Cancelling Your iCloud Plan on Mac

It’s no secret that iCloud tends to offer a variety of advantages when it comes to storage and general functionality. At this point, for any Apple device or user, it has become the core area for storing the bulk of your important files and documents, while also providing convenient synchronicity across your various Apple devices, whether it be for your Mail, Photos, Reminders etc.[ usb hub with long cable]

But what makes it so useful and ideal, is how it just works in the background, without you having to constantly interact with it as it just automatically supports your back up storage and file organisation. The only point where iCloud actually forces you to take notice of it, is when your storage plan has exceeded it’s limits and it begins to remind you of the need to either clear storage or upgrade to a more sizeable Apple iCloud storage plan.

Sorting Out Your iCloud Storage Space

The moment you register and receive an Apple ID account, it’s automatic that you et an iCloud account as well, which generally comes with 5GB shared storage across all your devices. However, the problem with that is it’s not exactly a lot of space, to be honest. For this reason, to efficiently utilise the 5GB space you have for free, you have to very smart with which apps and files you allow into your cloud storage system. You can check how your storage is being utilised by heading to System Preferences then selecting Apple ID, then scrolling down to the iCloud section to view as well as edit, what apps are currently utilising your storage.

Freeing Up Storage

In the event that your iCloud storage is completely full, you can either clear space by deleting files and removing apps, or you can upgrade your iCloud storage plan which goes for $0.99 = 50 GB, $2.99 = 200 GB and $9.99 = 2 TB. You can clear space by removing certain apps from your iCloud storage by heading to System Preferences then selecting Apple ID and scrolling down to the iCloud section. If you are already on a paid storage plan, you can upgrade your current pricing plan by, clicking “Manage” and selecting “Buy More Storage.” However, in some cases, it could be that you have an enormous amount of files and data saved in your iCloud and removing apps isn’t going to make much difference. In this case, you can decide to remove the data and store someplace else whether that’s locally on your laptop or transferring it all using usb c hub with usb c ports to any external device.

Keep in mind that in most cases, the iCloud Drive and Photos applications are what tend to consume most of your storage space. As such, if you want to clear space from either one of these locations, you can simply head to either the iCloud Drive section on your finder or your Photos app and select the files you want to save and transfer them onto an external drive or local folder. Once you’ve finished copying the necessary files, you can go ahead and delete the originals from iCloud.

Backing Up Your Files

In some cases, you may end up having too much content to filter through and are struggling to figure out what to copy and what to leave out. And at the same time, the monthly bill may be coming up and you don’t want to have to end up paying for it. In these cases, before you downgrade your iCloud account, you should be aware that Apple usually has a 30 day policy, where it will keep that data in tact before deleting it, so you have time to back up your data even if you downgrade. But, it’s always better to back up your work before you do that, and an easy solution is utilising a throw party app like Get Backup Pro. By using such apps, they will help you automatically back up your files instantly, solving your problem effortlessly.

Switching iCloud Plans

If you are currently on a paid iCloud plan, and you are confident that you no longer need the extra space, then you can always downgrade to a lower plan or simply cancel it and get the free 5GB base storage instead. Simply head to System Preferences, then selecting Apple ID and scrolling down to the iCloud section. From there, head to ‘Manage’ then ‘Change Storage Plan’.[ macbook pro 16 leather sleeve]

Conclusion

This handy little guide should be of big help to those of you who may be struggling with their iCloud storage. It’s a common problem that almost all Mac users go through (even us!), so take these points into consideration if you decide to downgrade or cancel your current iCloud plan. In the event you have too many heavy files to store, making use of an external drive would be the best alternative and for that, we would suggest grabbing yourself one of these 4k 60hz usb c hub to help you facilitate that data transfer much more quickly and effectively.