Need help:iCloud Photos taking up so much storage

Hello! I’ve got this odd problem where I only have 465 photos and 12 videos but it seems to take up 8.7GB in storage and I can’t figure out why. I turned ‘sync my IPhone’ off prior and it deleted 200 photos but the amount of storage it took up still didn’t change however it only increased 1GB in photo library backup. I’ve tried switching my phone on and off to see if it will update but nothing has happened so far. Any tips would be appreciated

iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 17

Posted on Oct 6, 2023 1:05 PM

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3 replies

Oct 8, 2023 6:29 AM in response to Hollie8355_

Hello Hollie8355_,


To manage your iCloud storage, we would recommend taking these related steps for a solution: Manage your iCloud storage


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 or iPad

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 the Delete button , and then tap Delete Photo.


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. 

6. Tap the Delete button , 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.


Were you able to create some storage when you used the iCloud website to delete photos and videos? Are your deleted photos still showing up in the Recently Deleted folder or is that folder now empty? The more we can understand about what's happening, the better we can assist.


Hoping this helps out.


Take care.


Oct 10, 2023 12:57 PM in response to destiny241

Hello, thank you so much! I managed to get 1GB of storage back when sorting out on the iCloud.com website on my iPhone, which was really helpful. The photos I deleted on the website showed up in ‘recently deleted’ folder but I deleted them again so I hope that does something. Was just wondering if you think I should do the same to my other devices other than just my phone? Thank you so much your tips! They were very helpful as nothing I searched on Google seemed to help my problem.

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Need help:iCloud Photos taking up so much storage

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