I've got an iPhone 15 Pro Max that's completely out of storage because of my photos. I pay for 200GB of iCloud, but I'm confused about how to use it effectively. The Apple Store told me that if I delete a photo from my phone, it gets deleted from iCloud too, which makes it seem like I can't use the cloud to free up space. Is there a way to keep my photos in the cloud while getting some of them off my phone?
1 Answer
You're right about what the Apple Store said; when iCloud Photos is on, deleting a photo from your phone also deletes it from iCloud since they sync together. However, you definitely want to enable "Optimize iPhone Storage" in your settings. This setting keeps the full-res photos in iCloud while storing smaller versions on your phone, which gradually frees up space. Also, check what else is using your storage under Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Sometimes it's not just photos that are taking up all that space—messages or WhatsApp media can add up too! If you're dealing with duplicates or unnecessary files, consider using a cleaner app like Freeup to help manage that.
I turned on Optimize Storage a while ago but still hit a limit. My photos alone are taking up around 254 GB. I guess I really need to clean them up!