How to Delete All iCloud Photos: A Comprehensive Guide to Freeing Up Space

Running out of iCloud storage can be a frustrating experience. Suddenly, your iPhone stops backing up, new photos and videos refuse to upload, and your digital life feels a bit…stuck. If you’re like many users, photos and videos are likely the biggest contributors to your iCloud storage consumption. The good news is, managing your iCloud photos and freeing up space doesn’t have to be complicated. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about How To Delete All Icloud Photos and effectively manage your iCloud storage.

When you first set up iCloud, Apple generously provides 5GB of free storage. This space is shared across your iCloud backups, iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive, and other iCloud-integrated apps. For many, especially those who capture a lot of photos and videos, this free storage can quickly become insufficient. You can always check your iCloud storage usage on any of your devices or via iCloud.com to see where your storage is going. If you find yourself constantly battling the “iCloud Storage Full” notification, it’s time to take action.

Learn how to upgrade to iCloud+

Understanding the difference between your device storage and iCloud storage is key. Device storage is the space on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac itself, while iCloud storage is cloud-based storage provided by Apple. They are separate, and managing one doesn’t automatically manage the other. Learn more about device storage and iCloud storage.

Making Space in iCloud: Focusing on Photos

When your iCloud storage is full, it impacts several key functions. Your devices won’t back up to iCloud, your precious new photos and videos won’t upload to iCloud Photos, and syncing across your devices will be disrupted. You might even miss important emails sent to your iCloud email address.

Deleting content, especially photos and videos, is a direct way to free up iCloud storage. Before you start deleting, it’s crucial to back up or archive any photos and videos you want to keep. Once deleted from iCloud Photos, they are removed from all devices connected to your Apple ID. Learn how to archive or make copies of your iCloud data to ensure you don’t lose any irreplaceable memories.

To begin freeing up space by deleting photos, let’s explore the methods for different devices:

Deleting Photos from iCloud Photos on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro

The Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro is the primary interface for managing your iCloud Photos. Here’s how to delete photos directly from your device, which will also remove them from iCloud:

Open the Photos App: Locate and tap the Photos app icon on your home screen.
Navigate to Your Photos: Tap “Library” at the bottom, then select either “All Photos” or a specific album containing the photos you want to delete.
Select Photos for Deletion: Tap “Select” in the top right corner of the screen. Now, tap on each photo or video you wish to delete. A blue checkmark will appear on selected items. You can select multiple items at once.
Delete Selected Photos: Once you’ve selected all the photos and videos for deletion, tap the trash can icon (Delete button) at the bottom right corner.
Confirm Deletion: A confirmation prompt will appear. Tap “Delete Photo” or “Delete Video” to confirm and move the selected items to the “Recently Deleted” album.

Important Note: Photos and videos deleted from iCloud Photos are moved to the “Recently Deleted” album. They remain there for 30 days, giving you a chance to recover them if you change your mind. To permanently delete them and truly free up iCloud storage, you need to empty the “Recently Deleted” album as well.

Emptying the “Recently Deleted” Album on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro:

Go to Albums: In the Photos app, tap “Albums” at the bottom.
Find Recently Deleted: Scroll down to the “Utilities” section and tap “Recently Deleted”.
Delete Permanently: Tap “Select” in the top right corner. You can then choose “Delete All” to permanently remove all items in the album or select individual items and tap “Delete”. Confirm your action when prompted.

Deleting Photos from iCloud Photos on Mac

Managing your iCloud Photos on a Mac is equally straightforward using the Photos app for macOS:

Open the Photos App: Open the Photos application on your Mac (usually found in the Applications folder or on the Dock).
Select Photos to Delete: Browse your photo library and select the photos or videos you wish to delete. You can select multiple items by holding down the Command key while clicking.
Delete Selected Photos: Press the Delete key on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can right-click (or Control-click) on a selected photo and choose “Delete Photo”.
Confirm Deletion: Click “Delete” in the confirmation dialog to move the selected items to the “Recently Deleted” album.

Emptying the “Recently Deleted” Album on Mac:

Go to Recently Deleted: In the Photos app, find “Recently Deleted” in the sidebar on the left. If you don’t see the sidebar, go to View in the menu bar and select “Show Sidebar”.
Delete Permanently: Click “Delete All” in the top right corner to permanently remove all items, or select individual items, right-click (or Control-click), and choose “Delete Permanently”. Confirm your action.

Deleting Photos from iCloud Photos on iCloud.com

You can also manage and delete your iCloud Photos directly through the iCloud website. This is useful if you’re on a computer that isn’t your primary device or if you prefer managing your photos through a web browser:

Go to iCloud.com: Open a web browser and navigate to iCloud.com.
Sign In: Log in using your Apple ID and password.
Open Photos App: Click on the “Photos” app icon.
Select Photos for Deletion: Select the photos or videos you want to delete.
- To select multiple items: Press and hold the Command key (on Mac) or Control key (on Windows) while clicking on each item.
- To select a range of items: Click the first item, then hold down the Shift key and click the last item in the range.
- To select all items: Press Command-A (Mac) or Control-A (Windows).
Delete Selected Photos: Click the trash can icon (Delete button) at the top of the page.
Confirm Deletion: Click “Delete” to confirm and move the items to the “Recently Deleted” album.

Emptying the “Recently Deleted” Album on iCloud.com:

Go to Recently Deleted: In the Photos app on iCloud.com, click “Recently Deleted” in the sidebar.
Delete Permanently: Click “Delete All” at the top right to permanently remove all items or select individual items and click “Delete” then confirm your action.

Managing iCloud Storage Beyond Photos

While deleting photos is often the most impactful way to free up iCloud storage, there are other areas you can manage to reclaim space. Consider these options:

Reduce iCloud Backup Size: Your iPhone and iPad backups can take up significant space. You can choose which apps to include in your backup and delete old backups you no longer need. Refer to the original article for detailed steps on managing iCloud backups.
Delete Files from iCloud Drive: If you use iCloud Drive to store documents and files, review and delete any unnecessary files or folders. The steps for deleting files from iCloud Drive on different devices are outlined in the original article.
Manage Messages and Mail: Text messages and email attachments can also consume iCloud storage. Deleting old messages and emptying your trash folders in Mail and Messages can free up space. See the original guide for instructions on managing Messages and Mail storage.
Delete Voice Memos: Voice memos stored in iCloud also contribute to your storage usage. Delete any voice recordings you no longer need by following the steps in the original article.
FaceTime and Apple Invites Data: While less common storage hogs, FaceTime data and Apple Invites event data can also be deleted from iCloud if necessary, as detailed in the original article.

Conclusion: Taking Control of Your iCloud Photo Storage

Effectively managing your iCloud storage, especially your iCloud Photos, is crucial for ensuring your devices function smoothly and your digital life stays organized. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can confidently delete unwanted photos and videos from iCloud across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and iCloud.com. Remember to regularly review your iCloud storage and implement these management techniques to prevent running out of space in the future.

If you find yourself consistently needing more storage even after deleting photos and managing other data, consider upgrading to iCloud+. iCloud+ offers various storage tiers and additional features, providing a more robust solution for your growing digital needs. Take control of your iCloud storage today and enjoy the seamless Apple ecosystem experience without storage limitations.