How to remove downloaded iCloud files from iOS?

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Level 1

17 points

How to remove downloaded iCloud files from iOS?

On the Mac I simply double click a file in iCloud Drive and select “remove download” and it frees up space on my Mac and the little cloud icon appears next to the file if I want to download it again.

On the iPad I can’t find “remove download” anywhere In iCloud Drive, the files just sit there clogging up my iPad.

I don’t get it, I pay for iCloud storage to store files in the cloud not on my iPad.

I’ve read everything and called Apple support twice and have no solution.

can someone please help 🙏

iPad Pro, iPadOS 14

Posted on Feb 27, 2021 5:55 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

TheLittles

Level 10

192,639 points

Feb 27, 2021 6:16 PM in response to Reallyrob

Reallyrob Said:

“Thanks How to remove downloaded iCloud Files from iOS?“

———-

A Couple of Thoughts:

What to do:

To remove it from your device, hold you finger down on it, and click the “X”.

Saving Space:

See what is is enabled in iCloud settings on you iPhone. If you disable it the item in iCloud Settings, then it will not download as they are added/created.

For Example:

Is Photos Enabled in iCloud?:

Are there 1000s downloaded to your iPhone? If so, then disable Photos in iCloud, and they would no longer sync.

Go to: Settings
Tap: Your Name (Very Top Item)
Tap: iCloud
Tap: iCloud
Tap: Photos (So it is greyed-out)

Clear “Other” Space on the iPhone:

Then, try signing out of iCloud, and then back in. Perhaps this all needs to sync? From there, clear "Other" storage - Go Here: How to Clear "Other" in your iPhone's Storage - Use Backup

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Answer 2

TheLittles

Level 10

192,639 points

Feb 27, 2021 6:22 PM in response to Reallyrob

Reallyrob Said:

“Thanks How to remove downloaded iCloud Files from iOS?“

———-

Back Up Prior to Making Changes:

Be certain to make a backup of your iPhone, prior to all of this. That way, you’ll have something to restore your iPhone from, should anything go wrong from this time forward.

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Answer 3

Reallyrob Author

Level 1

17 points

Mar 1, 2021 10:58 AM in response to TheLittles

Thanks for you detailed reply,

When I tap and hold on the file an « X » does not appear, a menu appears with delete as an option but when I delete the file it is also deleted from iCloud.

In iCloud setting on my iPad I have photos set to « Optimize iPad Storage » I want to use iCloud for accessing photos from all my devices but I want to choose which photos are on my devices and which are only in iCloud.

I don’t have an issue with excess « other » files at the moment but have had in the past and sure I will again so will look at your steps...

I still don’t see how to « remove download » from iPad like is easily done on Mac (I Know I’m not the only one wondering about this, I haven’t found a working solution to this after hours, days, months of searching) (I may just cancel my 2TB iCloud subscription and go back to using only external hard drives for back up).

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Answer 4

babowa

Level 9

78,115 points

Mar 1, 2021 3:09 PM in response to Reallyrob

Just as an additional thought: you are aware that iCloud is not a true backup? It is considered a syncing mechanism so you can access all of your files on all your devices. If you remove the file from your device, it will also be removed from iCloud.And, do not expect to have the iOS for mobile devices function like a full featured Mac OS.

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Answer 5

Reallyrob Author

Level 1

17 points

Mar 2, 2021 6:11 AM in response to Reallyrob

Yet Apple advertises it as “Storage”

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How to remove downloaded iCloud files from iOS?

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