iCloud Storage & Backup (sizes)

 

It appears that iCloud Storage & Backup is confusing a small number of users, particularly when trying to formulate what steps to take when their devices indicate there is not enough room to perform a back up.

The guide below is aimed at explaining the information provided by your device, so that the user can make an informed decision as to what steps to take to resolve situations where there is not enough room in iCloud for a back up.

1. Locating the iCloud storage information.

1. Locate and tap the settings button on your device.

2. Scroll down, locate and tap the iCloud listing in settings.

3. Scroll down, locate and tap the Storage & Backup listing in iCloud settings.

4. You should now see your Storage & Backup information.

2. Understanding the Basic iCloud Storage information.

The information on this page should be self explanatory. 1. Total Storage. This is the total amount of storage you have in iCloud, it is the total of used and unused space. Unless you have purchased additional iCloud storage, you will have 5 GB of iCloud storage space, which is the amount provided free of charge by Apple for each account. 2. Available. This is the unused space you have left after the space you are using has been deducted from the total storage. By inference the difference between the ‘Total Storage’ and that ‘Available’ will be the amount of space in use. (1.1 GB in the example shown) 3. Manage Storage. Tap the ‘Manage Storage’ option to see more details about your storage and manage it.
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3. Understanding Detailed iCloud Storage information.

The information on this page relates to data that is already stored in iCloud. There are two types of data stored in iCloud that you should be aware of, ‘Backups’ and ‘Documents & Data’. The total of these types of data will be the total space in use and will equal the space used by inference from the difference between ‘Total Storage’ and ‘Available’ as mentioned above (2). 1. Backups. This section lists your ‘Backups’ and the total space used by them, that you already have in iCloud storage. It also itemises each backup and it’s individual size. (some users may have more than one device backing up to iCloud) Tap any ‘Backup’ to learn more about it or change the details of your next backup-this option is discussed below in the next step (4). 2. Documents & Data. This section gives you the total space used for all documents in iCloud, it also itemises the type of documents in storage and how much space each type takes up. You can tap each one to see more detail about each type of document, as well as delete any documents you might wish to from here.
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4. Understanding iCloud Backup information.

The information on this page only relates to ‘Backups’. The information about ‘Backups’ is split into information about your last backup and information about your next backup. 1. Last Backup. This section gives the date of your last back up and it’s size. 2. Next Backup. This section appears to cause the most confusion. This likely arises from the fact that there is data on your device that is included in a backup, that you don’t get an option to exclude. This includes data associated with core apps such as Calendars, Messages etc., as well as general settings. Whilst it isn’t really necessary to know which data is backed up by default, you need to be aware of it, since it counts towards the ‘Next Backup Size’ total. This section also gives you the option to exclude or include items from your next back, it does not delete any items you exclude from your existing (last) backup.
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5. Managing iCloud Storage.

If you come across the situation where you don’t have enough space to back up to iCloud, there are 3 things that you can do. (You can do any 1, a mixture of 2 or all 3 of them) Purchase more iCloud storage. Delete data already in iCloud storage. Remove data from the next backup. 1. Purchasing more iCloud Storage. Tap the ‘Change Storage Plan’ button at Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup and follow on-screen instructions. 2. Deleting Data from iCloud. You can choose to delete either or both types of data (‘Backups’ and ‘Documents & Data’), this will free up space in your iCloud space immediately. Deleting ‘Backups’ is achieved by turning them off on the appropriate device (Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup), or deleting them from Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > Backup from any device. Deleting backups isn’t always a practical solution, but does generally free up large amounts of space if used. (There is no point in deleting the last backup of the device that you are trying to create space to do the next backup of) Documents & Data are deleted from Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > Documents & Data. Remember this is the data that is synced between your devices, but be careful not to confuse this with Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > Backup > Backup Options (dealt with below) 3. Removing Data from the next backup. In this section you can remove specific types of data from your next back up, this will reduce the space needed for the next back up, it won’t immediately free up space in your iCloud storage. Data is excluded from the next back from Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > Backup > Backup Options. Remember this data is not that synced between your devices and is only found on that device, be careful not to confuse this with Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > Documents & Data. (as dealt with above) You should be alert to the different types of data that can be included or excluded from your next backup since it isn’t always obvious. For example iMovie isn’t an app that shares it’s documents with other devices through iCloud Document syncing, as such when you exclude iMovie from the next backup, you exclude all the iMovie projects (documents) and settings. In the case of Pages though (or example), which is an app that does share its documents through iCloud Document syncing, you only exclude settings from the next backup, the documents themselves are saved to your iCloud storage as ‘Documents & Data’ and would be removed from storage if you wished to do so using (2) above.
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