How to Clear iCloud Storage Without Losing Photos: 6 Ways

Apple's iCloud is a practical and useful cloud storage service that offers users 5GB of free storage space. Users can take advantage of this online space to store a variety of files such as photos, videos, documents, and screenshots, accessing and managing that data wherever and whenever they need it.

However, 5GB of free storage is often not enough given the large volume of data generated in people's daily lives, especially for long-term iPhone/Mac users. As a result, it's common for users to encounter the issue of iCloud storage being full.

So if you are wondering about how do I remove photos from iCloud without losing photos? Just find answers here!

How to clear iCloud storage without losing photos

In this part, you can get 6 ways to make it efficiently! If you want the most efficient way, then FoneTool mentioned in Option 1 will be a nice choice.

Option 1. Best free way to free up iCloud space on Windows PC

When it comes to deleting/uploading and downloading iCloud data easily, the professional iCloud manager - FoneTool will help you a lot!

Highlights:

 Super-fast management speed allows you to efficiently delete/upload/download iCloud data from PC.

 You can preview and select data as you like and decide which need to be cleared.

 iCloud photos, videos, contacts, notes and iCloud drive data can be easily accessed.

 FoneTool uses two-factor authentication to protect your iCloud data which is same as the encryption used by Apple.

Now you can download it on your Windows PC and learn from the detailed steps to get how to delete photos from iCloud storage.

Step 1. Launch FoneTool > Go to My iCloud > Log in with your Apple ID > Choose Manage iCloud to continue.

Step 2. Click the data icon you need to manage > Choose the files you need and click the Delete button > Confirm your choice from the pop-up window > Tap on Yes to begin the task.

Option 2. Remove unnecessary backups to clear iCloud space

First, check what is using your iCloud storage so you can target what to clear out. For most users, it's photos, backups, and messages that consume the most space. Go to Settings > [your profile] > iCloud to manage your account storage.

To remove backups, go to Settings > iCloud > Manage Backups, then delete any backups you no longer need to get more iCloud storage.

Option 3. Delete email attachments to free up iCloud storage

Email attachments can also take up significant storage. You can choose to delete them to get more iCloud storage.

Step 1. Go to iCloud Mail to tap View. Then filter by Attachments.

Step 2. Now you can delete emails with attachments. 

Option 4. Delete messages to get more iCloud storage

Text messages and chat histories stored on iCloud can accumulate over time. It must be noted that if you delete messages on iCloud, they will not be shown up on other devices any longer either.

If you decide to accomplish the task, you just need to long-hold the message that you want to delete, then hit the Delete button to easily free up iCloud space.

Option 5. Clear Recently Deleted to free up iCloud space

For most people, photos occupy the majority of storage space. Therefore, you can free up space by deleting unnecessary photos, such as duplicates.

After removing unwanted photos, be sure to go to the Recently Deleted folder to permanently delete them, as photos in this folder still consume storage. To do this, navigate to your Albums, scroll down to Recently Deleted, and delete the photos again.

Option 6. Delete data on iCloud Drive to clear up iCloud

If you prefer not to delete any of your photos, how can you free up iCloud storage? A great way to gain more space is by removing files and documents from iCloud Drive. To do this, go to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Manage Storage > iCloud Drive.

Here, you can view all the data stored on iCloud Drive. To delete a file, swipe left and tap the trash icon. This method allows you to clear iCloud storage without deleting your photos.

Conclusion

Now you can know how to clear iCloud storage without losing photos. 6 ways above can help you solve the problem efficiently. And FoneTool mentioned in Option 1 can be the most ideal choice.

If this guide helps you a lot, you can share it to other people to help them as well.