I use my iPad 128 GB very fanatically, but that also means that there is a lot of data on it. I am now experiencing a lack of space on my iCloud account. Do I really need to buy more space or is there another way?
You get 5 GB storage capacity from Apple when you create an iCloud account. That sounds very generous, with Dropbox, for example, you only get 2 GB, but in reality you can reach this limit very quickly. If you suffer from chronic lack of space in iCloud, you can indeed consider buying more storage capacity. Also read: Which cloud service is right for me?
In itself, buying additional storage capacity is no longer that expensive at Apple. For 20 GB you pay 99 cents per month, and for 200 GB you pay 3.99 euros per month, which is doable. However, we recommend that you do not immediately pull out your wallet, because there are plenty of other free ways to use the storage capacity of iCloud.
In itself, the iCloud storage plans are not that expensive at all.
Manage backup
When your iPad is completely full, you will undoubtedly run into the problem of running out of space to make your backup. This is even more true if you have multiple iOS devices that use the same Apple ID. If you manage your backups wisely, you can easily back up four to five iOS devices. Navigate on your iPad to Settings / iCloud / Storage / Manage Storage. Next, you'll see a list of devices backed up in iOS and how much space those copies are taking up. Tap the name of the backup associated with the device you're currently holding (you can only edit the backup of the device associated with that backup).
Under the heading Backup options you will now see all the parts that are included in the backup. The Photo Library is also part of this, for example. That is of course very safe, but simply takes up a few GB, and remember: you only have five. Then it is wiser to make a backup copy of your photos once a week or a month. For example by copying them to your PC/Mac. If you disable space-consuming options at Backup options, you will see that it all suddenly fits.
If you manage your backups, you can save a lot of space.
Other Cloud services
iCloud is especially useful because it is a cloud service, meaning you can always access it from all your iOS devices. But let's not forget that there are many more cloud services, such as Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive and so on. More and more apps support the ability to store documents in such clouds and access the files from there. This means that you can easily store large files (including your photos) in the cloud, so that they no longer take up space on your iPad and are therefore not included in the backup. Via some cloud services, for example Dropbox, you can automatically save every photo you take. However, you will quickly reach the limit of Dropbox's free 2 GB storage space, after which your photos will no longer be stored. So you have to keep a close eye on this.
Various cloud services also have a function to easily browse through photos. In that case - as long as you have internet - it doesn't matter where you are ... you can still access all your photos, without completely eating up your iPad and iCloud space.
By using Dropbox, for example, you can also store your photos elsewhere.
Back to less?
Of course, you may come across this article when you've already switched to a paid iCloud plan and now regret it. Don't worry, you can easily revert your iCloud subscription back to the free version via the same menu in which you purchased the upgrade.
