Freeing iCloud storage means deleting old device backups, trimming Photos, clearing Messages attachments, and emptying Recently Deleted folders.
The “iCloud Storage Almost Full” banner is one of Apple’s most persistent reminders, and for good reason: once you run out, backups stop, iMessages fail to send, and new photos stop syncing. How to empty space on iCloud starts with knowing what actually sits in your account, then tackling the categories that consume the most.
Clearing iCloud Storage: Where To Start First
Apple organizes everything you store in iCloud into clear categories inside your device Settings. The central dashboard for the whole operation is in Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage (the wording varies slightly by iOS version). There you will see a ranked list of what is taking up space, often topped by device backups and iCloud Photos. Apple’s iCloud storage support page spells out the full process for iPhone and iPad.
Your goal is to work through each category in order of impact, starting with the one that can reclaim gigabytes in seconds.
| Category | Typical Storage Used | Effort to Clear |
|---|---|---|
| iCloud Device Backups | Often the largest — multiple GB per device | Low — one tap deletes an entire backup |
| iCloud Photos | Can be the single biggest category | Medium — must review and delete photos manually |
| Messages in iCloud | Hidden GB from shared videos and images | Medium — review conversations and attachments |
| iCloud Drive | Old documents, downloads, project files | Medium — manual folder review |
| Mail Attachments | Stored messages with heavy attachments | Easy — delete from Mail |
| Voice Memos | Can accumulate hours of recordings | Low — delete old recordings |
| App Data | Data from apps using iCloud | Varies — check Manage Account Storage |
| Contact Posters/Photos | Small but deletable | Low — barely worth the effort alone |
Device Backups: The Fastest Way To Free Space
Old iCloud backups are almost always the single largest storage consumer, and they are the easiest to clear. A single iPhone backup can range from 1–5 GB, and if you have replaced a device without removing the old backup, you may have dead weight worth 10 GB or more.
In Manage Account Storage, tap Backups to see every device linked to your account. Any device you no longer use can be deleted with one tap: swipe left or tap the device name, then Delete Backup. This action does not affect your current device or its data. If you keep a single backup, consider turning off certain apps in the backup list — toggling off large apps like Photos or Messages reduces the next backup size without losing data on the device.
One important note: anything synced through iCloud (like Photos or Messages) will also be deleted from your other Apple devices when you remove it from iCloud. Make sure you have a local copy before deleting anything you might want later.
iCloud Photos: Clearing Out The Big Files
For most people, iCloud Photos is the second-largest category, and it only grows as you shoot more video and high-resolution images. The quickest way to shrink it is to delete whole batches of unwanted media directly from the Photos app, then confirm the deletions have propagated to iCloud.
- Open Photos and scroll through Recent, looking for duplicates, blurry shots, and old screenshots.
- Delete videos over 30 seconds — they occupy far more space than still images.
- After deleting, go to Albums > Recently Deleted and tap Delete All. Until that folder is empty, the space is not reclaimed.
If you prefer to keep everything but pay less, you can enable Optimize iPhone Storage in Settings > Photos. That stores full-resolution originals in iCloud and keeps smaller versions on your device, which frees local storage but does not reduce your iCloud total. For actual iCloud space, deletion is the only direct path.
Messages, Drive, and Mail: The Hidden Storage Eaters
Three categories routinely go untouched during cleanups, each capable of hiding a gigabyte or more.
Messages in iCloud. Large videos and images sent in group chats accumulate silently. Open a conversation, tap the contact name at the top, scroll to the attachment list, and delete the biggest files individually. You can also set messages to auto-delete after 30 days or one year in Settings > Messages > Keep Messages — though this only affects new messages going forward.
iCloud Drive. Many users store old PDFs, downloaded ZIP files, and forgotten project folders. Open the Files app, tap iCloud Drive, and sort by size or date. Anything you no longer need can be swiped to delete. Do not forget to empty the Recently Deleted folder inside Files as well.
Mail and Voice Memos. Mail attachments from years of newsletters and old conversations can eat hundreds of megabytes. The fastest approach is to search for messages with attachments and delete entire threads. Voice Memos are smaller but can surprise you — open the Voice Memos app and delete any old recordings that have served their purpose.
Which Category Should You Clean First?
Start with device backups, then photos, then messages, then drive files. That order hits the biggest targets with the least effort. After every round of deletions, immediately empty any Recently Deleted or trash folder — failing to do so is the single most common mistake.
| Common Mistake | Why It Fails | The Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Only deleting local copies | Data still lives in iCloud sync | Delete from iCloud directly via Manage Account Storage |
| Forgetting Recently Deleted | Space not reclaimed for 30+ days | Empty Recently Deleted immediately after deletion |
| Deleting only a few photos | Old backups still eat the bulk of the space | Delete old device backups first for a big quick win |
| Skipping Messages attachments | Large videos hide in group chat threads | Review the largest conversations manually |
| Deleting without checking the plan | May still exceed the free tier if you keep heavy usage | Delete more or consider upgrading from iCloud.com |
How To Empty iCloud Storage: The Full Cleanup Sequence
Follow these eight steps in order and you will reclaim the maximum space possible in one session.
- Open Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage.
- Delete any old device backups for phones or tablets you no longer use.
- Review iCloud Photos in the Photos app — delete blurry shots, duplicates, and long videos.
- Clear Messages attachments from the largest conversations.
- Remove old files from iCloud Drive via the Files app.
- Delete Mail threads with heavy attachments and old Voice Memos.
- Empty Recently Deleted in Photos, Files, and Messages.
- Return to Manage Account Storage to confirm the numbers dropped.
Once the cleanup is done, your iCloud account has room to keep working — backups will run again, new photos will sync, and that red badge will disappear.
References & Sources
- Apple Support. “Manage your iCloud storage.” Official steps for freeing iCloud storage across all Apple devices.