How to Delete Old Backups From iCloud (And Free Up Storage Space)
iCloud backups are one of those things that quietly pile up in the background. You upgrade your phone, create a new backup, and the old ones just sit there — eating into your storage allowance without doing anything useful. Knowing how to find and delete them can recover gigabytes of space without losing anything that matters.
What iCloud Backups Actually Store
When your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch backs up to iCloud, it saves a snapshot of your device data: app data, device settings, home screen layout, iMessage history, photos (if not already synced separately), and more. Each device linked to your Apple ID can generate its own backup, and those backups persist even after you stop using the device.
That old iPhone 11 you traded in two years ago? Its backup may still be sitting in your iCloud account right now.
iCloud gives most users 5GB of free storage, which fills up quickly when multiple devices are contributing backups. Even paid plans at 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB can get crowded if you're not managing things actively.
Where to Find Your iCloud Backups
You can access your backup list from your iPhone or iPad, or from a Mac or PC.
On iPhone or iPad
- Open Settings
- Tap your name at the top (your Apple ID)
- Tap iCloud
- Tap Manage Account Storage (or Manage Storage on older iOS versions)
- Tap Backups
You'll see a list of every device backup associated with your Apple ID, along with the size of each and the date it was last updated.
On a Mac
- Open System Settings (macOS Ventura and later) or System Preferences
- Click your Apple ID
- Click iCloud
- Click Manage (bottom right)
- Select Backups from the left panel
On a PC
- Open iCloud for Windows
- Click Storage
- Select Backup from the list
How to Delete an Old iCloud Backup 🗑️
Once you've found the backup list, deletion is straightforward:
On iPhone/iPad:
- Tap the backup you want to remove
- Tap Delete Backup
- Confirm by tapping Turn Off & Delete
On Mac:
- Select the backup in the Manage Storage panel
- Click Delete or the minus button
- Confirm the deletion
The storage is released almost immediately and shows up in your available iCloud space within a few minutes.
Important: Deleting a backup does not delete your actual device data. It only removes that stored snapshot from iCloud. Your photos, apps, and files on your device remain untouched.
Which Backups Are Safe to Delete?
This is where individual setups start to matter. A few general principles apply:
- Old device backups — If you no longer own the device, the backup serves no purpose. These are almost always safe to delete.
- Duplicate or outdated backups — If a device has multiple entries (sometimes created by restoring or renaming a device), you can usually remove older ones and keep the most recent.
- Current device backups — Be more cautious here. Deleting your active device's only backup means you have no iCloud restore point if something goes wrong.
| Backup Type | Safe to Delete? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Old device you no longer own | Generally yes | No restore value after device is gone |
| Device you still use (old backup) | Usually yes | Keep the most recent; delete outdated versions |
| Current device's only backup | Caution advised | Consider re-enabling backup first |
| iPad backup when you only use iPhone | Yes, if no longer needed | Free up space easily |
How to Stop a Device From Creating Future Backups
Deleting a backup and then having it re-created automatically the next time you charge and connect to Wi-Fi defeats the purpose. To prevent a device from backing up to iCloud:
On iPhone/iPad:
- Go to Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud
- Tap iCloud Backup
- Toggle Back Up This iPhone (or iPad) off
You can also manage backup on a per-app basis. Scroll down in the iCloud settings to see which apps are contributing to your backup size — things like WhatsApp, WeChat, and large game apps can add hundreds of megabytes or more.
What Affects How Much Backup Space You're Using
Storage usage varies significantly depending on several factors:
- Number of devices linked to one Apple ID (family members sharing a plan, multiple personal devices)
- App data volume — messaging apps with heavy media histories, large game save files, health data
- Whether iCloud Photos is enabled — if turned on, photos sync separately and don't count toward backups, which actually reduces backup size
- How long since the last backup cleanup — accounts that have never been audited often have years of stale snapshots
- iOS version — newer iOS versions sometimes reorganize what's included in a backup, which can change sizes
The Relationship Between Backups, iCloud Photos, and iCloud Drive
It's worth clarifying that iCloud backups are just one of three things competing for your iCloud storage. iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive (documents, app data, Desktop & Documents on Mac), and device backups all draw from the same pool. Deleting old backups frees space, but if photos are your main culprit, the backup cleanup will only go so far.
Understanding which category is consuming the most space — visible in that same Manage Storage screen — changes the approach you'd take. 📊
For some users, clearing out two or three old device backups is enough to avoid upgrading their storage plan entirely. For others, the backups are the smallest part of the problem, and the real consumption is sitting in Photos or Drive. That distinction only becomes visible once you pull up your own account and look at the breakdown.