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Free up space in your iCloud Drive by deleting unwanted photos, files, messages, and more
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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD
. Megaera Lorenz is an Egyptologist and Writer with over 20 years of experience in public education. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museum’s Public Education office. She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 45,510 times.
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If your iCloud storage is full and you don't want to pay for more space, you can delete items using your computer, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro. Deleting files, folders, and messages from iCloud deletes them everywhere you use your Apple ID and have iCloud Drive turned on . This wikiHow will teach you how to delete items from iCloud, including photos, files, and folders in your iCloud Drive and messages and attachments in Messages.
Deleting Items from iCloud: Fast Facts
- If you have iCloud syncing activated for an app, such as Photos or Files, you can delete items from iCloud by deleting them in the app.
- Deleted items are typically stored in a Recently Deleted folder for 30 days.
- Deleting items from iCloud will delete them across all your linked devices. Back up anything you want to keep to local storage.
Steps
Section 1 of 6:
Deleting Folders and Files in iCloud Drive
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-
1On an iOS Device. You can delete folders and files on iCloud directly from your Files app on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro. The process varies slightly depending on which device you’re using. [1] X Research source
- Open the Files app, which looks like a blue file folder. On an iPhone, tap the Browse tab. On an iPad or Apple Vision Pro, open the Sidebar .
- Tap iCloud Drive under Locations .
- On an iPhone, tap the ••• More button in the top right corner of the screen, then tap Select . On an iPad or Apple Vision Pro, just tap Select .
- Tap any folders or files you want to delete. A checkmark will appear in the circle at the center of the icon.
- Tap the Delete button at the bottom of the screen. It looks like a trash can.
-
2On a Mac. You can delete files and folders from iCloud on a Mac using the Finder.
- Open Finder and click iCloud Drive in the left sidebar.
- Drag any files or folders you want to delete into the Trash . If you’d rather save them locally to your Mac, simply drag them to a local folder.
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3On a Windows PC. Launch the iCloud for Windows app. If you don’t have it already, download it from the Microsoft Store. Then:
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- Make sure iCloud Drive is turned on in the app. Then, open the iCloud Drive folder.
- Select any folders or files you want to delete and click Delete .
-
4On iCloud for the web. Visit https://www.icloud.com/ in a browser on your computer or mobile device. If you’re not already logged in, click the Sign In button and do so now. From there:
- Click the iCloud Drive app icon. It looks like a blue cloud.
- Click Browse in the sidebar to see all your files and folders.
- Click any files or folders you want to delete to select them. You can also Shift-click , Control-click (Windows), or Command-click (Mac) to select multiple files at once.
- Click the Delete icon (it looks like a trash can) in the top right corner of the page.
-
5Recover accidentally deleted files from Recently Deleted . If you deleted any files or folders that you want to keep, you have 30 days to recover them from your Recently Deleted folder. Open this folder in the iCloud Drive app for iOS or Windows, or in Drive on iCloud.com, and select any deleted items you want to recover. Click Recover to move them out of Recently Deleted .
- If you want to throw any items away permanently before the 30 days are up, select them and click Delete instead.
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Section 2 of 6:
Deleting Photos
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1On iOS devices. If you have iCloud Photos turned on, deleting photos from iCloud is as simple as deleting them from the Photos app on your device. Back up any photos you want to keep first, since this process will delete them from iCloud and any other devices where you have iCloud enabled. [2] X Research source
- On your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, open the Photos app.
- Tap Library > All Photos at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Select in the top right corner. Tap any photos you want to delete.
- Tap the Delete button (it looks like a trash can) at the bottom right corner of the screen. Tap Delete Photo to confirm.
- If you don’t have iCloud Photos activated on your phone, they may still be stored in iCloud as part of your iCloud Backup.
- On your device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and select Manage Storage Account or Manage Storage , then tap Backups .
- Select your device name and choose Photos to view and delete photos.
- You won’t see this option if you have iCloud Photos turned on.
-
2On a Mac. The process for deleting photos from iCloud on a Mac is very similar to doing it on an iOS device. Again, if you want to keep any of these photos in another location, back them up to a local folder on your Mac, to another cloud service, or to an external storage device first.
- Open the Photos app on your Mac.
- Click on any photos or videos you want to delete. Use Shift-click to select multiple photos in a row, or Command-click to select non-consecutive photos.
- Control-click one of your selected photos and choose Delete [number] Photos . You can also press the Delete key after selecting your images.
- Click Delete again to confirm.
-
3On iCloud for the web. You can use this method from any device, including Android devices and Windows computers. Save any photos you want to keep before doing this, since it will delete them from any devices logged into your iCloud account.
- Go to https://www.icloud.com/ in a browser on your mobile device or computer. If you’re not already logged in, click the Sign In button and do so now.
- Click the Photos app icon. You may need to scroll down to find it.
- Click any photos or videos you want to delete to select them. You can select multiple images with Shift-click , Command-click (Mac), or Control-click (PC), or by using the Select button in a mobile browser on iOS.
- Tap the Delete button in the top right corner. It looks like a trash can. Tap Delete again to confirm.
-
4Recover your photos from the Recently Deleted album. If you accidentally deleted any photos or videos you want to keep, don’t worry! You can recover them for up to 30 days. Go to the Recently Deleted folder in the Photos app on your iOS device, Mac, or iCloud.com. Select any photos you want to save and tap or click Recover .
- You can also delete images permanently from this folder to free up space in your iCloud account more quickly.
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Section 3 of 6:
Deleting Texts and Attachments in Messages
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1On iOS Devices. Open the Messages app on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro. If you have iCloud for Messages set up on your device, you can remove messages from the cloud directly from the Messages app. [3] X Research source
- To delete an individual message or attachment, open the conversation and tap and hold the text bubble or attachment you want to delete. Tap More , then tap the Delete button (it looks like a trash can). Tap Delete Message to confirm.
- To delete a whole conversation, swipe left on it and tap Delete . Tap Delete again to confirm.
- To tap all the attachments from a conversation, open the conversation and tap your contact’s name at the top. Go to the Photos section, tap See All , and tap Select . Tap attachments to select them, then tap Delete . Tap Delete Attachment(s) to confirm.
-
2On a Mac. You can also delete messages from the Messages app on Mac if you have Messages in iCloud enabled.
- To delete an individual message or attachment, Control-click the text bubble or attachment and click Delete… . Click Delete again to confirm.
- To delete a whole conversation, Control-click the conversation in the left sidebar, then select Delete… . Click Delete again to confirm.
- To delete all the messages in a conversation, open the conversation and click the i button in the top right corner. Scroll down to Photos and select one or more photos. Control-click and select Delete , then click Delete Attachment(s) .
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Section 4 of 6:
Deleting Email Messages
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1On an iOS device. If you have iCloud email set up, you can delete emails from iCloud by deleting them from your devices. If you want to keep a backup of your emails, you can export your mailbox to your Mac before deleting messages. To delete messages: [4] X Research source
- Open the Mail app on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.
- Swipe left on an email and select More > Trash Message .
- Tap Mailboxes
at the top of the screen and go to Trash
.
- If you don’t see Trash in your list of mailboxes, tap Edit in the top right corner, then select Trash from the list of preset mailboxes and tap Done . You might have to tap Add Mailbox… to find Trash .
- Swipe all the way left on a message to delete it. You can also tap Edit > Select All > Delete > Delete All to empty your Trash.
-
2On a Mac. To delete iCloud mail from your Mac:
- Open the Mail app.
- Select any email messages you want to delete, then click the Delete icon (which looks like a trash can) at the top right side of the Mail window.
- Click Mailbox
in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then select Erase Deleted Items
.
- If you have more than one email account associated with your Mail app, you’ll be prompted to select one or all of them.
- Click Erase to confirm your choice.
- You can also go to the Trash mailbox for your iCloud account in the sidebar, then delete individual emails from there.
-
3On a Windows PC. If you have an iCloud account connected to Microsoft Outlook, you can simply delete the emails from Outlook to erase them from your iCloud account. They’ll be permanently deleted next time you restart Outlook.
-
4On iCloud for the web. On any device, go to https://www.icloud.com/ and sign in with your Apple ID. Once you’re logged in, click the Mail icon. Select the message(s) you want to delete and click the Trash icon on the top right side of the window.
-
5Recover any deleted emails within 30 days. If you change your mind about deleting an email, simply go to your Trash mailbox, select the email you want to recover, and tap or click the icon that looks like a folder to move it to a different mailbox.
- Emails in the trash are automatically deleted after 30 days. To delete them faster, select the email and click or tap the Trash icon.
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Section 5 of 6:
Deleting Voice Memos
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1On an iOS device. If you have Voice Memos connected to iCloud, you can delete old voice memos from the cloud by deleting them on your device. [5] X Research source
- Open the Voice Memos app on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, then tap Edit .
- Tap any voice memos you want to delete to select them.
- Tap the Delete button.
- Tap the < icon to go to the main menu, then select Recently Deleted .
- Tap Edit and select any recordings you’re ready to permanently delete. Tap Delete Forever to confirm. Otherwise, wait 30 days, and the recordings will be deleted automatically.
-
2On a Mac. Launch the Voice Memos app, then click any recordings you want to delete on the left side of the window. Click the Trash icon at the top right side of the window to delete them.
- You may see a popup the first time you do this telling you that your recording is being moved to Recently Deleted. Click OK to confirm.
- To permanently delete a recording immediately, click Recently Deleted in the sidebar menu. You might have to go to View > Show Sidebar to see it. Select a recording and click Delete , or click Delete All at the bottom of the list of recordings. Click Delete Forever to confirm.
- You can also recover recently deleted recordings from the same menu. If you don’t do anything, they’ll be automatically deleted after 30 days.
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Section 6 of 6:
Deleting Old Backups
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1On an iOS device. If you have iCloud Backups enabled, you can delete old backups to free up space. To do this on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro: [6] X Research source
- Open Settings > [your name] > iCloud .
- Tap Manage Account Storage or Manage Storage , then tap Backups .
- Tap the device for which you want to delete backups.
- Tap Delete Backup
then Turn Off & Delete
to confirm.
- For some devices, you might see an option to Turn Off & Delete from iCloud instead of Delete Backup .
- In some cases, you may also be able to turn off and delete backups for specific apps from this menu.
- This will turn off iCloud backup for the selected device. You can go back into Settings on that device to turn it back on.
-
2On a Mac. On a Mac, you can delete iCloud backups from System Settings.
- Click the Apple menu and select System Settings (or System Preferences ).
- Click your name at top left, then click iCloud in the main window.
- Next to the Account Storage header, click Manage… , then click Backups in the pop-up window.
- Select the device for which you want to delete the backup, then click the — button at the bottom of the list to delete it. Click Delete to confirm.
-
3On a Windows PC. If you have the iCloud for Windows app , you can use it to delete unwanted backups. Launch the app and sign in with your Apple ID. Then:
- Click Storage and select Backup .
- Select the device backup you want to delete and click Delete . Click Delete again to confirm.
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Tips
- Once you delete something from iCloud, it will usually be stored in a Recently Deleted folder for 30 days. No new space will actually be freed up unless you permanently delete those items from Recently Deleted or wait for the 30 days to pass.Thanks
- Deleting items from iCloud is just one way to maximize your iCloud storage. For instance, you can also upgrade your account to get more space or unsync data for certain apps.Thanks
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References
About This Article
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD
. Megaera Lorenz is an Egyptologist and Writer with over 20 years of experience in public education. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museum’s Public Education office. She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago. This article has been viewed 45,510 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 3
Updated: September 20, 2024
Views: 45,510
Categories: ICloud
Article Summary
X
1. Open the Files app.
2. Tap Browse
.
3. Tap iCloud Drive
and Select
.
4. Tap the folders or files you want to delete.
5. Tap the trashcan
icon.
6. Navigate back to "Locations" and tap Recently Deleted
and Select
.
7. Tap the folders or files you want to delete.
8. Tap Delete
.
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 45,510 times.
Is this article up to date?
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% of people told us that this article helped them.
Co-authors: 3
Updated: September 20, 2024
Views: 45,510
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