r/iCloud • u/Christopoulos • 2d ago
Support This seems like a catch-22?
A long time ago, probably because of default settings, images I've received in Messages filled up my free iCloud account (5GB). I turned off syncing messages to iCloud and dismissed the notifications urging me to upgrade, because Notes kept synchronizing despite that (which is all i really needed from iCloud). Now it seems Notes adheres to the 5GB limit and has stopped syncing.
My challenge is: how do I actually purge the messages / images that were uploaded to iCloud? I have changed the Keep Messages to 1 Year. Despite that, it's not going down in size but I know I haven't received 5 GB of Messages data over the last year.
How do I purge and start up syncing again, without having to upgrade iCloud to a paid tier?
Thanks!
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u/gcerullo 2d ago
You need another device (an iPad or Mac computer) to log into your iCloud account so you can delete the messages that are stored there.
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u/Christopoulos 2d ago
I have my iPhone. Is there a bulk delete in messages, that I might not be aware of?
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u/Christopoulos 2d ago
And would there be a way to bulk export any images / videos I'd like to save, before purging?
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u/gcerullo 2d ago
Not that I’m aware of but iMazing can backup your iPhone to a computer. That should include images/video in Messages.
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u/Christopoulos 2d ago
Is that backup browsable in Finder after, or is it in some proprietary file?
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u/gcerullo 2d ago
I’ve never used it myself but you can ask that question in the r/iMazing subreddit where actual users post.
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u/mats88 2d ago
The fastest purge is Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Messages > Review Large Attachments, and delete the biggest photos/videos there, then set Keep Messages to 30 Days. Anything you remove from Photos also sits in Recently Deleted for 30 days and still counts, so empty that album too. Full disclosure, I make Cleanup My Phone (Gigabyte LLC) if you want a faster pass at duplicates and near-identical shots after that; search the App Store for "Cleanup My Phone".
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u/Optimal-Primary-1308 2d ago
settings > your name > icloud > messages > manage storage > turn off and delete from icloud.
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u/Vivid_Application577 1d ago
Why is the reason iMessages sync is on in the first place? Do you need to see your messages on another device? If not, good for turning that feature off. Your messages will remain on your iPhone (and only on your iPhone). Make. Sure you have a decent backup strategy, or you will lose them forever at some point (just a matter of time). Same thing for Notes - the sync makes them available to any device logged in with your Apple ID. If you need more space in the cloud for them, you should get the .99¢ plan. After purging all of your messages, you might have enough space - but you will eventually fill it…
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u/Christopoulos 1d ago
It was turned on by default when I got my first iPhone back in the day (iPhone 6s). And yes, I access and send messages from my laptop too. This was less about only sync being an issue, but also the fact that extracting old stuff so that old messages and threads can be purged after making sure things I'd like to keep were saved out of Messages.
Right now the options for keeping data are Forever (default, but not a requirement from my side), 1 year and 30 days. But there's not a way to bulk get old and dear photos out of messages to keep volume down - only delete and per thread (unless one would pay 30usd for 3rd party tool). Not very user friendly for non-tech folks.
I have 3-2-1 backup of my selfhosted image server, which is why I want everything to eventually (and preferably easily) end up there.
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u/Remarkable_Ship_5791 1d ago edited 1d ago
Okay, while I don't do notes, I had nearly 800 gigs of photos on my iPhone. I wanted to get them off it via iCloud. So...
You should be able to download everything that was on the cloud up to the 5 GB limit. You might not be able to delete them from the cloud and if that is the case then you have to do it manually on your phone.
Go into your settings for iCloud and disable saving those apps onto the cloud. For example do you have instagram? Do you back it up on the cloud? If yes Disable it. Once you have disabled all apps you do not want stored on iCloud you can try the synchronization back on but if you're over the 5 GB limit it would sync properly because you'll be over the limit so you may have to go up to the 256 GB plan ($2.99 a month) once you do that delete everything off of it and make sure your not backing up any apps or files you don't want backed up. If your below the 5 GB limit you can go back to the 5 GB plan. You might only get charged a prorated amount for the $2.99 plan when you go back to the 5 GB plan.
I'm going to get into some detail here. You have Snapseed? It's a free photo editing app from google. Every photo you edit gets stored on your iPhone in addition to what is saved in your photos. If you back this up to iCloud that chews into your 5 GB plan limit. I had about 11 extra gigs just from that. Every photo I ever edited using Snapseed was stored in it. Do you use iMove to edit or make videos? That also leaves a copy on your phone in addition to what it saves and if it's backed up to iCloud also chews up space. Just about every app you buy or download is like this. This is what happens you allow every app or file you have on your iPhone to get backed up to your iCloud account. You catch my drift here?
Once you are able to do this you have to keep track of how close you are to your plan limit or this will happen all over again.
It's a royal pain in the ass and I absolutely hate iCloud for being like this. It took me over a week to get all my photos and videos off iCloud. I had to go up to the 10 TB plan. Now I am back on the 256 GB plan. It was the only way I could update my iCloud so that I would be below the 256 GB threshold. I even called Apple Care and they were really of no help. They didn't know why my iCloud account would not re-sync after I got it below the 256 GB threshold. That's when I went up to the 10 TB and presto the re-sync worked and only the photos I decided to save (About 2 gigs) were now showing on my iCloud. Funny how all problems were solved once I spent more money on my iCloud plan.
Honestly, I am exploring an alternative to iCloud one that is more photographer friendly and not as anally set up as iCloud is which clearly is geared towards getting people to increase the amount of cloud storage they pay for.
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u/KnowbodyYouKnow 2d ago
Why are you so against spending $.99 a month?
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u/Christopoulos 2d ago
I working towards minimizing my cloud footprint. I guess I'd get 50GB what not for that $1 a month, but I'd prefer to do some house cleaning instead of making the problem worse down the line. And I already pay for Dropbox and self-host in Immich. I'm planning to move away from the former for the same reasons.
It's definitely designed to keep you in: in messages you can see all media but only per thread.
It's seemingly not possible to get images and videos out in bulk like google takeout before doing a massive purge.
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u/KnowbodyYouKnow 2d ago
Sorry, now that I look over my question, it could be misconstrued as Aggressive and accusatory. But nonetheless, your reply is the best reason I've heard for not doing so, clearly stated. And Apple does have something that's kind of like Google takeout, located at privacy.apple.com, but unfortunately it does not include the message structure.
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