iCloud storage full: how to free up space

Every Apple Account comes with 5 GB of iCloud storage, and a single iPhone backup plus a few years of photos fills it fast. Before you pay for more, it is worth ten minutes to see what is actually in there. Steps are for an iPhone with iOS 26, based on Apple’s own guidance.

What happens when iCloud is full

When you run out, Apple lists four consequences:

• your iPhone stops backing up to iCloud
• new photos and videos stop uploading to iCloud Photos
• iCloud Drive and other iCloud apps stop staying up to date across your devices
• you cannot send or receive email with your iCloud address

In the Photos app, a red exclamation mark on your account picture in Collections means your iCloud storage is full; a yellow warning icon means it is almost full.

Step 1: see what is using your iCloud storage

Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud. The bar at the top shows your storage split by category. Tap Storage (or Manage Account Storage) to see the full list, biggest first. Also tap Recommended for You: it suggests photos, large files and old backups you might not need.

For most people, the top of the list is Photos, Backups, or both.

Step 2: delete old backups

Backups of phones you sold or replaced years ago often stay in iCloud long after the phone is gone.

1. In Storage, tap Backups.
2. Tap a device you no longer use.
3. Tap Turn Off and Delete from iCloud and confirm.

Deleting a backup also turns off iCloud Backup for that device, so only do this for the current iPhone if you have another backup plan.

Shrink the current backup instead. Tap your current iPhone in Backups and turn off apps you do not need backed up. Turning one off removes its data from your iCloud Backup.

Check whether your photos are in the backup. If you do not use iCloud Photos, your photo library is part of your iCloud Backup, and it is often most of it. Turning on iCloud Photos moves the library out of the backup and into iCloud Photos, where it still counts against your storage but syncs to all your devices. Alternatively, save your photos to a computer and turn off Photos in your backup. Either way, deleting photos you do not want is what actually shrinks the total.

Step 3: shrink your photo library

With iCloud Photos on, every photo and video on your iPhone also counts against your iCloud storage. Deleting the ones you do not want frees space in both places.

Start where the space is:

1. Videos. A minute of 4K video at 30 fps is about 170 MB. Open Photos > Collections > Media Types > Videos and delete the long clips you do not need. Our guide to finding large videos covers the tricks.
2. Duplicates. Collections > Utilities > Duplicates merges exact copies. See how to delete duplicate photos.
3. Screenshots and screen recordings. Both have their own collection under Media Types.

Something most guides get wrong: according to Apple, items in Recently Deleted do not count toward your iCloud storage, so you do not need to empty it to free iCloud space. And if you are already over your limit, photos and videos you delete are removed immediately instead of going to Recently Deleted, so you cannot recover them. Check carefully before deleting while your iCloud is full.

Shared Library. If you use an iCloud Shared Photo Library, its photos count toward the storage of the person who created it. To free your own space, view your Personal Library when deleting.

Remember: with iCloud Photos on, you cannot delete a photo from iCloud and keep it on your iPhone, or the other way round. If you want copies to live in only one place, read how to delete photos from iPhone but not iCloud.

Step 4: clean up Messages, Mail and iCloud Drive

Messages. With Messages in iCloud, every photo and video in your chats uses iCloud storage. Open a conversation, tap the name at the top, tap Photos, tap Edit, then Select Photos. Choose the attachments and tap Delete, then Delete Attachment. To stop it building up, set Settings > Apps > Messages > Keep Messages to 30 Days or 1 Year, which deletes whole conversations older than that.

Mail. Old emails with attachments add up. iCloud Mail Cleanup can delete old promotions and transactions automatically: go to Settings, tap your name, iCloud, then Mail below Saved to iCloud, and tap iCloud Mail Cleanup.

iCloud Drive. In the Files app, tap Browse, then iCloud Drive, and delete files you no longer need. They stay in Recently Deleted in Files for 30 days.

Step 5: decide whether to upgrade

If you have cleaned up and still need more space, iCloud+ is the next step. In the United States, Apple charges:

Plan	Price per month (US)
5 GB	Free
50 GB	$0.99
200 GB	$2.99
2 TB	$9.99
6 TB	$29.99
12 TB	$59.99

Every plan can be shared with up to five other people through Family Sharing. To change plans, go to Settings, tap your name, iCloud, Storage, then Change Storage Plan. Prices differ by country.

Clearing your photo library with PrunePic

The photo step is where most of the space is, and where the Photos app is slowest: no sort by size, decisions on a grid of thumbnails, and no memory of where you stopped. PrunePic shows your library one item at a time, full screen, and remembers every decision.

• Videos mode shows only clips and screen recordings, longest first, with the file size on each card if you want it.
• Screenshots mode shows only screenshots, so you can clear hundreds in a sitting.
• The PrunePic Trash holds everything you swipe left until you empty it, so you can review the list and put things back. That matters most when your iCloud is over its limit and deletions skip Recently Deleted.

With iCloud Photos on, deleting with PrunePic frees iCloud space as well as iPhone space. Your photos never leave your device; PrunePic works through Apple’s Photos framework.

Common mistakes

• Deleting the backup of the iPhone you use. It also turns off iCloud Backup for that iPhone.
• Emptying Recently Deleted to free iCloud space. Apple says those items do not count toward iCloud storage; emptying it frees space on your iPhone, not in iCloud.
• Deleting in a hurry when iCloud is over its limit. Deletions are immediate and unrecoverable in that state.
• Upgrading first. Old backups and forgotten videos are often enough to get back under the limit for free.

The bottom line

Check Settings > [your name] > iCloud, delete backups of old devices, and clear the videos, duplicates and screenshots you do not want anywhere. Clean up Messages attachments and Mail too. If you still need more after that, 50 GB costs $0.99 a month in the US. For space on the iPhone itself, see how to free up storage on iPhone.