Tech For You
Running out of cloud storage? Here’s how to avoid the pricey 2TB jump
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Once past 200GB, both Google and Apple’s iCloud users are offered a pricey 2TB plan – at more than double the cost monthly – as the next available option.
ST PHOTO: OSMOND CHIA
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SINGAPORE - Enhanced photo quality, ultra-high-resolution videos and a growing collection of photos over the years have significantly increased the storage usage on mobile devices. In no time, users will inevitably receive a prompt that it is time to upgrade their storage.
Yet, cloud storage plans are not tiered in a more granular way. Once past 200GB, both Google and Apple’s iCloud users are offered a pricey 2TB plan – at more than double the cost monthly – as the next available option.
The Straits Times explores ways to avoid the 2TB jump.
1. What is taking up so much space?
The biggest culprit for most users is likely photos and videos.
These include both content captured by the user’s camera and media exchanged on WhatsApp and other messaging apps.
The size of media files increases dramatically with “pro” camera modes available on both the latest Apple and Android devices. Photo sizes can be anywhere up to 45MB on today’s advanced photography modes, which preserve more details in each shot for users to edit.
Mobile apps can also occupy cloud storage space.
Once the storage limit is reached, users can no longer back up any photos or videos. Users will also be unable to receive and send e-mails under their respective Google and iCloud accounts.
2. How much is cloud storage?
Apple Google
Beyond 200GB of storage, the next tier offered by either service is a 2TB subscription at just under $14 a month. This plan allows Apple and Google users to share cloud storage with up to five other users.
3. How can I trim my data?
Storage management tools
These tools identify duplicated data, clutter and big files. Android users can view a breakdown of their cloud storage use by going to “account storage”, located behind the profile icon in the Google Photos app.
Android users can view a breakdown of their storage usage under Storage Manager in their Google account’s settings menu.
ST PHOTO: OSMOND CHIA
The “Clean” function under the Google Files app also flags duplicates and other large files that can be reviewed and deleted. Large files are flagged in order of size and can be deleted accordingly to free up space.
Available on the latest iOS 18, Apple iCloud Storage in the settings menu offers users an overview of their cloud storage use. Under the “manage storage” tab, the menu lays out all duplicates, videos and screenshots in a list for users to review and delete. The feature is available only on iOS 18.
Apple users can review duplicated files and delete them to free up space.
ST PHOTO: OSMOND CHIA
Alternatively, users can install third-party decluttering apps, such as CleanMyPhone, Cleaner Kit or CCleaner, that can remove old screenshots and blurry or low-quality images that can take up storage.
Move photos to an external hard drive
Practise regularly transferring photos and videos from your phone to an external hard drive or computer to save space.
This allows users to preserve their media without relying on cloud services or their phone’s internal storage, although this would mean sacrificing the convenience of viewing media on the go.
Don’t auto-back up
Practise backing up manually, so that only media that you want to access on multiple devices is saved on the cloud.
Android users can go to the settings menu on Google Photos and deselect the auto-backup option. You can manually back up only the photos you select by clicking “back up now” on the options tab.
Apple does not allow for granular backups for select photos or media files. Users can choose only to back up their entire photo library or not at all.
Don’t auto-download WhatsApp media
WhatsApp users can turn off media auto-download to prevent unwanted media from taking up storage space.
ST PHOTO: OSMOND CHIA
Auto-saved WhatsApp files can quickly fill up cloud storage, especially those from large group chats. Both Apple and Android phone users can turn off the auto-download feature on WhatsApp in the app’s Storage and data settings page.
To declutter already-cluttered phones, users can go to the “Manage Storage” option in WhatsApp settings and manually review and clear content from individual chats. Large group chats or channels can easily accumulate gigabytes of data over time.
Additionally, Android users can choose to turn off the backup option in the default WhatsApp Images folder in Google Photos and declutter the folder regularly.
For more information on cloud storage, head to the support pages by Apple Google
