If you run out of iCloud backup space for either Mac or iOS items, you can now easily delete iCloud Storage on iPhone and Mac and manage backups and data for all devices directly on your Mac from OS X.
The iCloud Manager itself also allows you to view and delete individual files from iCloud-enabled apps. Everything in iCloud will be found here, whether it’s from Mac OS X or iOS, apps, files, manual backups, games, or anything else cached online with the service.
You can also easily upgrade your iCloud plan from the preference window; to do so, just click “Change Storage Plan”. The free option provides 5 GB, which is great, but in reality, it is so small that no more iOS device and Mac can share it. You will need at least a 15 GB option; otherwise, you will frequently delete backups to make way for new devices or even resort to backing up iOS devices on a computer when using iCloud space.
Want to get rid of iCloud backup or press the reset button and start again? Follow how to delete iCloud storage on iPhone and Mac.
iCloud storage can be used quickly among all the rich photos and videos, iMessages, and many third-party apps that it can use. Checking out how to use iCloud Storage Backups is an easy way to free up space or see if you need to upgrade your plan.
How to Delete iCloud Storage on iPhone and Mac
Here are the suggested approaches to clear your iCloud storage on your iPhone and Mac.
1. Do not Back Down too much
Automatic iCloud backups can take up a lot of space. There are two types of backups: system backups and backups of individual applications.
Let’s take a look at system backups first. On a Mac, go to System Preferences> iCloud, and then tap the Manage applet in the lower right corner. Now select backups. Here you’ll see a list of device backups, and you can delete any copies you don’t or don’t need.
You can do the same in iOS by going to Settings> Your Username> iCloud and going to Storage Bit. Details vary from version to version, so for example, in iOS 11, it manages storage> backups, and in iOS 10, it is iCloud storage> storage management. You can now select the device and delete the backup. You can also stop this device from backup completely.
Now let’s consider individual applications. The process is pretty much the same for backups, but it’s only for iOS. Go to your iCloud settings and storage, and you will see a huge list of apps that use iCloud. You can turn off iCloud using the buttons: green and gray means off. Turning off iCloud photos is a great last resort to save space.
2. Make your photo library smaller
If you like us, you may not delete all your bad enough photos. It’s amazing how much storage space you can free up when you take it, and deleting unwanted photos is usually a good habit to access. It is especially important with video, which takes up a lot of space.
Note that deleted photos and videos are not really deleted: they are moved to the recently deleted album, where they are still taking up space. To free up this space, go to the album, and make sure there’s nothing you need to keep, select, and delete.
If you’re really struggling to get space, you can turn off iCloud photos completely. This can make a big difference – our library is currently 177 GB – and you have 30 days to download everything from iCloud before it disappears forever.
If you do not use iCloud Photos, the camera album will be backed up automatically. You can stop this by following the steps necessary to disable backups for each app in step 1. Why save messages that you won’t read again, delete them instead.
3. Get Rid of your Old Messages
“They’re just texts. How much space can they take?” On our phone? More than half a gigabyte. This is because messages are not only for SMS but for picture messages as well – and since smartphone cameras get more pixels, this means that messages get bigger as well.
There’s no automatic way to shoot really big attachments, but it’s not so hard to do it manually: go to the messaging app and find the message or conversation you want to get rid of and delete. On a Mac, right-click or right-click a message or conversation control; on iOS, press and hold an individual message and select More from the pop-up window or swipe left-to-left in a conversation in the main message window. While you’re there, you can film anything else you don’t need: Google verification codes, angry bank letters, spam sales letters, etc. Emails may take up a lot of space if you use iCloud for your email.
4. Manage your Mail Application
If you use iCloud for your email, your messages may take up a lot of space as well. File attachments are your enemy here, and the easiest way to get rid of a lot of them on the desktop: In the Mail app, search in the appropriate folders – Sent Mail folder is a good place to start – and go to View> Sort by> Attachments. You can now select individual messages and delete those with really large attachments, or you can follow the scorched earth approach and toss each mail with an attachment.
If you feel specially organized, you can also use the Mail search bar to find messages from or to specific people; again, you can then delete items you don’t want to keep.
5. Delete Files from iCloud Drive
If you’re not careful, iCloud Drive might end up filled with the things you don’t need. For example, iCloud Drive has abandoned projects our kids created on Garageband, lots of voice memos, music notes, and PDF collections that we no longer need. Eliminating this amount will free many gigabytes of storage space.
You can delete files in iOS – in iOS 11+, go to the Files app and choose Browse> iCloud Drive and then select and delete files; in previous versions of iOS, you’ll find everything in the iCloud Drive app – but if you want to get rid of a lot of things, it’s faster And easier on the Mac. If iCloud Drive is enabled on your Mac, you’ll see that it’s in the Finder where you can interact with it like any other folder. If iCloud Drive is not enabled, you can deliver it in System Preferences> iCloud.