Manage your photo and video storage
Find out how photos and videos use the storage on your iPhone and iPad, and how you can optimise storage and save space on your devices using iCloud Photos.
The photos, music, apps and other content you use and enjoy on your iPhone and iPad take up space in your device’s storage capacity. Your device can fill up quickly depending on the size of its storage capacity If you see a message stating that your device’s storage is full, you can free up space by using iCloud Photos or deleting content on your device.
Check how much storage you have
See how much storage you have left on your device and in iCloud, and which apps use the most space.
Device storage
Go to Settings.
Tap General.
Tap [device] Storage.
You may see recommendations for optimising your storage, a list of your apps and the amount of space that each one uses.
iCloud storage
Go to Settings.
Tap your name.
Tap iCloud.
You’ll see how much space you have left in iCloud and if you need to upgrade your storage plan. Tap Manage Account Storage to see how apps are using your storage.
Store your photos and videos in iCloud
By default, your photos and videos are stored on your device in their original, high-resolution version. This means they use a lot of space on your iPhone and iPad. With iCloud Photos, you can make more space available on your device and still have access to your entire full-resolution collection wherever you go.
Get started with iCloud Photos:
Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos.
Tap Sync this iPhone. In iOS 15 or earlier, tap to turn on iCloud Photos.
Select Optimise iPhone Storage to save space on your device.
When Optimise Storage is turned on, full-resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud, and, when needed, space-saving copies are stored on your device. And as long as you have enough space in iCloud, you can store as many photos and videos as you want.
If you need more storage
When you sign up for iCloud, you’ll automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you need more iCloud storage, you can upgrade to iCloud+.
If you need more storage on your device, you can transfer the photos and videos you don’t want to store in iCloud to your computer.
With Recommended for You in iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or later, you can check if there are photos, large files or backups that you may no longer need and can be deleted.
You can also merge duplicate photos and videos to free up space on your device.
