iCloud & iCloud Photos · Messages, Mail and device backups in iCloud
How do I make my iPhone's iCloud backup smaller?
Short answer: In the iPhone's iCloud settings, open the storage list → Backups → this iPhone and turn off backup for big apps that don't need it. Turning on iCloud Photos and Messages in iCloud also keeps photos and attachments out of the backup.
On the iPhone, open Settings → your name → iCloud, go to the storage list and Backups, select this iPhone and turn off backup for apps that don't need it — often big games, video apps and anything whose content is already in the cloud. Delete the next backup's largest items and it shrinks.
Other big contributors:
- Photos — if iCloud Photos is off, the camera roll goes into the backup; turning iCloud Photos on stores photos separately.
- Messages attachments — if Messages in iCloud is off, they're in the backup.
Your Mac can also back up the iPhone to its own disk or an external drive instead — see where iPhone backups are stored on a Mac.