How do I free up photo storage space on my phone if I have everything on iCloud?

I am using 10 GB on my phone storage, although I am already paying for and using 2TB of iCloud storage, I'd like to free up this space on my phone and keep only in iCloud. How can I do this?

iPhone XR, iOS 13

Posted on Jul 9, 2020 3:58 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 9, 2020 4:00 PM

You can't keep them only on iCloud but you can turn on the Optimize iPhone Storage option.


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.



2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 9, 2020 4:00 PM in response to Photo_storage_on_iCloud

You can't keep them only on iCloud but you can turn on the Optimize iPhone Storage option.


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.



Jul 10, 2020 4:47 AM in response to Photo_storage_on_iCloud

Here is some information that should help you manage your storage.

 

iDevice:

 

How to check the storage on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201656

 

How to free up space on an iPhone https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/iphone/free-space-iphone-3524712/

 

10 Easy Ways To Free Up A Lot Of Space On Your iPhone https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iphone-free-space-tips_n_6269756

 

iPhone Other storage: What is it and how do you delete it?

https://www.macworld.com/article/3388219/iphone-other-storage-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-delete-it.html 

 

iCloud:

 

Check your iCloud storage usage on iCloud.com https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/check-your-storage-usage-mm6e5a441fc7/1.0/icloud/1.0

 

Manage your iCloud storage https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204247

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

How do I free up photo storage space on my phone if I have everything on iCloud?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.