For the past few days, you have been receiving constant alerts from your Apple device regarding iCloud storage . You have realized, in fact, that the synchronized items and the various backups have saturated the available space. You immediately started looking for a possible solution to free up space on iCloud and you realized that to take up most of the storage on your account are the backups of the various Apple devices you own (including some that you no longer actively use. ).
If that’s the case, I guess you are now wondering how to delete backups from iCloud and free up a lot of space on your account, right? No problem: that’s why I’m here today. I assure you that this is a breeze and that you can proceed without any difficulty both from iPhone and iPad and from Mac or PC.
So all you have to do is get comfortable and follow my directions carefully. You will see that everything will be fine and you will easily succeed in your intent! At this point, there is nothing left for me to do but wish you good reading and good luck with everything!
Index
- How to remove backups from iCloud
- iPhone and iPad
- PC
- Mac
- How to delete old backups from iCloud
- iPhone and iPad
- PC
- Mac
- How to delete WhatsApp backup from iCloud
How to remove backups from iCloud
Before deleting a backup from iCloud , it may be useful to know how to disable the automatic mode of this function for devices that you may no longer actively use (it is not recommended, however, to disable backups for devices that you actively use), in order to avoid having to repeat the same operations in the future that I will show you in the next lines.
The procedure for deactivating automatic backups varies depending on the device used but I assure you that, by following my instructions carefully, you will not encounter any kind of problem. Just know that deactivated backups remain available for 180 days, unless you delete them ( as we will see later ). Let’s start!
iPhone and iPad
When the appropriate function is active on iPhone and iPad , a backup of the main data associated with the device is automatically performed (e.g. app data, Apple Watch backup, device settings, organization of the Home screen and apps, iMessages, photos and videos, purchase history from Apple services, ringtones, visual voicemail passwords) on iCloud . To deactivate them, touch the gear icon on the Home screen to access the device Settings , press on your name and then on iCloud . At this point, click on the menu itemICloud backup and then on the appropriate lever to disable the feature.
I also inform you that always from the iCloud menu you can choose the apps for which you want to save data on iCloud. Just turn off the toggles of apps you don’t want to sync with iCloud and that’s it. Be careful, however, because in this way you will lose the possibility of synchronizing the data of the apps in question between all your devices.
PC
How do you say? Do you use the iCloud client for Windows to manage storage and file synchronization? No problem! In fact, I inform you that you can easily manage the elements you intend to synchronize even through your PC. In case you have not yet installed the iCloud client on your PC, instead, I invite you to read my tutorial in which I explain in detail how to download iCloud .
To manage, therefore, the items to be stored on iCloud you will first have to start the appropriate software on your PC. Within the main screen you will immediately have an overview of the items that iCloud is synchronizing with your PC. Several features are available: with iCloud Drive you can synchronize files on your PC quickly and easily; with Photos you can upload and store your photo and video library in iCloud (and then find them in all the devices containing your Apple ID); through Mail, contacts and calendars you can synchronize the latter with Outlook ; in addition, it is also possible to synchronize theBookmarks with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome , as well as enabling an extension dedicated to passwords saved on iCloud (available for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge ).
To activate / deactivate all the functions just mentioned, just affix or remove the appropriate check mark in correspondence with the elements you want to synchronize and then click on the Apply button to save the changes made.
Mac
If you use a Mac , you can easily manage the synchronization of items of interest to you with iCloud and the backups made from System Preferences . Once these are open (the gear icon on the Dock bar), click on your Apple ID , then on the iCloud icon .
Within the next screen, you will notice all applications that use iCloud, including iCloud Drive and Photos for syncing files and media. At this point, to disable file synchronization, all you have to do is remove the check from the services of your interest.
To be precise, by clicking on the options present in matching iCloud Drive you can choose which online content store on your online space and which are not.
How to delete old backups from iCloud
After turning off iCloud backups, did you realize you want to further free up your available storage space? In this case, I inform you that it is possible to delete old backups from iCloud relating to the devices of your interest.
However, it is my concern to warn you that deleting an iCloud backup also automatically deactivates the iCloud backup of the device. You should also know that backups currently used to restore a device cannot be deleted. That said, let’s move on!
iPhone and iPad
If you intend to delete an old backup from iCloud using your iPhone / iPad , press the gear icon on the Home screen to access the Settings . Then press on your name to access your Apple ID and, on the next screen, tap on the iCloud entry .
Continue by tapping on Manage space and then on the word Backup . On the next screen, you will notice all the backups previously made. Then identify the one you are interested in and click on it to access it. Later, you will be able to view all the elements of the backup, in order to carry out a preliminary check and avoid deleting important data.
You can, in fact, proceed in two ways : to delete specific items from iCloud, just press the appropriate check in their correspondence to deactivate and delete their specific backup; alternatively, if you intend to completely delete one of your old backups from iCloud, just scroll inside the screen and touch Delete backup . Easy, right?
PC
Using the iCloud client for Windows PC you can also manage and possibly delete an old backup . To continue and, therefore, free up space on iCloud, you must first call up the appropriate software on your Windows PC and, in the main screen, click on the Space item .
Next, you’ll get an overview of the available storage space and the items currently using it. To delete an old backup, then, click on the Backup item , locate the one you want to delete and select it. Finally, click on the Delete option to remove the backup of your interest.
Mac
Interested in removing an old backup from iCloud using your Mac ? Then go to System Preferences (the gear icon on the Dock bar), click on the Apple ID icon , then on iCloud and on the Manage button .
At this point, go to Backup and, on the next screen, you will notice all the backups made relating to your Apple ID (therefore on each enabled device): select the backup of your interest and click on the Delete item to remove it from iCloud .
How to delete WhatsApp backup from iCloud
How do you say? Have you noticed that WhatsApp backups on your iCloud take up a lot of space and want to delete them? No problem! In fact, it is possible to deactivate and delete the backup of the well-known instant messaging service in a few simple steps. I must warn you, however, that disabling and deleting the WhatsApp backup from iCloud will lose all your content, should you ever have to replace your iPhone.
If you are still convinced to disable WhatsApp backup from iCloud, from your iPhone, open the instant messaging application by tapping the appropriate icon on the Home screen or the App Library . So access the WhatsApp Settings by touching the gear icon located at the bottom right, then press on the Chat item . At this point, tap on the Chat Backup item and press on Automatic Backup . To disable the backup, now, all you have to do is select the Disabled item .
To delete a WhatsApp backup from iCloud, from your iPhone, open the Settings , press on your name , go to iCloud> Manage space> WhatsApp Messenger and press the Delete data button and then confirm.
