Downgrade iCloud Storage Without Losing Photos

It's the time of year for going through the card statement before the holiday spending starts, and there it is again: the iCloud+ charge. Maybe you went up to 2 TB during a phone swap three years ago and never came back down. You'd like the 200 GB plan, or the free 5 GB, but you don't want to find out in January that your photos stopped backing up.

The short answer: downgrading never deletes anything. But if what you store is bigger than the new plan, iCloud stops syncing: new photos don't upload, backups stop, and iCloud Mail stops working. So check how much you use, shrink it below the new limit (with some room to spare), and then change the plan. The change only takes effect when your current billing period ends, so you have until then.

1. Find the number you have to get under

Open Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud. The bar at the top shows how much of your plan you're using and what's using it: usually Photos first, then Backups, Messages, iCloud Drive and Mail.

Compare that with the plan you want. iCloud+ comes in 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB and 12 TB, and every Apple Account gets 5 GB free. Don't aim to land exactly on the limit. Your library keeps growing every day, and a plan that's 98% full in October is over by Christmas. Leave yourself a few months of photos as a buffer.

If you share the plan with your family through Family Sharing, everyone's photos and backups count toward the total, and the 50 GB plan can't be shared at all. Check with the family before you drop below what they use.

2. Know what happens if you go over

From Apple's page on downgrading: "If your iCloud storage exceeds your new storage plan capacity, iCloud won't sync or update your information." Apple's iCloud storage guide lists what that means in practice:

• New photos and videos stop uploading to iCloud Photos.
• The iPhone stops backing up to iCloud.
• iCloud Drive and other iCloud apps stop staying up to date across your devices.
• You can't send or receive mail at your iCloud email address.

Nothing you already have is deleted, and it all starts again once you're back under the limit. The real risk is quiet: a phone that's been over for months has months of photos that exist only on that phone.

3. Shrink your iCloud before the billing date

Go for the big items first. Most people get under a smaller plan with these four:

• Old device backups. On the same iCloud screen, open the storage details and look at Backups. A backup of a phone you sold or traded in years ago can take up tens of gigabytes. Delete it.
• The photo library itself. With iCloud Photos on, deleting a photo on the iPhone deletes it from iCloud too. Duplicates, near-identical shots, screen recordings and long videos you'll never watch again are the quickest gigabytes. Large videos usually come first: one 4K video can weigh as much as a thousand photos.
• Recently Deleted. Anything you delete stays there, and counts against your iCloud storage, for up to 30 days. Empty it when you're done, or the space won't come back before the billing date.
• iCloud Mail and Messages. Old emails with big attachments and years of photos and videos in Messages both count toward the total.

The full walkthrough for each of these is in iCloud storage full? How to fix it without paying Apple.

Phone Diet runs on iPhone and iPad (iOS 17.0 or later, or iPadOS 17.0 or later). Similar Photos groups near-identical shots and marks the best one 'Keep'. Duplicates are exact copies. It also finds blurry and dark photos, screenshots, screen recordings, Live Photos, and bursts, and it lists Largest Files. Photos never leave the device. Video compression uses HEVC and can make a video about half the size at the default level. Its Email tab also works with iCloud Mail. The full scan is free, and the first cleanup of up to 1 GB is free.

4. Going down to 5 GB? Get the originals out first

Most photo libraries don't fit in 5 GB, so dropping to the free tier usually means turning off iCloud Photos as well. Be careful here. If Optimize iPhone Storage is on (it's the default with iCloud Photos), your iPhone holds smaller copies and the full-resolution originals live only in iCloud. Here's more on how Optimize works.

Before you turn anything off, get a full copy somewhere you own:

• On the iPhone, if it has room for the whole library: go to Settings > Photos and choose Download and Keep Originals, then wait, on Wi-Fi and plugged in, until the downloads finish.
• On a computer or an external drive, if the phone doesn't have room. This guide covers copying the library to a drive and checking the copy before you delete anything.

Then open a few old videos from the copy to make sure they play at full quality. Only then turn off iCloud Photos and downgrade.

5. Change the plan

These are Apple's steps. The menu names depend on your iOS version:

• iOS 18.4 and later: Settings > your name > Subscriptions > iCloud+ (under Active) > See All Plans, then choose the smaller plan. To drop to the free 5 GB, tap Cancel Subscription instead.
• iOS 18 to 18.3: Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Plan > Downgrade Options, then choose a plan and tap Done.
• iOS 17 and earlier: Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage > Downgrade Options, then choose a plan and tap Done.

Two more things from Apple: the change takes effect when your current billing period ends, and if you pay for Apple One as well as a separate iCloud+ plan, you can cancel the separate plan and keep the storage that comes with Apple One. Dropping to the free tier also turns off iCloud+ features like Hide My Email and Private Relay.

When to keep paying

If you've cleared out the old backups and the junk and you're still over, because most of what's there is ten years of photos and videos you actually want, then the bigger plan is doing its job. Keep it, or move part of the archive to a drive you own. Don't delete things you'd miss just to save a few dollars a month.

Also be clear about what a photo cleaner can't do. Phone Diet works on your photo library and your email. It can't delete iCloud backups, iCloud Drive files or Messages attachments. You do those in Settings and in Messages, as in step 3. And if your iCloud usage is mostly backups, the built-in Settings screens do the whole job for free.

Common questions

What happens to my photos if I downgrade my iCloud storage?

Nothing is deleted. If what you store is larger than the new plan, Apple says iCloud won't sync or update your information: new photos and videos stop uploading to iCloud Photos, iCloud backups stop, iCloud Drive stops staying up to date, and you can't send or receive mail at your iCloud address. Everything resumes once you delete enough to fit or upgrade again.

When does an iCloud+ downgrade take effect?

At the end of your current billing period, so you keep the bigger plan until the date you have already paid for. That gives you until then to shrink your iCloud usage to fit the smaller plan. Apple says to contact it within 14 days if you recently changed your plan and want a refund.

How do I downgrade iCloud storage on my iPhone?

On iOS 18.4 and later, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, tap iCloud+ under Active, then tap See All Plans and choose a smaller one. On iOS 18 to 18.3, go to Settings, your name, iCloud, Manage Plan, Downgrade Options. On iOS 17 and earlier, go to Settings, your name, iCloud, Manage Account Storage, Downgrade Options.

Can I turn off iCloud Photos instead of paying for storage?

Yes, but get the full-resolution originals somewhere safe first. If Optimize iPhone Storage is on, the phone holds smaller copies and the originals live in iCloud. Switch to Download and Keep Originals if the phone has room, or copy the library to a computer or external drive, and check the copy before you turn anything off.