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Insanely simple iPhone trick lets you instantly free up iCloud storage space

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 9:04PM EST
iPhone iCloud Free Storage Tips Tricks
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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iPhone storage can be a problem for many users, especially handset owners who love taking pictures, recording videos and storing lots of digital content on the device. The issue is even bigger if you have 8GB or 16GB iPhones and you don’t want to pay for an Apple’s iCloud subscription plan that would get you more cloud storage than the free 5GB of iCloud space that comes with every iTunes account. However, there’s an insanely simple iPhone trick that lets you instantly get free iCloud storage.

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As BuzzFeed reports, chances are that your iCloud account contains a variety of data that you might not really need, on top of all your pictures and documents that you want to have access to at all times.

Specifically, for some iPhone users, iCloud contains old iPhone backups that include backups of devices that you might not even use anymore that can amount to several gigabytes of used memory. The old backups aren’t really necessary, and they’re taking up space that could be used for data you actually need. Just keep the latest backup on the phone, or, better yet, back the handset with iTunes on a computer and disable the iCloud backup feature.

In case you have received a message telling you your iCloud storage is running low, you should go to Settings and then iCloud. Then tap on Storage and tap Manage Storage. In there, you’ll see what kind of data uses up your iCloud storage and you can take action. You can delete old backups and data belonging to other apps that you might not need (see the image above for an example of what you can expect).

Naturally, if you don’t use iCloud for backups and your 5GB are consumed, and/or don’t want to delete anything, then you should either purchase more iCloud (from the same Settings page) or invest in portable hard drives that can wirelessly backup data from the iPhone.

You can manage your iCloud account from any other devices you’d be logged into.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.