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If you have an iPhone in your hand right now, chances are very high that you have accumulated a ton of sensitive and private data on it. Whether that's messages, voicemails, contacts, social media accounts, emails, photos and video, app and game data, settings, and everything else — it's a lot of stuff, and a pain if you lose it all when transferring to a new device or updating the operating system. That's why it is imperative to backup everything that is on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. One of the easiest ways to make sure you have a backup on your best iPhone and iPad is by using iCloud, at least, if you have one of the paid plans that offers you more than the measly 5GB that Apple gives for free. But even if you have 2TB of iCloud storage, that's still limited space that you have available, so you may need to do some housekeeping on it every now and then. If you've been using iCloud to backup your devices, especially if you have multiple iPhones and iPads, then those backups are taking up precious space. Here's how to view and delete old iCloud backups on your iPhone and Mac, so you can continue to have space for new backups in the future with less digital clutter. What is an iCloud backup?iCloud automatically backs up all of the data on your iPhone or iPad every day, as long as the device is connected to Wi-Fi, turned on, locked, and connected to a power source. This makes it easy to restore a device if you need to wipe it or set up a brand new iPhone or iPad with your existing data. Here's what gets backed up to iCloud:
All of this information can end up being quite big in size — most definitely more than the 5GB that Apple gives you for free. We definitely recommend taking a look at which iCloud storage plan works best for your needs first, though Apple's prices are pretty reasonable and competitive with other cloud services. Personally, I have used iCloud as my primary backup method for my iPhone for the past few years, and I have had zero issues. I find just having iCloud backup as an option to be well worth the cost, along with plenty of space for my iCloud Photo Library. Why it's good to keep your iCloud backupsHolding onto your iCloud backups means you get to take your data virtually anywhere, with the ability to access and restore your iPhone or iPad's data from just about anywhere as well. It's convenient for folks with multiple devices, especially those who rely on Accessibility settings, since you don't have to set everything up again manually. Why it's OK to delete iCloud backupsWhen someone mentions deleting a backup, you may look at them with a bewildered expression on your face and ask, "but why?!?" Relax, relax. I mean, if you have a backup on your best Mac or PC, then it's okay to delete one iCloud backup. You are backing up in more than one place, right? Get an iTunes backup of your iPhone or iPad going, then you can have a backup of your backup, just in case. And don't forget, if you turn iCloud backup on again, your device will still be backed up when you're connected to Wi-Fi, the device is locked, turned on, and connected to power. How to delete iCloud backups on your iPhone or iPad
How to delete iCloud backups on your Mac
Please backup your Apple devicesAgain, your iPhone has all of your most important data and memories, so we highly recommend making a backup so that everything is safe and sound. iCloud is one of the easiest ways to make sure that everything is automatically backed up every day, and it happens in the background so you don't usually need to worry about it (but you can always check it and do it manually too, just in case you need a very recent backup before updating iOS 16, for example). But remember, your backups will take space! That's why sometimes you'll need to delete older backups that you no longer need because chances are high that they're super out of date anyways. After all, why restore to a backup you made right before getting the latest iPhone, instead of the one you just made five minutes ago? No matter how you do it though, just don't ever be caught without a backup! Updated July 2022: These steps are still up to date with the latest versions of iOS and macOS Monterey. Christine Romero-Chan was formerly a Senior Editor for iMore. She has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade at a variety of websites. She is currently part of the Digital Trends team, and has been using Apple’s smartphone since the original iPhone back in 2007. While her main speciality is the iPhone, she also covers Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac when needed. When she isn’t writing about Apple, Christine can often be found at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as she is a passholder and obsessed with all things Disney, especially Star Wars. Christine also enjoys coffee, food, photography, mechanical keyboards, and spending as much time with her new daughter as possible. How do I get my old iCloud backup?Tap the top option, "Restore from iCloud Backup". You will now be prompted to sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID. Upon signing in, you will see a list of available backups. Choose the most recent one, unless you would like to backdate your device to a specific date and time.
Can you restore specific iCloud backup?While keeping your current iPhone data, you can restore the lost photos, videos, messages, voice memos, etc. Since with direct iCloud recovery, it's not possible to restore individual contacts, messages, photos, videos, etc., the iCloud data recovery software remains a far more convenient utility.
How do I find old iPhone backups on iCloud?Find and manage backups stored in iCloud
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups. Tap a backup to see more details about it, choose which information to back up, or delete the backup.
How do I manually restore from iCloud backup?To restore your iPhone from iCloud:
Follow the prompts to set up your device until you reach the Apps & Data screen. Tap Restore from iCloud Backup, and sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID. Go to Choose backup, and select from the list of iCloud backups. Each one should have a date and size.
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