How to clear iphone storage without deleting anything

Need more iCloud storage? You can easily manage your storage to make space or upgrade to iCloud+.

Make more space available in iCloud

Reduce the size of your iCloud Backup

Choose which apps to back up on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. Tap Manage Account Storage or tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups.
3. Tap the name of the device that you're using.
4. Turn off any apps that you don't want to back up.
5. Choose Turn Off & Delete.

When you confirm that you want to Turn Off & Delete an app, it turns off iCloud Backup for that app and removes all of its information from iCloud.

Some apps are always backed up and you can't turn them off.

Delete backups and turn off iCloud Backup for your device

You can delete old iCloud backups for the device you're currently using, or older devices you might not use anymore. iCloud backups are available for 180 days after you disable or stop using iCloud Backup. Backups that are currently being used to restore a device can't be deleted.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

1. Go to Settings > [your name], then tap iCloud.
2. Tap Manage Account Storage or tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups.
3. Tap the name of the device whose backup you'd like to delete. 
4. Tap Delete Backup > Turn Off & Delete.

When you delete a backup, it also turns off iCloud Backup for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You can turn iCloud Backup back on in iCloud settings on your device. 

Mac

1. Choose Apple menu  > System Settings or choose Apple menu  > System Preferences.
2. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud.
3. Click Manage and select Backups.
4. Select one of the device backups, then click — to delete. If you want to turn off Backup and remove all backups for that device from iCloud, choose Delete when you're asked to confirm.

When you delete a backup, it also turns off iCloud Backup for your device. You can turn iCloud Backup back on in iCloud settings on your device. 

Windows PC

1. Open iCloud for Windows.
2. Click Storage.
3. Select Backup from the items listed.
4. Select one of the device backups, then click Delete. If you want to turn off Backup and remove all backups for that device from iCloud, choose Delete when you're asked to confirm. 

When you delete a backup, it also turns off iCloud Backup for your device. You can turn iCloud Backup back on in iCloud settings on your device. 

Delete photos in iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos uses your iCloud storage to keep all of your photos and videos up to date across your devices. You can make more space in iCloud when you delete photos and videos that you no longer need from the Photos app on any of your devices.

Before you delete anything, make sure that you back up the photos and videos that you still want. When you use iCloud Photos and delete a photo or video on one device, it's also deleted on all other devices where you're signed in with the same Apple ID.

Use the steps below to delete photos and videos from your iCloud Photos. If you don't use iCloud Photos, you can delete photos from your Camera Roll instead.

If you are part of an iCloud Shared Photo Library, photos added to the Shared Library only count towards the storage of the person who created the Shared Library. To delete items that count towards your iCloud storage, make sure that you're viewing your Personal Library.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

1. Open the Photos app, then tap Library at the bottom of your screen.
2. Tap All Photos. 
3. Tap Select, and choose one or more photos or videos that you want to delete.
4. Tap Delete 
   
   , and then tap Delete Photo.

If you don't use iCloud Photos

If you don't use iCloud Photos, your Camera Roll is part of your iCloud Backup. To check how much storage it's using in iCloud Backup: 

1. Go to Settings > [your name], then tap iCloud.
2. Tap Manage Account Storage or tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups. 
3. Tap the name of the device you're using, then look at Photos.  

Mac

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select the photos and videos that you want to delete.
3. Press the delete key on your keyboard, control-click, or right-click and choose Delete (#) Photos. Then click Delete to confirm.

iCloud.com

1. From your iPhone, iPad, or computer, sign in to iCloud.com.
2. Select the Photos app.
3. Select the photos or videos that you want to delete. 
   • To select multiple photos or videos, tap Select on iOS or iPadOS, or press and hold Command on a Mac or Control on a PC while you select the items.
   • To select all, press and hold Command-A on macOS or Control-A on Windows, or tap Select All on iOS or iPadOS. 
4. Tap Delete 
   
   , then tap Delete.

You can recover photos and videos that you delete from your Recently Deleted album for 30 days. If you want to remove content from Recently Deleted album faster, tap Select, then select the items you want to remove. Tap Delete > Delete. If you exceed your iCloud storage limit, your device immediately removes any photos and videos you delete and they won't be available for recovery in your Recently Deleted album.

Delete folders or files in iCloud Drive

You can manage and delete folders or files you store in iCloud Drive from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. If you're a participant in someone else's shared folder, it does not count towards your iCloud storage. Learn more about folder sharing in iCloud Drive.

In iOS 11 or later, files that you delete from iCloud Drive remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days before they're removed from your device.

iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Mac

1. Open the Finder and go to the iCloud Drive folder.
2. Drag an item to the Trash, or move it to a different folder on your Mac.
3. Open Trash, then right-click the files that you want to delete.
4. Select Delete Immediately. Then click Delete to confirm. 

Windows

On a PC with Windows 7 or later, you can manage your iCloud Drive files using Windows Explorer. Use these steps to add an iCloud Drive folder to Windows Explorer:

1. Download and install iCloud for Windows.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID.
3. Turn on iCloud Drive.
4. Go to the iCloud Drive folder.
5. Select the folders or files that you want to delete.
6. Click Delete.

iCloud.com

1. Sign in to iCloud.com.
2. Tap the iCloud Drive app.
3. Select the files that you want to delete, then tap Delete 
   
   .
4. Open the iCloud Drive folder and tap Recently Deleted.
5. Select the folders or files that you want to delete.
6. Tap Delete.

Delete texts and attachments in Messages

When you use Messages in iCloud, all of your text messages and the attachments you send and receive use your iCloud storage. You can make more space available when you delete texts and attachments—like photos, videos, and files—that you don't need anymore. 

Delete a message or attachment on your Mac

1. Open a message conversation.
2. Control-click the blank area of a message bubble that you want to delete.
3. Choose Delete.
4. Click Delete to confirm.

Delete multiple attachments from a contact or conversation

1. Open a message conversation.
2. Click the Info button 
   
   .
3. Scroll to the Photos section.
4. Click on an attachment then hold the Command key to select multiple attachments. 
5. Control-click or right-click, then choose Delete.
6. Click Delete Attachment to confirm. 

Delete an entire conversation

1. Control-click a conversation.
2. Choose Delete or Delete Conversation.
3. Click Delete to confirm.

Delete messages and manage Mail

You can free up iCloud space when you delete email messages from your iCloud email account. You can also move email messages from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or PC, where they no longer count against your iCloud storage.

Use the steps below to delete messages from your account. Remember that messages with large attachments take up more space than simple text emails.

iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is set up to access iCloud email, you can delete messages from any mailbox, then empty the Trash to free up space:

1. Swipe left across any message to delete it.
2. Go to your Mailboxes and choose your Trash folder. 
3. To delete messages one at a time, swipe left on each message. To delete everything, tap Edit, tap Select All, and then tap Delete. Tap Delete All to confirm.  

Mac or Windows PC

If you use iCloud Mail with a desktop email app, such as Mail on your Mac or Microsoft Outlook on your PC, use these steps:

• Mail on your Mac: Delete the messages that you no longer want, then choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items and select your iCloud email account from the menu. Then click Erase to confirm.
• Microsoft Outlook 2010 through Outlook 2016 (Windows): Delete the messages that you no longer want. Outlook will permanently delete your messages the next time you close and restart the app.

iCloud.com

1. Sign in to iCloud.com.
2. Select Mail and choose your Trash folder.
3. To delete messages one at a time, select the message you want to delete, then select the Trash button 
   
   . To delete multiple messages, select the messages you want to delete then select Delete.  

Delete voice memos

With Voice Memos in iCloud, your voice recordings are stored in iCloud. You can easily delete them if you need more space.

iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Tap Edit, then select the voice memos that you want to delete.
2. Tap Delete 
   
   .
3. Open Recently Deleted, then tap Edit.
4. Tap Delete All, or select voice memos then tap Delete.

Mac

1. Select the voice memos you want to delete. 
2. Click Delete
   
   .
3. Open Recently Deleted, then click Delete All or Delete.
4. Click Delete Forever to confirm. 

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Published Date: October 24, 2022

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