ICloud storage full? How to free up iCloud space

Updated October 9, 2026 · Works on iOS 17, iOS 18 and later

Step 1: See what's using your iCloud storage

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap iCloud. The bar at the top shows what's using your storage.
3. Tap Manage Account Storage (or Manage Storage) to see each item by size.

iCloud storage is not iPhone storage. iCloud is space on Apple's servers, shared across your devices. Your iPhone has its own separate storage. Freeing one doesn't always free the other. See how to free up iPhone storage for the device side.

Step 2: Delete old device backups

Backups of old phones and iPads are often forgotten and can be large.

1. In Manage Account Storage, tap Backups.
2. Tap a device you no longer use, then tap Delete Backup (or Turn Off and Delete).

For your current iPhone, open its backup and turn off apps you don't need backed up. Large apps with data that's already synced elsewhere are good candidates.

Step 3: Clean up iCloud Photos

With iCloud Photos turned on, your iPhone and iCloud have the same library. Deleting a photo on your iPhone deletes it from iCloud too. The biggest wins:

• Duplicates: merge them in Photos → Utilities → Duplicates. Full guide.
• Large videos: delete or compress them. Video is usually the heaviest part of a library.
• Screenshots: clear them in bulk. Here's how.
• Blurry and similar shots: see how to find them.

Then empty Recently Deleted. Photos in Recently Deleted keep counting against your iCloud storage until they're permanently removed after up to 30 days.

Step 4: Check iCloud Drive and Messages

• iCloud Drive: open the Files app, tap Browse → iCloud Drive, and delete large files and old downloads you don't need. Then empty Recently Deleted in Files.
• Messages: if Messages in iCloud is on, old attachments are stored there. Use Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Messages → Review Large Attachments to delete big ones; the deletions sync to iCloud.

Should you just buy more storage?

Sometimes that's the right call. If your library is genuinely full of photos you want to keep, an iCloud+ plan is simple. But clearing out duplicates, old backups and forgotten videos first often frees a lot of space for free.

Shrink your photo library, shrink iCloud

If you use iCloud Photos, every duplicate, blurry shot and oversized video on your iPhone is also using your iCloud storage. Clean Kit finds them on your device: remove duplicates, clear old screenshots and compress large videos, and the savings carry over to iCloud once it syncs.

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