencer, backing up your iPhone daily, or hoarding old attachments, of course, it’s full.
Here’s the breakdown of what’s probably eating your iCloud:
- Photos & Videos: Those gigabytes full of sunsets, food pics, and blurry dog videos add up fast.
- Backups: Every time you back up your phone, you’re doubling down on consuming space.
- Messages & Attachments: All those memes, videos, and ‘hilarious’ gifs from group chats? Yeah, they’re chilling in your iCloud.
- Apps & Data: Some sneaky apps store junk there.
Here’s what to do before you start selling out for more paid storage:
Tips to Free Up iCloud Space:
- Photos & Videos: Back those babies up to Google Photos (it’s free at compressed quality) or an external drive, then delete them from iCloud.
- Manage Backups: Go to iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups. Delete old device backups and turn off backup for apps you don’t need.
- Messages: Delete those ancient group chat memes. Better yet, delete entire threads.
- Offload Apps: Some apps bloat iCloud unnecessarily. Also, don’t forget those “hidden files.”
For a simpler, automated clean-up, check out the Clever Cleaner app. It’s great at spotting duplicates, clutter, and nonsense you didn’t even know was there.
Or, if that all feels like too much effort and you’re vibing with your laziness, pay up for extra storage. Apple’s got plans starting at 99 cents/month for 50GB—that might be your best ‘meh, fine’ option.
Honestly, iCloud storage is like the promise of free pizza—you get a slice (5GB) and then you have to pay for the rest of the pie. @cazadordeestrellas nailed a lot of the culprits taking up space, but let’s be real, a few more under-the-radar offenders are probably messing with your storage too:
Here’s What’s Eating Your iCloud, and What You Can Do:
- Shared Albums: Sneaky, but those shared albums in Photos? They chip away at your space even if you’re not the one uploading photos. If you don’t care about someone else’s brunch pics, leave the album or stop auto-downloading shared content.
- iCloud Drive: Maybe you’ve dragged giant files into iCloud Drive for “later” and never opened them again. Time to Marie Kondo it—delete what doesn’t spark joy.
- Mail Attachments: That random outdated email from six years ago with a cat video? Yeah, it might be taking up more space than you think. Check for oversized attachments in your iCloud Mail and clear them out.
- Notes App: Let’s not forget Notes—yeah, that hidden beast saves attachments (images, PDFs, etc.) eating away at your storage. Clean up old notes you no longer care about.
Less Stress, More Space
Instead of doing a whole digital detox, don’t sleep on using tools that sort the mess for you. The Clever Cleaner app for iPhone is solid for spotting duplicates, removing clutter, and organizing your data. Saves you the manual effort of going through every single photo or file like a medieval archivist.
But Is Paying Really So Bad?
While cleaning up your storage is great, sometimes paying Apple isn’t the devil’s deal we make it out to be. For $0.99/month, 50GB is decently affordable considering how much our lives revolve around digital storage. Yes, it’s what they want ($$$), but let’s face it, it’s still cheaper than your coffee habit.
TL;DR, clean out your iCloud like it’s your fridge before a party. If all else fails, cough up a buck and call it a compromise.
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Okay, so @shizuka and @cazadordeestrellas covered the core demons of iCloud storage, but here’s an overlooked angle—duplication creep and syncing overload. iCloud’s biggest quirk is its tendency to replicate stuff across devices. If you’re rocking an iPhone, iPad, and maybe a Mac, you’re syncing the same files, and boom—space gone faster than cookies at a bake sale.
What’s Possibly Happening:
- Hidden Dupes: Photos might be duplicated if you enabled certain features, like HDR, or uploaded them into shared albums but forgot to delete local copies. Same goes for saved email attachments.
- Unnecessary Syncing: iCloud Drive might be syncing files and folders you don’t even need everywhere. If you’ve got heavy PDFs, videos, or design files, they could quietly hog space.
- Default Settings Betrayal: Apple loves turning on features like Messages in iCloud by default—meaning every emoji, meme, and video lands on iCloud.
Beyond Decluttering – Smarter Solutions:
- Turn Off Automatic iCloud Sync for Certain Apps: Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud. Toggle off apps like Mail, Messages, or Notes if you don’t use them heavily.
- Tackle Duplicates: You won’t always spot duplicates yourself. That’s where apps like the Clever Cleaner App for iPhone come in. Pros? It uses AI to identify redundant files, unlike manual spring cleaning. Cons? It’s a paid tool, but the balance of effort saved might be worth the price if you’re drowning in clutter.
- Change Your Default Backups: Opt for selective backups. Instead of automatically saving EVERYTHING, customize it. For instance, save only photos or app data you actually use.
But Do You NEED 50GB or More?
Here’s the thing a lot of people miss—not everything NEEDS to live on iCloud. External hard drives and third-party cloud services like Google Drive (for docs) or Dropbox (for big files) are cheaper and let you spread things out.
Apple’s $0.99/month plan is fine if you like things centralized, but brace yourself for the slippery slope—the more space you have, the more you’ll dump blindly into iCloud and repeat the cycle. For instance, even @shizuka made a solid point: why pay extra instead of offloading? But hey, at least now you know those shared albums and random iCloud Drive files lurking can be culprits, too.
So yeah, clean smarter, not harder. And if it still feels like a hassle, just admit defeat and upgrade while you sip your coffee.