How to Optimize and Free Up Storage Using iCloud+?

Running out of storage on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac can be frustrating. When your device storage gets full, it loses much of its performance and becomes almost unusable. This is especially common with Apple devices, which often have limited internal storage—much of which is occupied by the operating system itself.

Fortunately, iCloud+ offers a powerful solution: the Optimize Storage feature. In this guide, Apple98 walks you through what it is, how it works, and how you can enable it on all your Apple devices.

What Is Optimize Storage and How Does It Work?

Once you activate iCloud+ subscription, you can take advantage of the Optimize Storage feature, which automatically manages your local storage by transferring large and rarely used files—like photos, videos, Apple TV content, and email attachments—to iCloud. This means those files no longer take up space on your device's internal storage. When needed, you can easily re-download them.

Smaller files stay on your device, while large or infrequently accessed ones are moved to iCloud. After accessing and using a file, it’s uploaded back to iCloud and removed from local storage to keep your device space optimized.

How to Enable Optimize Storage?

The Optimize Storage feature is available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Here's how to set it up:

On Mac:

1. Open the Apple menu and go to System Preferences (or System Settings).
2. Click General, then Storage.
3. In the Recommendations section, you’ll see a list of options under Optimize Storage, including:

• Store in iCloud: Uploads Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive, photos to iCloud Photos, and messages/emails to iCloud.
• Optimize Storage: Removes watched Apple TV content and transfers email attachments to iCloud.
• Empty Trash Automatically: Clears files from Trash every 30 days.

You can enable each option individually based on your needs. Optimize Storage also removes cache, temp files, and leftover data from uninstalled apps, helping you reclaim even more space.

On iPhone and iPad:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap your name and select iCloud.
3. Go to Photos, then enable Optimize iPhone/iPad Storage.

Note: You must first enable iCloud Photos and have sufficient iCloud storage. If you don’t, consider upgrading your plan.

This will move your media files to iCloud, reducing local storage usage.

Conclusion

With an active iCloud+ subscription, you can significantly improve your device’s performance by managing storage effectively. The Optimize Storage feature automatically handles large files, keeping your device clutter-free.

For even more storage and access to additional Apple services, we recommend subscribing to Apple One, which includes 2TB of iCloud+ and five other popular Apple services at a better price.

Stay with Apple98 for more practical guides to get the most out of your Apple device.