iCloud Storage Full? How to Free Up Space

Go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud and look at the bar. Delete backups of phones you no longer have, then the photos and videos you don't want. Those two usually fill the free 5 GB.

What stops when iCloud is full

• Your iPhone stops backing up.
• New photos stop uploading to iCloud Photos.
• iCloud Drive, Notes and other apps stop syncing.
• Mail to your @icloud.com address doesn't arrive.

Nothing already in iCloud is deleted. It just stops growing.

Step 1: See what fills it

Settings → [your name] → iCloud. The colored bar shows the big categories. Tap Storage or Manage Account Storage for the list, biggest first. Photos and Backups are usually the widest parts.

Also worth a look: Recommended for You on the same screen (iOS 17 and later) points at big things you can remove.

Step 2: Delete old backups

1. Manage Account Storage → Backups.
2. Each backup shows its size. Tap a phone or iPad you no longer use.
3. Turn Off and Delete from iCloud, then confirm.

Sold the phone months ago? Its backup often still sits here, sometimes bigger than your current one.

Step 3: Trim this iPhone's backup

In Backups, tap this iPhone. Turn off apps whose data you can download again, such as a podcast app with saved episodes. Their backup leaves iCloud.

No iCloud Photos? Then Photo Library sits in this list and is often the biggest line. Turn it off only if your photos are saved somewhere else.

Step 4: Delete the photos you don't want

With iCloud Photos on, every photo on your iPhone is also in iCloud. Delete it on the phone and the space comes back in iCloud too.

• Long videos first: Collections → Media Types → Videos.
• Then duplicates and screenshots.
• Many at once: slide a finger to select.

Good news: photos in Recently Deleted no longer count towards iCloud storage. You still have 30 days to change your mind.

Step 5: Messages, Drive and Mail

• Messages: open a chat, tap the name, then Photos → Edit → Select Photos, pick and Delete.
• iCloud Drive: Files → Browse → iCloud Drive, select what you don't need, delete.
• Mail: delete old emails with attachments, then empty Trash.

One busy group chat can hold gigabytes of videos you've already watched.

Or pay for more

If you've cleaned and it's still full, a bigger iCloud+ plan is the honest fix. On iOS 27: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Plan. On iOS 18.4 to 26: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → iCloud+.

Getting a new iPhone soon? Apple lends free iCloud space for the move: before you get a new iPhone.

The slow part: choosing photos

Backups take a minute. Photos take an evening, because each one is a small decision. Picmori deals your photos one at a time like cards: left to delete, right to keep, with undo.

Nothing is deleted until you confirm at the end, and iOS asks once more. Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted, and with iCloud Photos on the space comes back in iCloud too.

Questions about iCloud storage

What happens when iCloud storage is full?

Your iPhone stops backing up to iCloud, new photos and videos stop uploading to iCloud Photos, and iCloud Drive stops syncing. You also can't send or receive email at your iCloud address.

Does deleting photos from iPhone free up iCloud storage?

Yes, if iCloud Photos is on: a photo you delete on the iPhone is deleted from iCloud and every device on the same Apple Account. Photos in Recently Deleted no longer count towards your storage.

Is it safe to delete an old iCloud backup?

Yes, if you no longer have that device or have set up its replacement. The backup is only needed to restore that phone; your photos with iCloud Photos on are stored separately.