Why Is My iCloud Storage Full? Causes and Fixes

iCloud storage is full when your backups, iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, Messages and Mail together reach the size of your plan. Every Apple Account starts with 5 GB free, and Apple's iCloud storage page lists those services as what uses it.

iCloud storage is online space, separate from the storage inside your phone. A full iCloud and a full iPhone are two different problems, and iPhone storage and iCloud storage differ in what each holds. If the phone itself is out of room, iPhone storage full when you have iCloud is the other problem.

What Fills iCloud Storage

Why is my iCloud storage full?

Your iCloud storage is full because the items stored in it add up to more than your plan holds. The usual lines are iCloud Photos, device backups, iCloud Drive, Messages and Mail. The free plan is 5 GB, so a photo library larger than that fills it on its own.

Each line fills in its own way, and clearing each one costs something different.

Shared items follow their own rule. A shared photo library counts towards the person who created it, and shared iCloud Drive folders you only joined do not count towards yours.

A family plan adds one more cause. Family Sharing lets up to five other members use one iCloud+ plan. Their photos and documents stay private, but they all draw on the same storage.

The list on your iPhone shows which of these lines is the large one.

How to See What Is Using iCloud Storage

1. Open Settings and tap your name.
2. Tap iCloud. The top of the screen shows how much iCloud storage you have used.
3. Tap Storage or Manage Account Storage for the list of what is using it.

On a shared plan, Settings > Family > Subscriptions > iCloud+ shows how much each family member uses. Apple notifies every member when the group runs low on storage.

Backups need one more check. Tap Backups on the same screen, then your iPhone, and read Next Backup Size. Apple's backup page notes that this figure may take a few minutes to calculate. When the next backup needs more space than iCloud has left, Apple's options are to delete what you do not need or to upgrade.

How to Free Up iCloud Storage

Start with the largest line on the list, and with the step that costs least.

Start With Recommended for You

Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Recommended for You. Apple says the suggestions there can include photos, large files or old backups. Each one walks you through its own onscreen steps.

Delete Old Backups and Trim the Current One

1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud, then tap Storage or Manage Account Storage.
2. Tap Backups and choose a device.
3. Turn off apps you do not need backed up, then tap Turn Off to confirm. Apple says this removes all of that app's information from iCloud.
4. For a phone you no longer use, tap Turn Off and Delete from iCloud.

A deleted backup cannot restore that device later, so delete one only when you are sure. Apple keeps a backup for 180 days after iCloud Backup is turned off or no longer used. Photos you want to keep can go through backing up iPhone photos first.

Delete Photos and Videos You Do Not Need

With iCloud Photos on, deleting a photo on your iPhone deletes it on every device that uses the same Apple Account. Deleted items stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Videos and duplicate photos in iCloud are two places to start.

Apple adds one warning. While you are over your iCloud storage limit, photos and videos you delete are removed immediately and cannot be recovered from Recently Deleted. Check each item before you delete it while the account is full.

Clear iCloud Drive, Messages and Mail

In the Files app, tap Browse, then iCloud Drive. Tap More, then Select, choose the files and tap the delete button. The files are deleted on all your devices.

In Messages, open a conversation and tap the contact's name, then Photos. Tap Edit, then Select Photos, choose items and tap Delete. To remove a whole conversation, swipe left on it and tap the delete button.

Emails with attachments take more space than plain text. In your iCloud inbox, More > Cleanup Recommendations > iCloud Mail Cleanup can remove the message types you pick. Apple says the cleanup keeps running for that type of email until you turn it off.

Upgrade to a Larger iCloud+ Plan

If the lines you can clear are already small, a larger plan is the remaining fix. Apple's iCloud+ pricing page lists these monthly prices as of October 2026:

UK prices include tax. In some US states, tax is added to the monthly payment. Any of these plans can be shared through Family Sharing.

A bigger plan adds room, but some deletions seem to free nothing at all.

Why iCloud Is Still Full After Deleting Photos

Why is my iCloud storage full after deleting photos?

Your iCloud storage is still full after deleting photos when photos were not the largest line, or when the library sits somewhere else. Recently Deleted is not the cause, because Apple says items there do not count towards iCloud storage.

Emptying Recently Deleted is therefore not a storage step. It only removes your chance to recover those photos.

Turning off Optimise iPhone Storage does not shrink iCloud either. Apple's iCloud Photos page says iCloud keeps every original at full resolution. Optimise changes only the copy on the phone, as Apple's photo storage page describes.

If iCloud Photos is off, your photo library is part of your iCloud Backup instead, so deleting photos shrinks the Backups line rather than Photos. On a family plan, the large line may also belong to another member.

What Stops Working Until iCloud Has Room

Apple lists four things that stop when you run out of iCloud storage:

• Your devices stop backing up to iCloud.
• New photos and videos stop uploading to iCloud Photos.
• iCloud Drive and other iCloud apps stop staying up to date across your devices.
• You cannot send or receive email at your iCloud email address.

Apple's list covers new uploads, backups, syncing and email. It does not say that anything already stored in iCloud is removed. Apple gives two ways out: make more space or upgrade to iCloud+.

Your real usage is always in Settings on your device or on iCloud.com. An email that says your iCloud is full and carries a payment link fits the iCloud storage full email scam pattern. Apple's phishing guidance says not to follow links in unsolicited messages, and to forward suspicious emails to reportphishing@apple.com.

A full phone is a separate case, covered under iPhone storage full.

Cutting the Photo Library Down Before Paying for More

When Photos is the largest line and iCloud Photos is on, every photo you delete on the iPhone frees space in iCloud too. Sorting thousands of them means one decision per photo.

Photo cleaner apps show one photo at a time and delete only what you confirm. Apps such as Swipe Quick do this on the device: swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep. Checking the list again afterwards shows how far the Photos line has dropped.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my iCloud full but my phone isn't?

Your iCloud is full but your phone isn't because they are two separate allowances. iCloud holds your backups, iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive in a plan that starts at 5 GB. Apple counts iCloud Photos against your iCloud storage and your device storage as two separate amounts.

How do I get rid of the iCloud storage full notification?

To get rid of the iCloud storage full notification, get your usage back under your plan size. Apple's two routes are deleting backups, photos or files you do not need, or moving to a larger iCloud+ plan.