iCloud storage full? How to empty iCloud storage

If your iCloud storage is full, you should free up some storage on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. We show you how to clean up your iCloud.

iCloud storage full: What is counted and what is not

Not everything in iCloud storage is counted. Mostly it’s data like photos or email attachments that can quickly take up several gigabytes on your hard drive.

• Automatic matching of up to 1000 images is not deducted from the storage space. The photo stream in particular can take up several gigabytes on the iPhone or iPad.

• Calendar entries are also stored in the cloud. But don’t worry – the address book and reminders take up so little space that it’s not noticeable.

• It’s no different with iTunes. Since Apple allows purchased videos, books, apps and music to be downloaded over and over again, you don’t need to store them in the cloud.

• For large mail attachments, Apple offers Mail Drop. This makes it possible to send data of up to 5 GB. This data does not affect the iCloud storage.

• Any other data you store in the cloud will be deducted from the quota.

iCloud storage: How to free up space

If you use iCloud for backup, any newly installed app will be backed up automatically. While many apps compile data for the iCloud, in many cases a backup is not even necessary.

• Open the “Settings” (gear icon) and select “iCloud” there.

• Tap on the item “Storage” at the top and then on “Manage storage”.

• Select the desired backup and tap on “Show all apps” at the bottom.

• Now deactivate all desired apps that do not require a backup in the iCloud.

• Alternatively, you can also delete the backup below completely and then create it again.

iCloud: How to free up more storage space

To free up more storage space, you have the following options:

• Photos: If you have also activated the “Photos” option under the “iCloud” category, this can cost a lot of memory. If you wish, you can deactivate the function and back up your photos on your PC.

• Mails: If you use your iCloud address for mails, these will also be saved in your 5 GB storage. Open the Mail app and remove messages with large attachments, for example.

• iCloud Drive: If you use iCloud Drive, your memory will also be charged. You will also find this function in the “iCloud” category. If you want to delete some data here too, open the iCloud Drive app or log in to iCloud.com on your PC.

Time Machine: Backup in the Cloud

You can keep a backup of sensitive data safely on your own hard drive. With Time Machine, you create local backups of your data.

• But backing up with Time Machine has the disadvantage of being local.

• This is where iCloud Backup comes into play. This app backs up the data to the cloud.

• The great thing about this type of backup is that everything happens automatically. So once set up, you don’t need to do anything else.

• The backups can be started and uploaded to the cloud at any time as long as there is a Wi-Fi connection.

• The point of security is not ignored. The backups are always encrypted.

• If you want to back up your data automatically, go to “Settings ☻ iCloud ☻ Backup”. However, you should be sure that the iCloud has enough storage space available.