Control Device Storage

Storage Almost Full. There aren’t many iOS notifications more dreaded, because the onscreen instructions are unhelpful and it usually means you have to delete something. When that happens, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage). There you see three things:

• How much space you have, how much is left, and a chart showing what’s taking up that space (Figure 51).

  

• A list of recommendations for what you can do to quickly free up space. Here are some common recommendations:

  • Offload apps: Offloading an app, as opposed to deleting it, removes the app from your device, but retains its data, so when you download it again from the App Store you won’t be missing anything. To enable or disable it at any time, flip the Offload Unused App switch in Settings > iTunes & App Store.

  • Enable iCloud Photos and optimize storage: In Settings > Photos, turn on iCloud Photos to upload your photos in iCloud and then turn on Optimize iPhone Storage to store only small previews on the device itself, with the full-size images being stored in iCloud. Of course, this is a tradeoff since it takes up iCloud storage instead of device storage, but it’s much easier to upgrade iCloud storage.

  • Delete old Messages: You can tell iOS to delete old Messages after 30 days or one year in Settings > Messages > Keep Messages.

  • Enable Messages in iCloud: If you enable Messages in Settings > Your Name, that turns on Messages in iCloud, which stores your messages in iCloud instead of your device. That frees up local storage, but counts against your iCloud storage quota.

• A list of installed apps, along with how much space they’re taking up on your device. Tap on an app to see a screen showing how much space the app is taking up, as well as how much data the app is storing. You’re sometimes presented with the option to selectively delete data from the app instead of the entire thing. To delete an app, tap Delete App on the app’s screen.

Manage iCloud Storage

Your iCloud account includes 5 GB of free disk space—located on Apple’s servers—for storing device backups, app data, iCloud Drive files, iCloud Photo Library photos, email, and more. You can purchase up to 2 TB of total space—see the Apple article iCloud storage plans and pricing. You can also share that space with members of your Family Sharing circle if you tap Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Manage Storage > Share With Family. See All in the Family Sharing.

To manage iCloud settings after signing in, go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud. A chart at the top of the screen shows how much of your iCloud storage space has been used, and what’s using it.

There are a few different ways to reduce your iCloud storage usage, but the easiest way to do so is to go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Manage Storage. Each app and/or service offers different management options. However, they usually boil down to disabling that service and deleting all the related data.

Here are some effective, specific methods of pruning iCloud data:

• If an abandoned device (like a replaced iPhone) has a backup taking up space, tap that device listing in Settings > Your Name and tap Remove from Account.

• If an app is hogging iCloud space, open the Files app, go to your iCloud Drive, tap the app’s folder, identify the large file, touch and hold it, and then tap Delete from the popover. See Use the Files App later in this chapter.

• Clean out your iCloud mailbox in Mail.

• Delete unwanted photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library. See Delete Photos and Videos.

Use the Files App

Files can manage files stored in iCloud, locally on your device, in other online services, tags, and it allows for true collaboration using iCloud Drive. Here are some tips for using it:

• Copy or move a file or folder: You can touch, hold, and drag a file or folder to move it. Another method is to touch and hold a file or folder until the popover appears, tap copy or move, and then select which folder you want to copy or move the item to.

• Enable third-party services: From the Browse screen or sidebar, tap edit, and enable the switch for the desired app. It appears under Locations—tap it to view files from that service. If the service you want isn’t listed, you’ll need to install the associated app, like Dropbox.

• Use tags: Tagging is a way to organize files and folders, even if they’re not all in the same folder. On the iPad, tags are displayed on the left-hand side of the Browse screen. On the iPhone, tags are listed on the main Browse screen. If you have files in iCloud Drive that have already been tagged on macOS, those tags are there when you first open Files.

  To tag a file or folder, touch and hold on it until the popover appears, and then tap Tags. Tap the tags you want to select, or tap Add New Tag to create a new one. Tap Done when you’re finished.

  You can also tag a file by opening it, tapping the Share button, and then tapping +Tag on the Share sheet.

• Create a folder: Tap the New Folder icon in the upper-left corner of the file browser.

• Operate on multiple files: Tap Select in the upper-right corner. Tap each item you want to act upon—a checkmark appears on it—and then tap either Duplicate, Move, Share, or Delete at the bottom of the screen.

• Mark up images and PDF: Tapping an image or PDF lets you mark up that file, with the tools described in Create PDF.

• Collaborate on files: Files lets you collaborate with others on documents stored in iCloud. To begin, you must pull up the Share sheet for a file or folder. There are three ways to do that:

  • As mentioned above, tap Select in the upper-right corner, select the files or folders you want to share, and then tap Share at the bottom of the screen.

  • Touch and hold a file or folder and tap Share in the popover.

  • Tap a file to open it and tap the Share icon.

Tap Add People on the Share sheet. You can tap Share Options to choose who can access or modify the file. Tap a sharing method, such as Message or Mail, enter the contact information for the recipient, and send the invitation.

The recipient receives a message with a link to the file. Users of iOS 11 and later who tap the link open it in the Files app. Users running older versions of iOS can view the shared file, but not act upon it.

Handle Bandwidth Usage

Internet connections without some kind of bandwidth cap or overage fee are difficult to find. Fortunately, there are tricks you can employ to manage your bandwidth usage in iOS. All these tricks can help you reduce your use of cellular data, but some can also help you stay under a general broadband internet cap, too.