Today, all operating systems have a built-in cloud storage feature for backing up device settings, application data, photos, and files. iPhone and Mac come with iCloud, Windows PCs integrate OneDrive, and Android prefers the parent company’s Google Drive solution. Managing such exotic iCloud Storage is a daunting task.
By default, both Apple and Microsoft offer the least amount of storage space. The case is worse in Apple’s scenario, as the company uses the 5 GB of storage to back up iPhone applications, settings and files. All of these options are enabled by default. And it is very likely that you will fill the space faster than expected.
As a new user, you might be bothered by constant requests for full storage from iCloud. Also, there are a few reasons to avoid using iCloud in favor of the competition.
The first reason is the unavailability of iCloud on Android, and competitors like OneDrive and Google Drive offer more for the money with advanced features.
In this post, we will talk about the different ways to Delete iCloud Storage from both iOS and macOS so that you don’t have to pay for additional iCloud Storage and avoid those annoying pop-ups.
1. TURN OFF ICLOUD PHOTO BACKUP
By default, iOS and macOS back up all photos and videos to the iCloud platform. That takes up some space in your allocated memory. To stop syncing, go to Settings> User Profile> iCloud> Photos and disable the backup option.
It will stop uploading future photos, but what if you want to delete uploaded photos as well?
To do this, go to iCloud> Manage Storage. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the storage. Click on the photos menu and select the option to disable and delete.
2. DELETE APPS BACKUP
You may not know it, but third-party apps on iOS use iCloud as their preferred backup solution. And they also take an important part of the cake. You will be amazed at how much space these apps take up in iCloud.
To remove them, go to Settings> Profile> iCloud> Manage storage> Backups> Select device and turn off backups of applications you use infrequently.
Here, I do not advise you to delete the backups of important apps like WhatsApp as you will not be able to restore them if you set up the same account on a new device.
NOTE: You should not disable standard app data backup to iCloud through Settings> Profile> iCloud. The current behavior makes setting up a new device from scratch much easier (which is what iPhones are known for) and secondly, they take up little space. So keep it that way.
3. DELETE iCloud Storage DOCUMENTS AND DATA
An application may have created new folders on iCloud Drive to store data. You can delete irrelevant ones at any time to save space.
Go to Settings> Profile> iCloud> iCloud Drive and check the folders added in iCloud Drive.
Touch the folder to see its size and select Delete documents and data. You will find that the whole process is quite long and confusing. There is also another way to delete iCloud folders. Use the file app.
Related: How to Fix Your Mac’s kernel_task High CPU Usage Bug
4. DELETE FROM FILES APP
The Files app is Apple’s answer to the growing need for file management on iOS. It may seem simple compared to the file alternatives on iOS, but it gets the job done.
It comes standard on all iOS devices. Open Files> iCloud, and here you can see all the iCloud folders.
Just swipe left on the folder and delete it; there are no long steps in the settings menu.
You can also manage your device folders and other third-party cloud storage apps like OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box. The files application integrates all the options under one roof.
5. PUT ICLOUD FOLDERS IN TRASH ON MAC
The previous step also applies to macOS. However, there is no Files app on Mac. MacOS integrates iCloud directly into standard file management.
On a Mac, you can press Command + Space and open iCloud from the search menu. From there, drag and drop irrelevant folders / files to the trash can in the lower right corner.
If you look in System Preferences, you will see a pattern similar to iOS. All standard Mac applications use iCloud to back up user data. You can also turn that off. But I will not recommend it. Mac applications tend to take up less space and make the restore process less of a hassle on a new Mac.
MAKE SOME SPACE IN ICLOUD
By default, Apple enables all options for iCloud backup. It is a ploy to replenish base memory and upgrade users to paid plans. iCloud is a great cloud storage tool for Apple users. However, if you belong to other categories of users, please delete some junk files and keep the default application data. Or you can just buy the additional storage from Apple annually.
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