It has to be routine to clear your iPhone iCloud storage for more space often than never if you don’t plan to subscribe for extra storage capacity.
If you take pictures or record videos at any glance you will soon run out of storage. It’s no longer news that most iPhones do not support external storage like microSD except if you bank on iCloud storage which charges monthly or annually.
However, if your iCloud storage is full or you are running out of space on your phone this article will teach you how to clear iCloud storage on iPhone irrespective of the model.
If you manage your iCloud storage space properly by freeing more space, reducing the photo size via phone settings, etc you will not have to worry about your iPhone backup if stolen or misplaced because it will be stored on the cloud. 
How to Check iCloud Storage on iPhone
Before you remove any file on your iCloud to create more space on your iPhone or iPad you need to know what you have left. You can check your iPhone or iPad iCloud storage on your iOS devices or macOS.
- Go to your “iPhone” or “iPad” settings.
- Click on your “Apple ID.”
- Select “iCloud.”
- Wait for a couple of seconds for the iCloud storage graph to load.
You will see what you have used and what you have left here on your iPhone or iPad. For macOS users kindly take the following steps.
- Turn on your Mac.
- Go to your “System Settings.”
- Tap on “Apple ID.”
- Click on “iCloud.”
- Just wait for a couple of seconds to load the storage graph.
You already know your iCloud storage size. This will give you a hint about the size and whether to clear unwanted photos, files or folders to have more storage or not.
How to Clear iCloud Storage on iPhone
If you have an iPhone and your iCloud storage is always complaining of full storage here are the tips you need to take to clear your iCloud storage to have more space on your iPhone.
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Remove Duplicate Photos on iPhone on iCloud
Duplicate photos or files can take a huge portion of your iPhone storage and cost you more than just keeping the photos on your iPhone. As part of the goal to clear your iCloud storage on your iPhone, you first need to remove duplicate photos and files.
- Open your “iPhone” photos app.
- Click on “Album” to view all the photos you have.
- Identify duplicate photos and move them to a new folder.
- Check the duplicate photos folder to avoid mistakes.
- Delete the folder to delete all the photos in it.
To delete or remove your duplicate photos from the iCloud to create more space you need to follow the steps below.
It’s worth noting that you must have enabled iCloud photos or synced your iCloud photos to your iPhone to make it easier to identify and clean duplicate photos.
- Go to your “iPhone Settings.”
- Click on your “Profile Name”
- Select “iCloud” >> “Photos.”
- Enable “Sync this iPhone” if it’s not synced or enabled.
- Allow the permission needed.
Give this a few minutes to complete the sync to download all your photos before you go ahead to open Gemini Photos to remove or delete duplicate photos.
Don’t Backup your Photos to iCloud
Your photos and videos take most of your iCloud storage. So, it’s advisable to turn off the feature to backup your iPhone photos to iCloud.
- Go to your “iPhone Settings.”
- Click on your “Apple ID.”
- Select “iCloud.”
- Tap on “Manage Storage.”
- Choose “Photos.”
- Click on “Disable and Delete.”
It’s worth noting that you won’t be able to restore your photos backup from your iCloud backup.
Delete your Old iCloud Backup
Your old iCloud backup is of no use. There is no need to keep it on your iCloud account. So, here you will learn how to delete your old iPhone backup to clear storage on your iPhone.
- Go to your “iPhone Settings.”
- Click on “Apple ID”
- Tap on “iCloud”
- Choose “Manage Storage”
- Click on “Backup.”
- Choose “Delete Backup”
- Tap “Disable & Delete.”
This will delete your old backup and create space for a new backup.
Delete Files and Folders from the iCloud Website
You need a browser to do this. So, get your PC or Mac and follow the steps below to delete files and folders from the iCloud website.
- Go to iCloud.com in a browser.
- Sign to your account with your Apple ID.
- Click “iCloud Drive.”
- To delete a folder from your account, select the folder and click the Delete icon.
- To delete files, double-click a folder to open it.
- Press down the CTRL and click all files to delete.
- Click on the “Delete” icon to delete the selected files.
This is one of the ways to clear your iCloud storage whenever it’s full or it’s telling you to upgrade for more space.
Delete Files that are not necessary from your iCloud Drive
You should consider deleting unnecessary files from your iCloud drive to increase the storage size you have left on your account.
- Open the “File App” on your iPhone or iPad.
- Click on the “Browse” icon at the bottom right corner.
- Select “iCloud Drive” under “Location.”
- To delete a whole “Folder” just click on the folder once to highlight it and click on the “Delete” tab.
- To delete files in the folder open the folder, highlight the files you want to delete from the folder and click on the “Trash” tab to delete the selected files. You can use the “Select” option to select multiple files.
Delete your Apps Backup on your iCloud Drive
You can still clear iCloud storage on your iPhone by deleting your app’s backup to create more space.
- Go to your “iPhone” or “iPad” settings.
- Click on your “iCloud Profile” name.
- Click on the “iCloud” button.
- Select the option to “Manage Storage” next.
- Click on “Backup.”
- You will see the list of your current backup on your iCloud if you have multiple devices. Now, you should select the device whose apps backup you want to delete.
- Go to the section that says “Choose Data to Backup” you will see the top 5 apps to occupy most of your iCloud Drive storage.
- Swipe left or toggle left to turn off the backup option for any of the apps.
- You can click on the “Show All Apps” option below to see more apps
- Delete unwanted apps that take most of your device storage to clear more storage on your iCloud account.
Delete your Voice Memos from your iCloud Drive
You should always delete voice memos that no longer serve a purpose from your iPhone to clear storage for other files.
- Open the “Memos” app on your “iPhone” or “iPad.”
- Locate the memo you no longer need and swipe it to the left.
- Click on the “Delete” tab.
- Click on the “Recently Deleted” tab.
- Select the “Memo Record” you deleted.
- Click on the “Delete” tab to delete it.
Meanwhile, all memos in the recently deleted tab will be deleted permanently on its own in 30 days.
Delete MMS or Text Messages from your iPhone
I know you don’t consider this a big deal. But it can take up a reasonable amount of storage size on your iCloud Drive. So, consider deleting text messages or MMS from your iPhone or iPad.
- Open the “Messaging” app on your “iPhone” or “iPad.”
- Find the conversation with a big attachment that you need to delete or remove from the app.
- Click on the sender’s name at the top of the screen.
- Tap on the “info” icon.
- You will see the details of the message. Now, scroll down and click on “See All Photos.”
- Click on the “Select” button at the top of the screen.
- Identify the “Photos” you want to remove and select them.
- Click on “Delete.”
- Go to your “iMessage” app.
- Click on the next thread that you want to delete.
- Swipe the thread to the left.
- Click “Delete.”
Delete your iCloud Emails that are no longer Relevant
If you have some emails on your iCloud Drive that are no longer needed or relevant you can delete them to clear storage on your iCloud account.
- Go to iCloud and sign in to your account.
- Click on “MailBox.”
- Check your Mail for expired emails or emails that are no longer relevant and delete them.
- Check your sent or archived folders and repeat the same process to delete unwanted emails that are no longer relevant.