What is "docs" on iPhone storage and how to free space?

janefromoswego wrote:

I am trying to free space from my iphone storage.

The picture you show, is for iCloud Storage, not Phone storage. They are 2 different and separate things and should not be confused.

I see "docs" I cannot get a straight answer from anyone that explains exactly what this is. It implies these are actual documents which I really don't want stored in my iCloud. I went to www.icloud.com and tried to delete there, but the documents stored there don't come close to taking up the space indicated on my iPhone (61GB).

Those are documents, like Word document or Excel files, or other files that are not music or photos or backups. found in iCloud from the Files app on your iPhone. You can open the Files app on your iPhone, and see what is there under the iCloud Drive folder.

I tried going through the process on my iPhone, however, when I do this, it says this will delete all "app data" from iCloud (what IS app data? I need to understand if I care or not).

It's the datas belonging to that app. In this case, the Files App. It refers to the document and files that are stored by the Files app in iCloud. Only you can know if whatever is there is something you need.

Subsequently, I became brave, took the plunge, and pressed "Delete Documents and & Data" but nothing happened. My phone just sits there and continues to take up storage with "docs" so frustrating. So now I don't know how to free up 61GB of 200GB that I would rather dedicate to photos. The only solution appears to keep paying Apple for upgraded storage space, but this doesn't seem fair to the consumer.

Deleting 61GB of data can take a while. It's not going to immediately reflect the deletion.

What about it is not fair? Documents are taking up space in iCloud. There is nothing unfair about it. It is what it is.

It's likely other app data synced to iCloud. Recommend updating to the latest iOS to dive into the actual items. You can also try navigating to iCloud.com and peeking through the folders. Finally, check to see if any of your apps are syncing info into iCloud which may be taking up space.

Go to iCloud.com/settings. Do you see the same storage amounts? You may need to empty your trash for space to free. And, you may not have enough free space for the sync to function properly. You may also wish to update your phone (Settings > General > Software update). In later version of the software you can further dive into iCloud Drive (as you posted above) by selecting Manage Storage to see all Documents & Data stored. You'll find the same information at iCloud.com

I have the same problem, been paying for 2tb for 232 mb. Just realised in my haste to increase phone storage I’d deleted the files app. I reinstalled it and on it went to iCloud Drive but there is no differentiation between docs and photos/videos. I’m inclined to think I cloud saves a photo as a photo and also as a doc?

I am having the same issue. Some evidence this is likely a bug/issue. I'm a new iPhone user. I never had an iPhone before. This is my first iPhone ever. It is the iPhone 15 Pro. Software is up to date. I have not installed a single app. I took three photos so far. No videos. The only apps in the phone are the ones pre-installed. I haven't saved any files to iCloud Drive on my phone and/or on iCloud web. Zero. I have literally set up the phone, tested the camera taking three photos. Yet, when I go to Manage Account Storage to check my iCloud storage, "Docs" is taking up ~3.5GB of the 5GB free we get with the new iPhone. This is more than 50% of the space and I have no idea which "Docs" is Apple referring to in this case! This is a bit frustrating...

All of my apps and emails and gmails and other social media accounts are not working properly please help me fix and update my account