Apple gives each user a certain amount of space in the iCloud service. It is designed to synchronize data between all Apple devices under one account.
A very convenient service that allows you, say, to create a note on the iPad, and then take your iPhone with you on the road and there will be the same note that you made on the iPad - provided that all devices are connected to the iCloud service.
Due to the fact that the place on the proprietary service is limited, sometimes the question arises: how to clean iCloud? After all, it happens, for example, that you installed an application, set it up to save data to iCloud, and then stopped using it yourself. But after all, the software still saves the data, but nobody needs them.
So, you already understood why you need to clean iCloud. Let's see how this can be done.
So, go to "Settings", there select iCloud. Scroll down a bit and select "Vault and Copies", and then - "Vault".
Here you are on the right screen. Here is all the software that uses the iCloud service to save its data. If you think that some program or game no longer needs to store its data there, and thereby take up space, you can delete it from there. Click on the desired program, in the window that opens, select first "Change", and then "Delete". That's it, you freed up some space. Do this for every program you want to remove from icloud.
We will go further and make it so that certain applications will never store data on a remote service at all. For this, being in the window "Vault", just switch to state "Off" the application that no longer needs to store data on the server.
iCloud storage is a very reliable way to keep your content in a safe place. Apple is responsible for storing all of this user data. But if you don't keep your iCloud storage full, you may run out of free space in iCloud.
About full iCloud storage
Judge for yourself: you, say, bought an iPhone 6s, created an iCloud account when you activated your iPhone - the company gives you 5 GB of free space on one of the iCloud servers.
By default, the gadget is set to automatically sync with the icloud.com server - when the iPhone or iPad screen is locked, and the device itself is connected to any known Wi-Fi network that has Internet access, and the device is charging, it uses the unused bandwidth of this The Internet channel, when differences are found, copies files back and forth until the differences are resolved. The result is a fresh, updated copy of all iPhone owner data. In case of loss, "moving" of the owner to another iPhone or iPad while maintaining the current iCloud account, all data can be restored from this "cloud" copy. Agree, the thing is very convenient!
What to do and how to clear space from any of the Apple devices
Various backups are managed from any gadget. All of them together take up 5 GB. Often, iCloud space fills up quickly. Anything over 5 GB can be purchased. And if the owner is insolvent, Apple "freezes" the rest of the files that do not fit into these 5 GB, and access to them before paying for paid space on iCloud is impossible. To do this, you need to optimize your backup without uploading too much to iCloud. Also store your files and settings on a PC, in external media or on other "clouds", where there will be more free gigabytes.
Modern gadgets iPhone and iPad have built-in memory from 64 GB - on iCloud, the user is invariably given 5 GB. It will not be possible to create a second account from one iPhone or iPad - Apple has protected the iCloud service from fraudulent schemes by users. Want more - pay!
How to manage storage
It can be “cleaned up” online, freeing up space in iCloud that is “polluted” by content that is no longer needed. Follow the steps below.
Manage iCloud from iPhone
- Open the iPhone settings menu.
Open
- Sign in to your iCloud storage settings.
Sign in to iCloud settings
- Information about the total amount of iCloud storage will be shown.
Click to view more details
- Go to see details and manage iCloud.
Click to set the bottom item of this submenu
- Which of the previously used devices would not have been backed up - select the one you need and open its contents. In any of them, everything is divided into categories - saved pages, encrypted files, etc.
- You will see a list of files saved during the backup. To manage them, press the "Edit" key.
Press the change content key
- A minus button (the "Delete" command) will appear next to each file name from the backup.
- Deletion requires confirmation - this is the line of defense against accidental deletion of saved files.
Are you sure you want to delete?
Throughout the cleaning process, you are accompanied by a scale for the utilization of iCloud storage.
Timely revision of content in iCloud will help you in case of lack of free space.
Revision of iCloud backups from iPad and iPod
Techniques for navigating iCloud on the iPad and iPod are no fundamentally different: they use the same software shell, iOS, as on the iPhone. Due to this, the functionality is the same on all these devices (and even the menus are almost the same), including when managing iCloud storage - everything depends only on the size of the internal memory and screen resolution of the device.
But about managing iCloud storage on MacBook computers and on regular Windows-based PCs, it is worth talking specifically.
How to free up space on a full iCloud using a Windows PC
On icloud.com, when you exit directly from your PC browser, your devices' desktop is displayed in the style of Apple iDevices (just like on a real iPhone or iPad).
iCloud desktop like on iPhone and iPad
Your actions with Windows are as follows.
Synchronization is two-way - when a difference in the file structure is detected, all your records are copied back and forth on all devices, including the PC. Thus, your collection will be available anytime, anywhere with an unlimited Internet connection.
Setting up iCloud for Windows XP
While Apple recommends at least Vista version of Windows, you can run the iCloud installation on Windows XP as well. To do this, use the WinRAR and Orca MSI Editor programs, with which the iCloud "source" is configured - the blocking of the iCloud installation for Windows XP is removed. There is also a ready-made, “repackaged” installation file iCloudSetup.exe configured for the XP version on the Web.
Setting up iCloud on MacOS
Both on an Apple PC with MacOS preinstalled - and on regular computers based on the x86 / x64 platform, where you can also install the MAC version (especially for such PCs) - the operation of the iCloud application is similar, because the MacOS graphical shell is almost the same everywhere same. The operation of the iCloud application differs little from the Windows version: the same functions. As an example, a person who installed the French version of iCloud on a MacOS PC and bought 55 GB of iCloud storage.
iCloud main window on macOS PC
As you can see, it is not difficult to navigate even in versions of iCloud translated even into Chinese or Arabic - each menu item is accompanied by an icon, which immediately makes it clear what we are working with. In this, Apple is also impeccable.
So, to business.
What can be cleared on iCloud
You can remove obsolete data from iCloud in the following categories:
- notes;
- calendar reminders;
- letters sent by e-mail;
- data of installed applications downloaded from the AppStore (for example, the history of calls and messages in Skype, Zello, WhatsApp);
- bookmarks and browsing history in Safari;
- voice recordings;
- data from the Health app (virtual medical record on the device);
- music uploaded to iTunes (soundtracks, podcasts);
- SMS/MMS messages;
- drawings, photographs and video recordings (clips).
An example is the iPhone, which is given instructions on what to save in iCloud. There can be at least a hundred applications - each of them can be controlled.
Turn off everything you don't need!
Copy to iCloud can be controlled either fully or partially. It's affordable, easy and simple.
The iPad and MacBook are configured in the same way.
How to expand space in iCloud via PC, iPhone, etc.
If you do not intend to create separate accounts for each of your Apple devices, you can purchase additional gigabytes in iCloud.
Buying gigabytes from iPhone or iPad
All steps are the same for iPhone and iPad. Follow the steps below.
How to buy more iCloud space on a MacBook
The action plan is the following. Similar.
- Give the command: Apple - System Preferences - iCloud - Manage
- Choose a plan and go to the icloud.com service to make a payment from your account.
Buying a gigabyte of iCloud on a Windows PC
Do the following.
- Launch the iCloud app for Windows, select "Storage".
- Select "Buy more space" ("Change storage plan").
- Choose a storage plan and go to iCloud to pay for it.
As you can see, the functionality is extremely simple. The consumer should not have any difficulties with paying for iCloud.
Other methods outside the scope of the iCloud service
It happens that there is not enough space on iCloud - but you don’t want to buy extra. Here are some alternative methods:
- backup to PC using iTunes (local);
- third-party services: Cloud Mail.ru, GoogleDrive, Yandex-Disk, Dropbox, etc.
- hard drives or CardReaders with Wi-Fi (on iPhone or iPad, a special application is required; a working Wi-Fi router is also needed);
- family access - combining Apple iDevices equipment of all family members (each user of such a group stores something specific in order to avoid duplication of exactly the same content on other gadgets in the family).
About "clearing" free space on iCloud. What to do if iCloud drive is full?
The steps above will help you optimize your iCloud experience. By applying these instructions, you can be sure that you will always have enough free space. We wish you never to lose important information for you - even if you change a dozen gadgets and computers!
Photos and videos taken on iPhone and iPad take up a huge amount of free space on devices. If you need more storage, then it is not necessary to resort to deleting content or moving to other media. With iCloud Photo Library, you can store photos and videos in the cloud by setting up automatic data optimization on the iOS device itself.
Turn on Content Storage Optimization for iCloud Music Library
iCloud Photo Library automatically uploads your photos to the cloud so you can access it anytime, on any device. Optimize storage is a useful option that replaces original resolution photos and videos with optimized versions when your device runs out of storage. A full resolution file is quickly loaded if you need to view it, edit it or send it to social networks. To enable this option follow these steps:
1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select the Photo section and Camera.
3. Check "Optimize device storage".
After activating this option, the system will automatically move the original versions of files to iCloud, leaving only recently captured photos and videos in full size. The process may take a long time, depending on the number of files and connection speed.
How to free up space in iCloud
The total size of files that can be stored in iCloud is not unlimited, and you have several options to free up space.
Option A: Clear the Photo Library
Browse albums that can contain selfies, panoramas, screenshots, or slow motion videos. Perhaps among them there are those that can be removed. Important note: you can't delete files only from iCloud or only from the device: if you delete them on the iPhone, they will disappear from everywhere.
After deleting unwanted pictures and clips, don't forget to visit the Recently Deleted section and clean it up. Otherwise, the files will still be stored on the device, taking up free memory for 30 days.
Option B: Buy more iCloud space
If you don't want to think about storing your photos and videos and are willing to pay for cloud storage space, you can increase the amount of available space in your iCloud Photo Library. The current prices for additional iCloud space are as follows:
- 5 GB - free
- 50 GB - 59 rubles / month
- 200 GB - 149 rubles / month
- 1 TB - 599 rubles / month
You can change the tariff plan or cancel its action at any time.
Apple provides its users with 5 GB of free iCloud storage. However, unfortunately, this volume is not enough for everyone. When the storage is almost full, new backups stop being created, and the user has a question: what to do, and there are two ways - to clear the "cloud" of old unnecessary data, freeing up space for new ones, or buy additional iCloud storage.
In this article, we will tell you how to act correctly in both situations.
In general, there are two approaches to the need to clear iCloud storage. The first is to clean the memory of the device itself and manually create a new backup copy, which, after “cleaning”, will significantly “lose weight” and there will be room for new information. This approach is very simple and works great, because in most cases the user only needs to delete or upload old photos and videos to the computer - after all, this type of content steals the most space in the backup.
To implement this scheme, if you decide to remove unnecessary content:
If you want to transfer content to a computer:
- Connect the device to the PC, open through the "My Computer" section.
- Copy the content to your computer and then delete it in the classic way.
- Follow the third step of the previous instruction.
Another approach to how to free up space in iCloud is to use a special section of the cloud settings menu. This approach is good because it allows you to see how much memory is consumed by each of the programs whose data is included in the copy.
So, how to clear iCloud storage space using this menu:
- Open the "Settings" of the iPhone or other iOS gadget.
- If your device runs on iOS 10.3 and later versions of the platform, tap your name, then iCloud, otherwise, press iCloud right away - in both cases at the very top you will see the statistics of the space used.
- Click the "Storage" section, then "Management".
- Now tap on the backup - you will see a list of all the programs whose data is stored in it. Here you will get an answer to the question why the storage filled up so quickly - by default, the device backs up a lot of information that the user does not need to store at all, but don't worry, now we will take matters into our own hands.
- So, to free up space, you need to disable the sliders opposite all programs in which we do not want to back up data. When the dialog box appears, click "Turn off and delete".
- After the cleaning is done, scroll to the very bottom and click "Delete copy". Don't worry, now we will create a new one - with your new settings.
- Open the iCloud section in the "Settings" menu, select the "Backup to iCloud" item, click on the "Create a backup copy" link.
Ready! Now only what you need is stored in the cloud.
Good advice! Do not store your photos and videos in the "cloud" - they take up a lot of space, and sooner or later you still have to dump them on your computer. If you care that this type of content was stored in iCloud, we recommend that you turn on the "Optimize storage ..." setting if you have not used it before. To activate it, go to iCloud, then "Photos", check the box next to the "Optimize storage ..." option.
How to increase the amount of storage?
As we said above, clearing iCloud of the information stored in it is not the only way to get a new place to create new backups. If you store a lot of information on your device and the storage fills up quickly even with regular “cleaning”, then the best option is to buy additional space in the cloud.
Apple offers three plans:
- 50 GB for 59 rubles per month
- 200 GB for 149 rubles per month
- 2 TB for 599 rubles per month
To buy more iCloud space:
That's all - as you can see, using iCloud in terms of clearing and purchasing a new place is very simple!
Let's summarize
Now you know how to see how much space the current backup takes in iCloud, how to increase iCloud cloud storage in volumes, and how to clear it of unnecessary information. We hope our instructions were clear and you were able to do what you wanted.
After installing OS X Yosemite (which, by the way, I had problems with) and iOS 8 GM, I decided to connect iCloud Drive. Let me remind you that you can manage it only with the help of these systems. I thought for a long time whether to buy additional space in the Apple cloud, because the new rates allow you not to even think about this issue. However, is there any point in iCloud Drive and will we use it? Let's think.
As before, 5 GB is available for free, which can be increased to 20 GB for $0.99 per month. The amount is ridiculous, but is it worth it?
Let me remind you that iCloud Drive is a competitor to Dropbox, Google Drive and other cloud storages. That is, new iCloud features have been added to the old iCloud functions that will allow you to use it as a cloud for your files. There are already many questions about the service.
First, it just doesn't work well. Of course, this can be attributed to the beta, but the inability to upload the file to the cloud storage, seriously? This could be corrected. When you upload a file to iCloud Drive, an endless sync begins.
Secondly, why didn't Apple consider creating a separate iOS app for iCloud Drive? This would be much more convenient than working with each individual file in different applications.
And now the main question: which tariff to choose? If you intend to migrate to iCloud Drive from another cloud, I would recommend a minimum plan of 20 GB for $0.99 per month. I don’t know what to store in the cloud from Apple, except for documents and photos.
Of course, if you have a lot of devices, backups, and photos, you'll need a lot more space. However, in this case, you have already acquired it.
Do you see the need to buy iCloud Drive space?
