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how to free up space with icloud

I upgraded my icloud storage plan however how can I free up space (photos and videos) to go on cloud without the risk of permanently deleting them

iPhone 8

Posted on Sep 1, 2021 12:48 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 1, 2021 12:54 PM

See the recommendations in What's the difference between device storage and iCloud storage? - Apple Support


Also be aware that 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: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264


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.


Another way that photos may be on iCloud (if you don’t have iCloud Photos turned on) is via a backup of an iOS device. The only thing you can do with a backup is use it to restore a device or set up a new device. The contents of backups are not viewable at iCloud.com and if you delete a photo from a device it will not be included in future backups and will be lost.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 1, 2021 12:54 PM in response to tramtran90

See the recommendations in What's the difference between device storage and iCloud storage? - Apple Support


Also be aware that 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: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264


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.


Another way that photos may be on iCloud (if you don’t have iCloud Photos turned on) is via a backup of an iOS device. The only thing you can do with a backup is use it to restore a device or set up a new device. The contents of backups are not viewable at iCloud.com and if you delete a photo from a device it will not be included in future backups and will be lost.

how to free up space with icloud

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