Storage is FULL! - How to OPTIMIZE FILES and FIX your STORAGE PROBLEMS on Macs, iPhones and iPads

This video is about understanding file management on your Mac, and iOS devices. I discuss the built in options on a Mac to look at your storage and ways to find out what files are taking up space and where they are located.

I also look at Apple's storage optimization feature that allows you to free up space on Macs, iPhones and iPads using iCloud storage. Everything is the same on an iPad as I primarily showcase an iPhone.

Keep in mind that in order for you to utilize a cloud solution such as iCloud, you would need to pay for more storage to accommodate all the files, photos and videos offloading to the cloud to free up space locally on your device.

00:00 | Welcome Back!
01:30 | Understanding file storage on Mac to free up space
02:29 | Optimize Photo and Video Storage on Mac using iCloud Photos
05:56 | Optimize Storage for Apple TV on a Mac
07:40 | Empty Mac Trash Automatically
10:05 | "Put Back" Trash feature on your Mac
12:05 | Deleting text messages on your Mac - The right way!
16:04 | Understanding Optimizing iCloud Storage on Mac
18:56 | How to Sync Desktop and Documents folder to iCloud Drive
20:24 | How to remove a file downloaded from your Mac
22:24 | What files/folders DON'T sync to iCloud Drive!
23:59 | How to remove a Folder downloaded on your Mac
24:42 | Optimzing iPhone Storage for photos to free up space
25:40 | iCloud Drive Storage on iPhone
26:49 | How to remove a file from iCloud Drive on iPhone or iPad
28:57 | The BIGGEST DOWNFALL of Optimizing Storage

Other helpful videos and links:

See used and available storage space on your Mac

Optimize storage space on your Mac

Free up storage space on your Mac

Change Storage settings on Mac

How to MOVE your iCLOUD PHOTO LIBRARIES and APPLE PHOTO LIBRARIES to an EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE!

BACKUP YOUR MAC! - IN-DEPTH look at Apple Time Machine and many ways to save and recover your files!

UNDERSTANDING Apple's FILES App and HOW TO ORGANIZE DOCUMENTS in iCLOUD DRIVE on an iPhone and iPad!

How to use iCLOUD DRIVE on your Mac, iPhone and iPad - IN DEPTH understanding of syncing your files!

If you have a video suggestion, let's chat!

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[Notitoforget]

Hi Joel, As always very informative in an understanding way Cheers from Ireland

[Pedro-unmk]

Hi Joel!
I’ve been following you for some year or so, due to your informative and very clear content.
I stll do have some doubts, even after revisiting some of yr vids…. maybe my fault…I’m at 80, but still with some neurons alive…
So, some statements and a plan, for, say, your approval. Hope will help many others…
1-I do not have Mac, but Notebook with Windows 11
2- I do have iPhone XR 128G
3- I do have iCloud storage of 50G and used 30G
4- My iCloud photos is NOT turned on on iPhone, and I do not know since when…
5- My photo library on iPhone has 6, 700 photos
6- My WhatsApp is NOT turned on on my iCloud…I do have 8, 000 family photos residing inside the iPhone on various WhatsApp groups…I hope
7- I have an empty SSD Sandisk of 1TB waiting to be an iCloud backup, as a FIRST thing…before anything else I want to free te iCloud…downloading hi res photos and vids…
7A- Which format should I use on the SSD (exFAT..??)
8- Next I will turn on the iPhone the iCloud backup and the WhatsApp photos iCloud….both the photo library and the WhatsApp pictures will go to the Cloud….it may take some time…maybe days, correct?!?
9- Then, after assuring the new library is upped completelly, I will repeat the iCloud downloading into the SSD…
10- At this time my ICloud will be empty, as well as most of my iPhone memory

What is your take on this?!?
Will it work?
Any hint?

Warmest Regards

[pedrojimenez]

Thanks a lot... very good videos! very instructive!

[jbax]

Could you do a video on how to export a portion of your iPhotos library in the case of maxing out the 2 TB as I don't want to upgrade to Apple One. My thought is to create a new filtered album (for example Before 2016), export the photos to an external drive. Then create a new offline library - import the photos you exported - not connected through icloud. Then open the original library - and delete the photos prior to 2016. So everything recent would still be uploaded and synced. It would just not be storing the pictures prior to 2016 in the Apple's icloud. You could use another cloud service for the older photos / videos. If there's another better way to do this - would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for all the videos too - Very informative!

[seanp]

My daughter has too many photos on her iPhone and can't update the iOS. Do u have a video on what to do and to minimize photo deletes. I have seen many of your uploads but, still don't know what to do.

[DorianoPaisanoCarta]

I have a tough one. My wife passed away years ago and I can login to her apple account but I don't see how and where she is using 150 GB. I am positive it's photos and videos but how do I get to it? Her old macbook air no longer works... I am sure I have all the media backed up but I would like to free up the storage space in our family plan for me and the kids.

[wegotthepower]

Thank you for once again doing such an informative video & taking things in steps like that! I know more now than before about this, but I guess I won’t get anywhere if I don’t start having some kind of system on decluttering etc 🙈 I’m just overwhelmed now since I haven’t had a good system to do that before so I’m having many files to go through. Do you have any recommendations on how to not get defeated even before starting the process?

Another thing I’ve thought about that would really help if you wanted to try to answer: when going through my photos/videos (that’s the thing that takes up most space for me), could I then log into iCloud on my Macbook & go through all my different folders & pictures & delete those I don’t want anymore & then have the same changes occur on my iPhone? I’m having iCloud turned on both on my Macbook & iPhone. If that’s the case I may feel like it’s a bit easier to go through it all than to do it on my phone 🙈

[paulleiva]

Joel my computer has max the utility disk where system files are. Can I extend this drive or how can I get the external programs transfer from your Mac to a bigger external? Mac told me that I had to delete some of my program files. I really would like to keep them in that place. I check and I use all the programs that are there.

[SensoryEcstasy]

What are you using to do the stack of the items on the desktop at 20:00?!

[Resist]

My M1 MacBook Pro is still on Big Sur and won't let me upgrade to the latest OS saying it doesn't have enough space. Only have around 15GB available on the 250GB SSD. Wish I had bought a MacBook with a bigger SSD but didn't want to pay the Apple premium price for it. Anyway, I'm constantly deleting things I don't need for more space but still can't make enough room. So frustrating.

[Normthelionhearted]

Hi Joel, thank you for your video. It was very informative. I have a 1 terabyte hard drive on both my phone and my Mac book pro. Do I really need to pay $10/mo for iCloud? Can I just back up my phone to my laptop to synchronize photos? I have about 40K photos. I still have lots of room on my phone and laptop. What do you think?

[jamesbullen]

I do find it confusing that my Mac’s drive space usage shows different amount for each user. Shouldn’t it all be the same. I also wish there was a way to optimize photos for different users who each of the same photos on their user part of the drive. For example I have our wedding photos and my wife has out wedding photos and that essentially has double the same photos on our hard drive.

[kevin-parratt-artist]

The Cloud is wonderful in an ideal world with the best Internet connection. Otherwise .. 😢

[rosesarerosieslove]

I have a problem 'n Roblox and we thought the problem Is Storage do u think 't 's true I have only 2 GB left