How to avoid paying Apple for actress iCloud storage

Apple offers just 5GB of free storage to iCloud users, far less than many need. Here's a rundown on what you tin do to put your iCloud storage needs on a diet and what other options are available.

Apple iCloud storage cost - iCloud logo and price tag
Apple tree / IDG
Table of Contents
  • Why do you need to manage iCloud storage?
  • How much does iCloud storage cost?
  • How much storage are you using?
  • How to manage iCloud Backup
  • How to put iCloud Bulldoze on a diet
  • Save your Files elsewhere
  • What about app information?
  • How to manage iCloud Mail
  • How to manage iCloud Photos
  • Don't apply iCloud Photo Library

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No matter how many iOS or macOS devices yous own, Apple offers only 5GB of gratuitous storage to iCloud users – a paltry amount given what rivals offering. Simply there are ways you can avoid paying for more storage space, or at least limit how much extra you pay.

Here are easy-to-follow tips on how to put some of the biggest iCloud data-consuming features on a diet and salvage money on iCloud storage.

iphone x launch Apple

No affair how many iPhones, iPads or Macs you buy, Apple only provides 5GB of free iCloud storage.

Why do yous need to manage iCloud storage?

Apple has made iCloud storage a seemingly essential element for all its products, from Macs to iPads, iPhones and even Apple TV. In that location are 4 main elements to the service. These include:

  • iCloud Backup:It's used for all the iPad, iPhone and iPod backups you've made without using iTunes.
  • iCloud Drive: This is for all your documents and data from third-party apps on Macs and iOS devices that store data in the cloud. Apple's iCloud Documents and Data service was combined with iCloud Drive in 2022.
  • iCloud Mail:Naturally, this is storage for all the emails and attachments you've always received through your iCloud account.
  • iCloud Photo Library:This is storage for all the pictures and videos you lot've ever taken.

That's an extensive list of items to clasp within Apple'southward ever-so-tiny 5GB free resource allotment. To get the most out of it, you may want to regularly check how much storage y'all're already using and have steps to migrate some of those storage tasks to non-Apple products and services.

How much does iCloud storage toll?

Apple tree offers iv storage options: 5GB (free); 50GB (99 cents/month); 200GB ($two.99/calendar month); and 2TB ($9.99/month).

If you use other services, such as Apple Music or Apple Idiot box+, then you may notice information technology makes sense to subscribe to the Apple One service, which may salvage a few bucks.

  • The individual Apple One plan includes 50GB of storage, Music, Television+ and Arcade for $14.95/month.
  • The $19.95 Family program gives you 200GB of storage, Music, Tv+, and Arcade and lets you share the plan with upward to five others.
  • The $29.95 Premier plan provides y'all with 2TB of storage. It too provides News, Music, TV+, Arcade, and Fitness+ and services can be shared with up to five others.

How much storage are you lot using?

Information technology's easy to figure out how much iCloud storage you are using.

In iOS : Tap the peak (Apple tree ID) section in Settings. Then tap iCloud. You should see a chart detailing how you are using iCloud storage. Tap Manage Storage to reach a page listing every detail storing data in your iCloud (it besides tells you how much data each particular uses there). You can also delete stored data for each app or service, but don't do and then until you accept offset backed upwardly that information elsewhere.

manage icloud storage ios picture Apple

In macOS: Access System Preferences>iCloudand choose the "Manage..."option at the bottom right of the window.

manage icloud storage macos Apple

In both cases you'll encounter how much storage you're using, what items are using it (for example, Photos, Docs, Postal service or Backup), and where to enable and disable online storage for various applications and Apple services.

How to manage iCloud Backup

If you lot back up iOS device(s) to iCloud, you'll soon hit problems if you effort to stay under the 5GB storage limit. To reduce the corporeality of iCloud storage consumed by iCloud backups, you can back up your iOS device(southward) to a Mac or PC and delete existing backups y'all may have created from iCloud.

You don't actually have to back your devices upwardly to iCloud, though it isconvenient; on older Macs and PCs y'all can back up via iTunes instead. Just connect your device to your estimator, launch iTunes (if it doesn't launch automatically) and click the Device icon that appears to the left of the iTunes window beside the category menu.

iOS manage iCloud storage Apple

iCloud storage can hands be managed in iOS. Select "Backup" to review older backups and delete those no longer needed.

Once you've done that, select Summary and then choose This Figurer where you see Automatically Fill-in. You'll need to check the Encrypt (device name) backup item in gild to go on Health and HomeKit information, and will need to create a password for this.

In the future, your iOS device(due south) will automatically be backed up to your computer when it is continued, and you won't demand to store those backups on your frugal iCloud business relationship. Once that's fix, you can remove older device backups from iCloud.

On iOS: Tap Settings and navigate to iCloud>Manage Storage and choose Backup. Here y'all can review your backups and select those you wish to delete. When you tap the ruddy Delete Backupoption, y'all'll be asked if y'all are sure of the conclusion. Advice: Be certain to go along the most recent fill-in.

On a Mac: Open System Preferences>iCloudand choose the "Manage..."option. In the side by side pane, choose Backups and delete those you don't need in the aforementioned manner equally on iOS.

How to put iCloud Drive on a nutrition

Both Macs and iOS devices utilise iCloud to shop app data and important files.

Contempo Macs tin can use iCloud to automatically sync and store contents of both the Desktop and the Downloads folder. Once these items are made available there, yous can access them from any other Apple tree device, and so long as yous are logged in using the aforementioned Apple ID. You can also access those items online using a web browser.

This is a useful characteristic, but if yous want to limit your iCloud information, you disable this on your Mac in Organisation Preferences>iCloud>iCloud Drive. There, y'all click the Options push button then untick the Desktop & Documentsfolders. In the hereafter, these items volition non be stored in iCloud – though existing items will remain. To remove those older Desktop and Downloads items from iCloud bulldoze, you must manually save them to your Mac:

  • In Finder, open iCloud Driveand locate the Documents or Downloads binder.
  • Open up a new Finder window, choose Get>Habitation
  • At present drag and drop items from iCloud Bulldoze to your Habitation directory. The files will exist downloaded to and saved on your Mac. The process may have a while, depending on how much bandwidth and how much data you need to shift.
  • Y'all can and then delete the items from iCloud Bulldoze.

Don't forget, these items will no longer be available beyond your other devices unless you motility them to another service that syncs beyond all your systems.

Save your Files elsewhere

macOS and iOS devices both support tertiary-party online storage services such as Box, Dropbox or Microsoft One Drive (which offers 1TB of free storage with an Role 365 subscription). Apple tree's Files app for iOS also supports third-party services including Box, Dropbox and OneDrive. The support makes information technology seamless: install the relevant storage app on your device, log-in, and you'll be able to access whatsoever data y'all have stored in those non-iCloud services using the Files app. You lot no longer need to save those files in iCloud. You tin also employ Dropbox and OneDrive to automatically salve your photos and other images, further reducing your reliance on iCloud.

iOS Files app Apple tree

The Files app in iOS 11 allows yous to keep rails of files no matter which Apple tree device they're on – and information technology works with tertiary-party cloud storage providers.

What about app data?

Practice you use every iCloud service? Recall about only relying on essential services that you really need to sync between devices in real fourth dimension, things like Contacts and Calendars, for example. These useful services don't consume much storage simply exercise provide a keen bargain of convenience. You tin can command which Apple services save to iCloud in settings, just untick those you don't need to disable them.

Y'all can also consider alternatives. For instance, Apple's Notes application is becoming an increasingly capable competitor to Evernote – but if you but keep a few notes, you can apply the latter's free service to replace Notes in iCloud.

what about app data Apple

There are also numerous apps that salve information in iCloud. To find out which ones do so on a Mac, get to System Preferences>iCloud>iCloud Bulldoze; on an iOS device, y'all command these in Settings>Apple ID>iCloud. Uncheck the apps you don't want saving data in iCloud in the listing y'all find. Since you may lose some functionality, do a petty inquiry on a per-app basis commencement.