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Apple’s iCloud is a great place to store your files and back up your devices to the cloud, but the starting 5GB size – or even the paid 200GB – might be too small to manage all your content. How to minimize iCloud backup size on your devices.
“iCloud stores your content and wirelessly streams it to all your devices,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s former CEO, during WWDC 2011. “iCloud is built into your apps, so everything happens automatically.”
There are several levels. The 5GB tier is free. There are also 50GB, 200GB, and 2TB plans. Depending on how many devices you have and what’s on each device, all but the 2TB plan can fill up quickly.
Learn how to reduce your backup size, start a backup manually, turn off iCloud Photo Library, and change your iCloud storage plan in Settings in iOS 16.
How to reduce backup size

iCloud profile section in settings
- Open settings
- Tap on Your Name at the top of the page
- Tap on iCloud
- Beat Manage Account Storage below the storage bar, which shows how much storage space you have left compared to the storage space used
- Tap on fuses
- Tap the Device you want to back up
- From there you will see all the apps that are being backed up from From the biggest to the smallest in size
- Toggle the switch next to each app to OUT Position so the app information is not included in the backup
- A message will appear confirming whether you want to disable the app being backed up. Beat Turn off to confirm it and continue the backup.

iCloud backup options
Reducing the size of your iCloud backup allows you to upload more important content than before.
How to start an iCloud backup manually
While iCloud backups may run automatically, you may want to initiate a backup when you’ve changed something important or just before setting up a new device.

Backup options to backup manually
- Open settings
- Tap on your profile at the top of the screen
- Tap on iCloud
- Tap on iCloud backup
- Tap on Secure now (highlighted in blue font)
- A message appears informs you that one or more apps are not included in the backup if you have disabled one
- Tap on iCloud settings and add the app(s) – if you want – or tap Continue to continue with the backup

A message stating that some apps have been disabled from being backed up to iCloud
iCloud backups are a great way to regularly and automatically sync all your content to the cloud without having to think about it. It saves you the hassle of frequently and repeatedly backing up your device in case unfortunate events happen.
How to turn off iCloud Photo Library
Photos can take up a lot of storage space on your devices and iCloud backups. Removing them from your backups can save you a lot of iCloud storage space.
There are two ways to stop and delete photos in your iCloud backups.
How to turn off photo sync from the Photo tab in Settings

- Open Attitude
- Scroll down and find photos
- Find iCloud photo and flip the switch to the OUT position
How to turn off photo syncing in the iCloud section of Settings
- Open settings
- Tap on your profile at the top of the page
- Tap on iCloud
- Tap on photos
- Switch off Sync this iPhone to prevent photos from syncing to your iCloud
If you decide to turn off photo syncing with iCloud, there are other apps you can upload your photos to – like Google Photos and/or Amazon Photos. You can also back up your photos to your laptop or computer if you have one.
How to change iCloud storage plans
While many people may not use iCloud and may be happy with the 5GB on offer, others may want more storage space for their content. How to change your iCloud storage plan in Settings.

Option to change storage plan
- Open settings
- Tap on your profile at the top of the page
- Tap on iCloud
- Tap on Manage Account Storage below the storage bar, which shows how much storage space you have left compared to the storage space used
- Tap on Change storage plan
Here are the plans you can choose from for custom iCloud+ plans:
- 50GB = $0.99 per month
- 200GB – $2.99 per month
- 2TB = $9.99 per month
And the Apple One service packs also have associated storage space.

- Individually (50GB storage) = $14.95 per month
- family (200 GB storage) = $19.95 per month
- premier (2TB storage) = $29.95 per month
iCloud storage plans can be changed at any time if you decide you need more or less storage.
Keep saving storage space
Apple’s iCloud is a great way to access all your files from all your devices that sync remotely. It’s also a great way to back up your devices – and retrieve those backups – should unfortunate events happen or you upgrade your Apple device(s). The cloud storage available on iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices.