How to Download iCloud Photos and Reclaim Storage Space in 2025

If your iCloud storage is nearly full and you’re paying for extra space, you don’t have to—most of your photos can live on your computer instead. This guide shows you exactly how to download your photo library to your Mac or PC, then safely remove them from iCloud to free up expensive storage.

What is iCloud Photo Library Storage?

iCloud Photo Library stores your photos and videos in Apple’s cloud service. When you enable it, every photo and video on your device automatically uploads to iCloud—but here’s the catch: if you choose to keep only originals in iCloud (not on your device), they take up space on your iCloud storage plan, not your device. iCloud storage is limited: the free tier offers only 5GB, and additional storage costs $0.99/month (50GB), $2.99/month (200GB), or $9.99/month (2TB) as of 2025. Learning to download photos to your computer and remove them from iCloud gives you full control over both storage locations, letting you keep what matters while freeing up expensive iCloud space for truly important backups.

Current as of: iOS 18.6, iCloud 2025

Why Use This Feature?

• Stop paying for storage you don’t need: Move rarely-accessed photos off iCloud and save $0.99–$9.99 monthly
• Keep originals safe: Download full-resolution copies to your computer or external drive as permanent backups before deleting from iCloud
• Sync across devices: Deletions automatically sync to your iPhone, iPad, and Mac within minutes, keeping everything organized
• Private and permanent: Once downloaded to your own device, your photos are completely under your control—no cloud subscription required

Things to Consider Before You Start

• Deletion is permanent after 30 days: When you delete photos from iCloud, they move to the Recently Deleted album for 30 days before being permanently erased. Deleted photos will sync this deletion across all your Apple devices where iCloud Photos is enabled
• Sync timing varies by connection: While deletions typically sync in real-time with stable connectivity, actual timing depends on your network speed and whether your devices are active. Don’t expect changes to appear instantly on all devices
• You need another storage location first: Before deleting anything from iCloud, copy your downloaded photos to an external hard drive or cloud service (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox). This backup is your safety net if anything goes wrong

How to Download Your Photos and Reclaim iCloud Space—Step by Step

Step 1: Check Your Current iCloud Storage Usage

On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos. Look at the percentage displayed at the top of the screen—this is your baseline storage usage. Note this number so you can verify your progress later.

Step 2: Choose Your Download Method

You have three options:

• For 100+ photos (Fastest): Use iCloud.com on your Mac or PC
• For small amounts: Use your iPhone’s Photos app to export directly
• For maximum control: Use Google Takeout (takes 24–48 hours but gives you every photo ever backed up)

We’ll focus on the iCloud.com method as it’s fastest for most people.

Step 3: Download Photos Using iCloud.com

On your Mac or PC, open a web browser and go to iCloud.com. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.

Click the Photos icon (looks like a multi-colored photo). You’ll see all your photos organized by date or album.

Step 4: Select and Download Your Photos

Click Select in the top-right corner, then click on individual photos or albums you want to download. You can select up to 1,000 photos at a time:

• On Mac: Hold Command and click photos to select multiple
• On Windows: Hold Control and click photos to select multiple
• On mobile devices: Tap Select, then tap photos, then the More button (⋮) and choose Download

Once selected, click the Download arrow (↓) in the upper-right corner and choose your format:

• Unmodified Originals (recommended): Full-quality versions exactly as taken
• Highest Resolution: Best quality with metadata
• Most Compatible: Compressed versions for easier sharing

Save the files to your Downloads folder or directly to an external hard drive.

Step 5: Verify Your Download Was Successful

Open your computer’s file explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and navigate to the folder where you saved the photos. Check that:

• All photos downloaded (count matches your selection)
• File sizes look correct (originals are usually 2–5MB each)
• Open a few random photos to confirm they’re clear and high-quality

If anything looks suspicious, stop here and don’t delete anything from iCloud yet.

Step 6: Create a Backup Copy Before Deleting

Before removing anything from iCloud, copy these downloaded photos to an external hard drive, USB drive, or cloud service like Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox. This is your safety net.

Option A: External Hard Drive

• Connect your external drive to your computer
• Copy the photos folder from your Downloads folder to the external drive
• Wait for the copy to complete (this may take 10–30 minutes depending on your internet speed and drive speed)

Option B: Cloud Backup Service

• Sign into Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox in your web browser
• Click Upload and select the photos folder
• Wait for upload to complete

Step 7: Delete Photos from iCloud on Your iPhone or iPad

Now that your photos are safely backed up on your computer, you can remove them from iCloud. On your iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Photos app
2. Navigate to the album or collection containing the photos you just downloaded
3. Tap Select in the top-right corner
4. Tap each photo or tap Select All to choose everything in that album
5. Tap the Delete button (trash icon) and confirm

Step 8: Wait for iCloud Sync to Complete

Once you delete photos from your iPhone, iCloud will automatically sync this deletion to your other Apple devices (iPad, Mac) where iCloud Photos is enabled. Deletions typically sync in real-time with stable connectivity, but timing depends on your network speed and device activity. Wait 15–30 minutes before checking other devices to confirm the deletion synced.

Return to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos on your iPhone and check the storage percentage. It should have decreased noticeably.

Step 9 (Optional): Set Up Automatic Photo Management

If you want your iPhone to automatically manage storage in the future, go to Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos and select Optimize iPhone Storage. This keeps full-resolution originals in iCloud while automatically storing compressed versions on your device—but note this doesn’t help reduce your iCloud storage limit.

For true storage savings, stick with the manual download-and-delete approach above.

By downloading your iCloud photos to your computer and then removing them from iCloud, you’ve taken full control of your photo library and freed up expensive cloud storage. Your original photos are now safely stored locally, your iCloud bill will drop, and your devices will stay in sync automatically. Keep your downloaded photos on an external drive as a permanent backup—it’s the safest way to preserve your memories without ongoing costs.