Ever since the advent of computers and the introduction to computing, storage has been a key factor in all of the developments in the field of computer science because almost every device around us today performs computations requiring memory space. Perhaps this is the reason that memory storage is one of the greatest and most critical digital resources for humankind today. Another key factor is speed and technology that incorporates both storage capacity along with speed and many more features is “CLOUD STORAGE”. Every organization is using its own Cloud Storage like Apple Inc uses iCloud Storage, Google uses Google Drive, Microsoft uses Azure, etc. The limited storage provided to users for free by Apple Inc raises the new situation of How to Manage iCloud Storage Space.
Cloud storage is a model of cloud computing wherein we can store our digital data over the Internet via a digital data server that is maintained and hosted by a cloud service provider company. This enables you to focus on how you are computing rather than where you are computing. The impact of cloud storage can be anticipated from the fact that it is expected to be an industry worth approximately 88.9 billion USD by the year 2022.
- Apple iCloud:
When it comes to technology, there is one company that truly stands apart, “APPLE INC.” and Apple changed the cloud computing scenario by bringing the “iCloud” service on October 12, 2011.
It is basically a file syncing and storage platform that transforms its users into a whole new world of applications and services. Using iCloud, users can save any file they like to the cloud along with automatic syncing to all devices they sign up for the service, including both Mac and Windows PC’s. iCloud comes with a profusion of benefits including the iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Drive that allows you to securely store and update all of your documents, videos and photos. You can keep a backup of your storage and retrieve it securely at any time from any location and device by just logging in to your iCloud. The most important help that iCloud provides is that it liberates us from the hassles of hardware storage options that are mostly insufficient to store our data and have very slow data processing speed.
iCloud Storage:
Getting started with iCloud service only requires a few basic steps after which you can enjoy the complete experience. When you sign up for iCloud, you are automatically provided with 5 GB of free storage space on the cloud. However, you can upgrade or downgrade your storage capacity at any time easily. Users can purchase additional storage for a size of 50 GB, 200 GB, or 2 TB. The storage amount per Apple ID is shared across all the devices that are signed up for the service. If a user upgrades to 200 GB or more and he/she is a Family Sharing group organizer for iServices, the user can share the iCloud storage with other family members of the group.
Managing iCloud storage:
Once you have started using the iCloud services, an important aspect is how to manage iCloud storage? Most of the users find it difficult to manage their iCloud and as a result of which, they end up buying more space than they could have abstained from purchasing. Here we provide some simple actions that you can perform in order to easily manage your iCloud storage:
- Most of the time people are unaware of how much storage is consumed by applications, documents, images, videos, etc. So, the first step towards managing your iCloud storage is analyzing how much storage you are using. For this select the iCloud option from settings on iPhones, iPads, or iPods. On a Mac go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud. For other devices, one can sign in to http://icloud.com/ on a supported browser and then click on Account Settings. Always try to backup only the required data and restrain from backing-up unnecessary data to the iCloud.
When you backup your devices like iPhones or iPads, the most important information from your device is retrieved and safely backed up on the iCloud automatically. This information may include photos, videos, documents, emails, etc. You can manage your iCloud backups by turning off backups for applications that you use seldomly and also by deleting old iCloud backups after you have fresh backups for your devices.
Emails are an integral part of professional life as well as non-professional life for us today. Mail management is an important aspect of storage. Depending on the count of email messages, especially the number of attachments for these mails, a large bulk of storage might be utilized. You can reclaim a sufficient amount of your iCloud storage by deleting old emails or the ones that you have read and are not important because they are just taking up space that can be provided to other applications or data.
When you backup your devices like iPhones or iPads, the most important information from your device is retrieved and safely backed up on the iCloud automatically. This information may include photos, videos, documents, emails, etc. You can manage your iCloud backups by turning off backups for applications that you use seldomly and also by deleting old iCloud backups after you have fresh backups for your devices.
Emails are an integral part of professional life as well as non-professional life for us today. Mail management is an important aspect of storage. Depending on the count of email messages, especially the number of attachments for these mails, a large bulk of storage might be utilized. You can reclaim a sufficient amount of your iCloud storage by deleting old emails or the ones that you have read and are not important because they are just taking up space that can be provided to other applications or data.Free iCloud Storage:
Cleaning iCloud storage from time to time is a highly recommended practice because it frees up space for your existing data thus enabling you to get the most usage out of your current storage plan. The storage plan you have is more than enough if you manage your iCloud smartly and clean on a regular basis to free up storage.
There are many ways to clean your iCloud and free up storage. Here are some steps you can take to clean your iCloud and free up space:
1. Reduce the size of your photo library:
One of the most storage and data consuming items on your iCloud are your photos and videos. It is a general practice for people to keep all of the photos they click and this results in a lot of photos or videos that are unwanted being on your device and taking up space. Thus, getting rid of undesirable photos and videos is a recommended practice as these are the greatest contributors to cloud storage. So, keep only those photos that you want and delete the unnecessary items.
2. Say goodbye to old messages:
Your chats and messages are backed up too and these also consume space. One might wonder how much space can text messages consume? Well, the answer is that these messages are not only text but also all the attachments like images, files, etc. that are shared. So, deleting these messages or their backups can free up a lot of iCloud storage.
3. Delete files from iCloud Drive:
If we are not careful and don’t manage our iCloud, it may end up filled with a lot of unnecessary files and folders. It may be possible that the same storage is used by more than one person and they saved some voice memos or pdfs or other documents but never deleted them after their use was over. So, it’s important to delete files from iCloud regularly.
4. Don’t forget other devices:
You might be using iCloud to store data from your iPhone and Mac or other devices. One must never forget to check and delete data from all the devices that use the iCloud storage.
5. Remove unwanted apps and their cache:
App data is often backed up to iCloud including the cache data. Removing unwanted apps and clearing cache data from memory can free up this space from iCloud.
So these were some best hacks that you can use to get some free iCloud Storage without spending any additional money on either purchasing additional iCloud Storage Space or third-party paid applications for clearing iCloud Storage Space. Additionally, as a last resort, if you still don’t additional iCloud Storage Space, you can opt for Google Drive that provides you with an additional 15 GB of storage space.
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