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How to Free Up iPhone Storage After Uploading Photos to OneDrive
Question details
The user wants to safely delete local photos and videos from an iPhone to free up device storage after backing them up to OneDrive.
- Product
- OneDrive
- Device & OS
- iOS
- Scenario
- Managing mobile device storage space by relying on successfully completed cloud backups.
- Observed behavior
- The user needs to ensure that deleting local Apple Photos files will not delete the corresponding files already uploaded to the OneDrive cloud account.
Before deleting any photos from your iPhone, open the OneDrive app and verify that all your recent photos and videos have completely finished uploading to the cloud.
Verify Uploads and Delete Local iPhone Photos Manually
Confirm your media is safely stored in OneDrive before removing the local copies from your iPhone's native Photos app to reclaim storage space.
OneDrive's Camera Upload feature creates a one-way backup of your mobile photos to the cloud. This means that once a file is safely stored in OneDrive, managing or deleting the local copy on your iPhone will not affect the cloud version.
Launch the OneDrive app on your iPhone and navigate to the 'Photos' tab at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll through your gallery and check the upload status indicator to confirm that your recent photos and videos are fully uploaded and visible in the OneDrive cloud.
Exit OneDrive and open the native Apple 'Photos' app on your iPhone.
Select the photos and videos you have already verified in OneDrive, then tap the trash can icon to delete them from your local device.
To immediately free up storage space, go to the 'Albums' tab, scroll down to 'Recently Deleted', select the items, and permanently delete them.
Manage Your OneDrive Documents Seamlessly with WPS Office
While you manage your media in OneDrive, consider using WPS Office to handle all your documents. It connects directly to your OneDrive account, providing a lightweight, free, and fully compatible alternative to Microsoft Office for your mobile and desktop devices.
- 1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get the WPS Office app from the App Store or official website.
- 2. Connect Cloud Storage: Open WPS Office, go to the 'Cloud' or 'Open' tab, and select 'Add Cloud Storage'.
- 3. Log into OneDrive: Choose OneDrive from the list, log in with your credentials, and instantly access your cloud documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting photos from my iPhone also delete them from OneDrive?
No. Once your photos are completely uploaded to OneDrive via the Camera Upload feature, deleting the local copies from your iPhone's Apple Photos app will not affect the files securely stored in your OneDrive cloud.
Why is my iPhone storage still full after deleting photos?
When you delete photos on an iPhone, they are moved to the 'Recently Deleted' album where they take up space for 30 days. To free up storage immediately, open the Photos app, go to Albums, find 'Recently Deleted', and delete the files permanently.
Does OneDrive automatically delete local photos after uploading?
Unlike some other cloud services, OneDrive for iOS does not automatically delete local photos from your device. You must manually delete the files from your iPhone's local storage after confirming they have successfully uploaded to the cloud.
How do I know if my photos have finished uploading to OneDrive?
Open the OneDrive app and navigate to the Photos tab. If the upload is complete, you will see all your selected pictures there, and the progress indicator at the top will state that the camera backup is up to date.
