Any copies of backup data have their own volume. When working with computers, problems do not arise - PCs are equipped with a large amount of memory, and a huge amount of information can be stored there. This is not the case with smartphones. Especially if we're talking about about iPhone.

This gadget allows you to backup data using the iCloud service. It has its limitations on the allocated space for user information. If you do not format the cloud from time to time, the storage will sooner or later be 100% full.

In this article we will talk about how to clean iCloud. What should every user know about this process?

Formatting Methods

Please note that by default, all owners of Apple products are allocated 5 GB of free space on the iCloud cloud service. If necessary, this limit can be increased for a fee.

Despite this, from time to time you still have to think about how to clean iCloud storage. There are several ways to do this. For example, format the cloud completely or partially. Depending on preferences, the algorithm of actions will change.

Today, cleaning iCloud can be done both through a mobile device and using a computer. Accordingly, the procedure can be either complete or partial. Next, we will talk about all the options for the development of events.

Partial removal

How to clean iCloud on iPhone? The first tip is to delete only certain data. The fact is that the data cloud stores a variety of user files. These include programs, pictures, videos, and backup copies. You can free up some space by partially deleting information.

In order not to think for a long time, we suggest doing this:

1. Turn on the Apple gadget. Be sure to wait until he is completely ready for further work.
2. Go to "Settings" - iCloud.
3. Select "Storage".
4. Click on "Management".
5. Select the data you want to delete. Next, click on “Change” in the right top corner screen.
6. Click on the "Delete" button.

This procedure is considered the longest, but most suitable for clearing the cloud of unnecessary information.

From backup data

But this is only the first way. You can free up space by eliminating unnecessary backup data. So, how to clean iCloud from copies of user information?

The process as a whole is not much different from the previously proposed algorithm. But some differences still exist. More precisely, deleting backups is done like this:

1. The smartphone or tablet must be turned on.
2. Go to "Settings" - iCloud - "Storage".
3. Select the "Manage" function.
4. Click on the device whose data you want to clear.
5. Click on "Delete copy".
6. Confirm the operation by clicking on the "Turn off and delete" button.

The described algorithm of actions will only help you get rid of backup copies of information. You can do similar steps from your computer.

Deleting backups from PC

Let's look at how to clean iCloud from a PC. If we are talking about deleting backups, then you can use iTunes to bring your idea to life. Every user can do this. To remove copies of data through iTunes, you need to:

1. Connect iPhone to PC via a special cable.
2. Install latest version"iTunes" for the operating system.
3. Launch the program and wait for synchronization with the device.
4. Go to "Settings" and open the "Devices" section.
5. Select the desired copy of data and click “Delete”.

Fast, simple, convenient. Although in practice this option is not used too often.

Via iCloud for Windows

How to clean iCloud through the official cloud page? The process is only possible from a computer and with an Internet connection.

It is suggested to act like this:

1. Visit icloud.com.
2. Log in to the system using your Apple ID.
3. Open the "Storage" service.
4. Select the required components and click on “Delete”.

The use of the official page in practice is not very common. People usually wonder how to clean iCloud from mobile devices. From now on you know the answer to this question!

As you know, Apple gives each registered user () 5 GB of disk space in the iCloud cloud for free, but many iDevice owners fill up the storage in a matter of weeks and then face the problem of creating backups, copying important data, etc. It is noteworthy that in 99% of cases this situation is a consequence of incorrect synchronization settings.

In contact with

Free space on iPhone or iPad is not the same as free space on iCloud

Unfortunately, many users saw the message on the screen , not understanding its meaning, they begin to delete everything, freeing up the iOS device’s storage.

• - remaining storage space on the iOS device (internal memory). Everything that is downloaded to the device is stored here (software, applications + cache, downloaded and created photos and videos, etc.).

• - remaining space in iCloud cloud storage. Basically, the iCloud cloud is designed to create automatic backups, as well as to synchronize personal data.

Of course, 5 GB by modern standards is, to put it mildly, not very much. However, often even this memory is filled with data that is not at all what the user really needs. Typically, the lion’s share of disk space is “eaten up” by backup copies that most people don’t need, as well as photos and media files, which are saved twice.

How does this happen? When the iCloud Backup option is enabled, the device, when connected to a power source and Wi-Fi, automatically copies the entire media library to the cloud, and then additionally creates a backup copy, which also includes all media files.

How to check how much free space is left in iCloud?

It’s quite easy to check this - go to the menu Settings → Apple ID (your first and last name) → iCloud → Storage. The chart that appears will visually represent iCloud storage, including the amount used and sorting by type of content.

By following the path Settings → Apple ID (your first and last name) → iCloud → Storage management, you will probably see the “heaviest” sections at the top of the list “ Backups" or " Photo". They are the ones that clog up space in iCloud. Delete unnecessary files to free up space in Apple's cloud storage.

In addition, you should turn off future automatic backups to iCloud (either completely or selectively).

To completely disable iCloud backups, go to Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Backup and disable the option iCloud backup.

The optimal option for most users is to manually specify files when creating backups (selectively prohibiting copying of Media Library data).

You can do this as follows:

1. Go to Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Manage Storage → Backups;

2. Select the desired device;

3. Select the checkbox next to the item “ Media library"(and other applications as desired) to the passive position;

4. In the same menu, press the button “ Delete copy" to clear the cloud;

5. Return to Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Backup and create a new copy without gluttonous photos and media files.

How to view data (photos, videos, files) stored in iCloud?

You can view the data stored in iCloud (and, if you wish, delete it) using the web version of the Apple cloud service located at icloud.com (you need to log in from a computer). The main sources of the “heaviness” of the occupied volume are data from web applications Mail, Photo And iCloud Drive . They can be removed if desired.

IN last days Five I'm getting a message: "Cannot back up this iPhone/iPad/iPod because there is not enough free space in iCloud." I persistently ignored this notification, but the time has come not only to deal with it, but also to talk about the solution to this problem in more detail.

There is not enough free space in iCloud. What to do?

Change storage plan

It is clear that if you only have free 5 gigabytes, then you will constantly see a message about lack of space. Therefore, Apple has developed three tariffs that should be enough for everyone.

Now I have 50 gigabytes connected for 59 rubles per month and for me this is a comfortable price for enough gigabytes. If you pay 169 rubles, 200 gigabytes will be available. But I decided to restrain myself. Not because I feel sorry for 169 rubles, but because 50 gigabytes in the cloud will allow me to clean out my media library on time and not let everything take its course.

In general, the most trivial solution is to increase the available space for money. This option is suitable for some and you don’t even need to read about other methods, but for others (for example, me) it is not suitable and I will move on to other measures.

Settings->iCloud->Storage->Change storage plan

Cleaning up your iCloud library

It is the iCloud media library that most often takes up most of the space in the cloud. Especially if you have an iPhone connected to the cloud. ;)

The media library stores your photos and videos. The most radical step: disable iCloud Meditek. In this case, you will have 30 days to download media data from iCloud or you will lose it forever.

Easier to clean. You need to start with video - video takes up most of the space. Why do I need 265 videos in iCloud? I don't know myself. Therefore, first of all, you need to send them “under the knife.” It is also advisable to clean the photographs. What is the point in pictures that are blurry, are duplicates, are screenshots, and do not have any value?

One photo or 1 second of video takes approximately 2 megabytes. Therefore, deleting even 100 pictures will give an extra 200 megabytes.

If the files are so valuable, then why not download them through iCloud.com and upload them to a separate disk? For some reason, I’m sure that most people don’t need most of the content in their media library.

Deleting/reducing device backup

With the removal, I think everything is clear. It's rare, but it happens that it doesn't make sense to make a backup copy for some device. For example, I have an iPod - now it is used exclusively for music. Is there any point in backing up this device? You also need to delete backup copies of those devices that no longer belong to you (for example, sold).

Deleting a backup occurs in the settings:

Settings->iCloud->Storage->Manage. Select a copy and click the “Delete copy” button. You can delete copies of other devices connected to your Apple ID.

But you can make your iCloud backup smaller:

Settings->iCloud->Storage->Manage. Selecting a copy current devices. Below appears a list of those programs whose data is included in the backup copy. We disable those parts of applications that should not in your opinion make backups to iCloud. Look at the screenshot below: by disabling some applications from iCloud, I reduced the backup by 1.5 gigabytes.

Please note that this action does not disable synchronization of program data via iCloud Drive, but only prohibits backing up application data to iCloud.

Delete files from iCloud Drive

This is an application that allows you to manage files stored in the iCloud cloud by various programs. You need to understand that iCloud data Drive takes up some space in iCloud.

Go to the iCloud Drive application. If it is not there, then enable display in the settings: Settings->iCloud->iCloud Drive->On the Home Screen.

In iCloud Drive, we manually delete those files that are not needed and take up extra space. How much data is stored from each application can be seen in:

Settings->iCloud->Storage->Manage. Section "Documents and data".

Deleting mail messages

This advice is already from personal experience. Apple somehow independently created a mailbox for me in the iCloud.com domain. A completely unnecessary mailbox for me. It's amazing how it survived all these years, but I periodically forget to turn it off. And sometimes I accidentally use it when I send files by mail from my phone. Thus, I managed to occupy more than 300 megabytes in iCloud. (Look here: Settings->iCloud->Storage->Manage->Mail)

There is only one way out. Manually clean out your iCloud mailbox if you don't use it, of course. This is done through the Mail application.

Bottom line

These are all tips and ways to relieve some of the burden on iCloud. All the best and more free time and space!

Many articles have been written and many videos have been made on the topic of how terrible life is with a 16 GB iPhone. Let's learn to survive in harsh conditions together and try to clear the memory in your smartphone without deleting everything. Here are a few simple tips, which make life easier for owners of an iPhone with 16 GB of memory.

Some statistics

First you need to find out how much memory is occupied by data. To do this, go to Settings - General - Storage and iCloud. The number below the word “storage” shows how much space is occupied, and the number one line below shows the total amount of available memory.

Then we click on the Manage button, after which we see how much memory the applications occupy. The largest and heaviest programs come first, then the smallest programs. Therefore, first you need to clean the list, removing everything unnecessary, your captain.

In addition, some memory is freed up after installing system updates when new ones are released. iOS versions, and the device is forced to reboot.

Another option is to clear the cache manually. You need to hold down the Home and Power buttons for 10 seconds until the apple logo appears, which means the phone restarts.

Go to the cloud

By default, Apple allocates 5 GB of iCloud cloud storage to each user. Alas, if you bought the entire line, you won’t get more space in the cloud, it’s unfair. 50 GB in iCloud costs 59 rubles, 200 GB - 149 rubles, royal 1 TB - 599 rubles.

If you go to Settings - Photos - iCloud and turn on the Media Library item, then the pictures will be sent to cloud storage. Moreover, if you check the box next to “optimize storage on iPhone”, then the originals in high resolution will be stored in iCloud, and “light” copies will remain on the phone.

Alternatively, you can upload videos and photos to other “clouds”; many large companies offer them: Dropbox and Google, Mail.ru and Yandex. The disadvantages of this solution include the need to pay a monthly subscription fee if you choose the cloud big size. But then you don’t have to worry about space at all, the main thing is to regularly upload data to the storage.

Apple also has such a thing as Photo Stream, when the smartphone collects data from all equipment and collects it into one library of 1000 pictures. Thus, whether you like it or not, part of the memory goes to this data. I don’t like the quality of this service, I don’t use it, and I advise you to do the same. At the same time, you get extra space.

Keep an eye on offline mode

With a ton of streaming services, it's easy to fill up your phone's memory with useless data. Already listened to podcasts, forgotten albums and saved pages for reading in Safari lie there. For example, I have accumulated over 700 MB of data in one browser, which I will apparently never read. You can check this by going to Settings - General - Storage and iCloud - Storage - Manage - Safari.

In general, streaming music greatly simplifies life, you can always listen to something new, the service has little effect on the operating time of the device, and you don’t have to worry about the amount of memory for storing songs.

Although Apple Lately I started deleting saved songs in Apple Music myself. This is already overkill and chaos.

Delete messages and cache

Active correspondence in iMessage leads to the fact that messages with text, video and pictures grow to unimaginable proportions. Here is my accumulated 1.2 GB, which can be removed and have space for a 2-hour movie.

By default, messages are stored indefinitely, but if you go to Settings - Messages - Message History, you change the settings to 1 year or 30 days. The smartphone itself will delete the messages when the time comes. Or, as an option, you can manually erase correspondence with a chatty interlocutor.

In addition, remember that the more actively you use the browser, the more data the system stores. What to do? That's right, clear the cache through Settings - General - Storage and iCloud - Manage - Safari - Website data - Edit.

The standard Mail application fills up the memory with various data over time, but to clear the cache you will have to delete the account and then set it up again.

Hack for the brave

If you see that there is very little memory in your smartphone, and you are too lazy to clean it, you can try this trick. You open a video store on iTunes and rent the movie. Please note that the video size must be larger than the free space on your phone. So try downloading something “heavy” like Lord of the Rings.

Also make sure that you need authorization via Touch ID or password to purchase. So, you rent a movie, the device warns you that there is not enough free space. At this time, the smartphone erases the cache, trying to remove useless data. The operation can be repeated several times; users say that they get 500 MB at a time, or even more.

A method for the lazy

On the Internet you can find a lot of applications that will help clear the memory on your device with one click of a button. They help when you don’t want to delve into instructions, learning all the intricacies of your device. But applications cost money, unlike the above methods, which will help free up memory with minimal cash outlay.

As you know, Apple gives each registered user (when creating an Apple ID) 5 GB of disk space in the iCloud cloud for free, but many iDevice owners fill up the storage in a matter of weeks and then face the problem of creating backups, copying important data, etc. It is noteworthy that in 99% of cases this situation is a consequence of incorrect synchronization settings.

Free space on iPhone or iPad is not the same as free space on iCloud

Unfortunately, many users, seeing the message “Cannot create a backup for this iPhone because there is not enough free space in iCloud” on the screen, not understanding its meaning, begin to delete everything, freeing up the iOS device’s storage.

• Free space on iPhone or iPad- remaining storage space on the iOS device (internal memory). Everything that is downloaded to the device is stored here (software, applications + cache, downloaded and created photos and videos, etc.).

• Free space in iCloud- remaining space in iCloud cloud storage. Basically, the iCloud cloud is designed to create automatic backups, as well as to synchronize personal data.

Why did iCloud run out of memory?

Of course, 5 GB by modern standards is, to put it mildly, not very much. However, often even this memory is filled with data that is not at all what the user really needs. Typically, the lion’s share of disk space is “eaten up” by backup copies that most people don’t need, as well as photos and media files, which are saved twice.

How does this happen? When the iCloud Backup option is enabled, the device, when connected to a power source and Wi-Fi, automatically copies the entire media library to the cloud, and then additionally creates a backup copy, which also includes all media files.

Why did we call iCloud backups unnecessary for most users? Because first of all, users are interested in restoring contacts, notes and photos. To save contacts, notes and photos in the Apple cloud It is not necessary to use automatic iCloud backup. Here you should understand the difference between the concepts: iCloud Backup and Synchronization with iCloud. We talked about this in detail in this material.

How to check how much free space is left in iCloud?

It’s quite easy to check this - go to Settings → Apple ID (your first and last name) → iCloud → Storage. The chart that appears will visually represent iCloud storage, including the amount used and sorting by type of content.

How to free up space on iCloud?

By following the path Settings → Apple ID (your first and last name) → iCloud → Storage management, you will probably see the “heaviest” sections “Backups” or “Photos” at the top of the list. They are the ones that clog up space in iCloud. Delete unnecessary files to free up space in Apple's cloud storage.

In addition, you should turn off future automatic backups to iCloud (either completely or selectively).

To completely disable iCloud backups, go to Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Backup and turn off iCloud Backup.

The optimal option for most users is to manually specify files when creating backups (selectively prohibiting copying of Media Library data).

You can do this as follows:

1. Go to Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Storage management → Backups;

2. Select the desired device;

3. Move the “checkbox” opposite the “Media Library” item (and other applications if desired) to the passive position;

4. In the same menu, click the “Delete copy” button to clear the cloud;

5. Return to Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Backup and create a new copy without the voracious photos and media files.

How to view data (photos, videos, files) stored in iCloud?

You can view the data stored in iCloud (and, if you wish, delete it) using the web version of the Apple cloud service located at icloud.com (you need to log in from a computer). The main sources of the “heaviness” of the occupied volume are data from the Mail, Photos and iCloud Drive web applications. They can be removed if desired.

How to increase iCloud storage? It's not free?

You can change your iCloud storage plan by going to Settings → Apple ID (your first and last name) → iCloud → Manage storage → Change storage plan.

Current tariff plans for space in iCloud and their cost:

What about iCloud Drive?

Another feature that many would like to get rid of is syncing application data to iCloud Drive. For most users, the need to use this data occurs less frequently than the appearance of Halley's Comet. Therefore (if you do not use the Files application on iOS), we can safely recommend completely or selectively disabling this automatic procedure in the Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive menu.

How to properly use iCloud space?

• First of all, you need to understand the difference between the concepts: iCloud Backup and Synchronization with iCloud.

• For Apple ID owners with the basic starting iCloud storage size of 5GB, we recommend turning off Backups completely.

In addition, it would be a good idea to cancel synchronization of the Photos library - just set the “checkbox” opposite the “Photos” item to the Off position along the path Settings → Apple ID → iCloud.

• To sync photos or videos with iCloud, buy more space (prices and rates are listed above) or use third-party free cloud services Google Photos or Yandex.Disk.

Based on materials from yablyk