As an 16GB iPhone user, you may be not unfamiliar with the "Not enough storage" issue when you use iCloud for backup. If you run out of iCloud storage, your device won’t back up to iCloud. New photos and videos won't upload to iCloud Photo Library. iCloud Drive and other iCloud apps won't update across your devices. And you can't send or receive messages with your iCloud email address. Therefore, it's quite necessary for you to know how to manage iCloud storage if you want to use your iPhone better.

Method 1. Upgrade Your iCloud Storage Plan

This is the easiest and most direct method for you to manage iCloud storage. As we all know, Apple only provides free 5GB for iPhohe users. If 5GB for free is not nearly enough for you, you need to buy more. Apple offers three choices for you. 50GB, 200 GB and 1 TB cost $0.99, $2.99 and $9.99 respectively for one month.

1. Tap on Setting > iCloud > Storage.

2. Now you can tap on Buy More Storage and choose the plan that works for you.
Buy More Storage

Method 2. Delete Old iCloud Backups

When you back up your iPhone to iCloud, the most important data on your device, like documents, photos, and videos, etc. will be backed up automatically. Many apps will automatically back up to iCloud after you install them on your device. You can change which apps back up to iCloud and remove existing backups from your storage.

You can change which apps to back up to iCloud. Tap Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage (for version iOS 8 or later); or Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage ( for earlier version of iOS 8). And then tap your iOS device. Under Backup Options, you can turn off all the apps you wouldn't like to back them up. And you will be asked to confirm, click Turn Off & Delete to turn off backup function for those apps and remove all the data from iCloud.

Then you can delete backups and turn off Backup for your device. Please note that if you choose to delete the iCloud backup for your iOS device, iCloud will stop automatically backing up the device. Instead of backing up your iOS device to iCloud, you can back up your device using iTunes.

  • 1. Delete backup using iOS devices
    iOS 9:
    1. Go to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage.
    2. Under iCloud, tap Manage Storage.
    3. Tap the name of your device.
    4. Tap Delete Backup > Turn Off & Delete.
    iOS 8:
    1. Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage.
    2. Tap the name of your device.
    3. Tap Delete Backup > Turn Off & Delete.
    iOS 7 and earlier:
    1. Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage.
    2. Tap the name of your device.
    3. Tap Delete Backup > Turn Off & Delete.
  • 2. Delete backup using Windows computer
    1. Open iCloud for Windows.
    2. Click Storage.
    3. Select Backup from the items listed.
    4. Select one of the device backups, then click Delete. If you want to turn off Backup and remove all backups for that device from iCloud, choose Delete when you're asked to confirm. When you delete a backup, it also turns off backup of your device.
  • 3. Delete backup using Mac computer
    1. Go to Apple menu > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
    2. Click Manage and select Backups.
    3. Select one of the device backups, then click Delete. If you want to turn off Backup and remove all backups for that device from iCloud, choose Delete when you're asked to confirm.
    4. When you delete a backup, it also turns off backup of your device.

Method 3. Reduce the Size of Your iCloud Photo Library

iCloud Photo Library uses your iCloud storage to keep all of your photos and videos up to date across your devices. If you use iCloud Photo Library, you can free up your iOS device’s storage by deleting photos and videos that you don’t want store on your device all the time.

You can also choose to save space on your device when you turn on Optimize device Storage in Settings. With Optimize Storage on, Photos will automatically free up space when you need it by replacing original photos and videos with device-sized versions. All of your original, full-resolution photos and videos are safe in iCloud and you can download them at any time.

After deleting, you can recover the deleted photos and videos from your Recently Deleted album for 30 days. If you want to remove content from your Recently Deleted album faster, tap Select, then select the items you want to remove. Tap Delete > Delete. If you exceed your iCloud storage limit, your device immediately removes any photos and videos you delete and they won't be available for recovery in your Recently Deleted album. The following steps is about how to delete photo and videos from your iCloud Photo Library.

1. Open the Photos app, then tap Photos at the bottom of your screen.

2. Tap Select, and choose one or more photos or videos that you want to delete.

3. Tap Trash icon, and then tap Delete Photo.

Method 4. Reduce the Size of Your Photo Library

If you don't use iCloud Photo Library, your Camera Roll is part of your iCloud backup. To check the size of the backup on your device in iOS 8 or later, tap Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage. (If you're using an earlier version of iOS, tap Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage.) Then tap the name of your iOS device. The backup size is under Photo Library.

You can transfer photos and videos to PC to reduce the size of your Photo Library backup, then back up your iOS device manually. If you want to keep the photos and videos on your iOS device, just turn off Photo Library in Backup with the steps mentioned. And just delete those unnecessary photos for you.

Method 5. Manage Your iCloud Drive

The files stored in iCloud Drive might take up quite a few storage of your iCloud space, you can still follow the steps below to manage iCloud files and save more iCloud space.

1. Tap on Settings > iCloud.

If you're using iOS 8 or later, tap on Storage > Manage Storage > iCloud Drive.

If you're using an earlier version of iOS, tap on Storage & Backup, then tap Manage Storage.

2. Tap the name of the app that's using iCloud Drive.

3. The individual files in that app appear. You can either swipe left or click the Edit button to remove files.

Method 6. Delete Emails in Your iCloud

You can also free up and manage iCloud storage space by deleting email messages from your iCloud email account. If you have some important emails, you can also move email messages from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or PC, where they no longer count against your iCloud storage. Use the steps below to delete messages from your account.

If your iPhone is configured to access iCloud email, you can delete messages from any mailbox, then empty the Trash to free up space:

1. Swipe left across any message to delete it.

2. Tap your Trash folder.

3. Delete messages one at a time or delete all of them by tapping Edit, then tapping Delete All.

With the six methods mentioned above to manage iClous storage space, you won't be bothered with the "Not enough storage" issue any more. If you have the same problem, feel free to have a try. But you may lose some important data by accident during the process of deleting files to free up iCloud storage space. To solve this, you can take advantage of iPhone data recovery software to get the deleted files back.