7 Best Free Apps to Clean iPhone Storage (and iPad)
Discover how the right cleaning app can enhance your device's performance and user experience.
Feeling the dreaded storage crunch is a common struggle for iPhone users in 2024. High-resolution media, system data, and old backups quickly eat away at precious space, slowing down your phone.
While backing up to iCloud can help, it’s not always the most convenient or cost-effective solution. Frequent backups can be time-consuming, and limited free storage can lead to expensive upgrades.
But fear not! This updated 2024 guide explores the best iPhone backup software solutions. We’ve tested top options to help you find the perfect fit, whether you prioritize flexibility, automation, or affordability.
Apple offers the flexibility to backup your iPhone through iCloud or iTunes for backup, or even both, depending on your needs. Here is a quick breakdown for each before proceeding with choosing Apple’s official backup services:
iCloud Backup allows you to automatically save the device data to Apple Cloud servers, providing an easy and seamless way to keep backup information secure and accessible.
Here are steps to use iCloud to back up your iPhone:
Advantages:
Drawbacks:
iTunes Backup offers a conventional method of backing up iPhone data by connecting the device to a PC or Mac, providing a secure backup solution.
Here we listed the steps for it (For demonstration, we have considered iPhone 11 and Finder on Mac):
Pro Tip: iTunes offers the flexibility to back up over Wi-Fi and enable it, navigate to the Options, and check the Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi feature.
Advantages:
Drawbacks:
Combining iCloud and iTunes backups offers a layered approach to data security, ensuring multiple backup options to protect the data.
Advantages:
Drawbacks:
Considering both, the drawbacks can be countered using iCloud and iTunes to backup. However, handling two backup systems can get tricky, take time, and waste space. Hence, we leave the backup choice to you as it changes according to the requirement.
After using Apple’s official backup services, we have felt that iTunes/Finder is reliable. However, it comes with a significant drawback: not having the flexibility to select what to backup.
To address this, we have selected a few software that offer complete flexibility, and here is everything you need to know about them:
iMazing is a complete backup solution for Apple devices that lets you transfer and manage data like messages, music, files, and data from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to your computer without using iTunes.
We have tested iMazing with iPhone 11 running iOS 17.4.1, and as advertised, we had complete flexibility in selecting the desired backup files. The best part about this tool is it lets you set up automatic wireless backups, so you don’t have to remember to do it manually.
Besides its backup capabilities, iMazing also allows the storage of backups on an external drive or NAS. As a result, you don’t have to worry about space running on your computer and can perform as many backups as you like.
iMazing capabilities go beyond the wired connection, offering options for backing up over Wi-Fi. In addition, you get extra tools for transferring content between devices, installing apps, and managing messages.
For us, iMazing felt reliable, and the upgraded interface with on-screen instructions made it easier to use. However, we had issues with setting it to NAS, but we managed to get it done with some struggle.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
Compatible on Windows and MacOS
AnyTrans is an all-in-one management tool for iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, and iCloud content to transfer, manage, and back up data easily and quickly.
With AnyTrans, you can back up your iPhone data how you prefer, whether wired or wireless. Also, incremental backup and scheduled backup allow you to save space on the PC while having the flexibility to backup according to your requirements.
The best part of AnyTrans is that it allows you to manage 27 types of iOS content. While this is a standard offering seen in prominent tools, AnyTrans stands out because of its wide collection of tools.
For instance, the tools to manage messages, WhatsApp chats, and iOS Apps in batches have made the tool significantly reliable. The iCloud Manager and iTunes Library deserve special attention as these are rarely offered in this segment.
We had no issues with the backup or restore process. While AnyTrans offers everything in one place, it can be confusing and beats the purpose for those looking specifically for a backup tool.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
Compatible on Windows and MacOS
Dr.Fone is a versatile tool for managing data that can back up and restore without needing iTunes.
To test the potential of Dr.Fone, we still connected our iPhone 11 running iOS 17.4.1 and started with the backup. The detailed categories, separated according to data, messages, music, files, etc., have made it easier to select what to back up.
With Dr.Fone, you can back up your device automatically and wirelessly once connected to the same Wi-Fi or via a lightning cable. While scheduled backup is reliable, Dr.Fone has taken a step ahead and provided incremental backup. As a result, you can save space by only updating changes from the previous backup.
About restoring, using Selective Restoration, you can preview and choose specific items from the backup to restore to your device without needing to restore everything.
Dr.Fone felt easy to use, thanks to the intuitive interface. While everything worked as advertised, the ability to manage Whatsapp chat is an added advantage. However, the lack of NAS compatibility could be a downside if you’re running low on storage.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
Compatible on Windows and MacOS
CopyTrans offers its services through different software curated according to a specific purpose.
As we look specifically into the CopyTrans software, we have tested it by connecting our iPhone 11 running iOS 17.4.1 to realize it is developed to easily import, back up, and transfer music from your iPhone or iPad to your PC or iTunes.
The best part of these software is that it offers one-click transfer irrespective of the file type. CopyTrans tools are arguably the best, with a straightforward interface and minimal options for those looking for a tool that is easy to use.
While CopyTrans works as advertised, the biggest drawback of CopyTrans software is that you must download it according to the file type – photos, videos, music, and other data.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
It is Free and compatible only with Windows
After using iCloud to back up our iPhone, it is easy and reliable. While you have options to manage which apps are using iCloud, it lacks the flexibility to select a specific file. Also, after using the allotted free 5GB of cloud data, we had to purchase an iCloud plan, which was expensive.
As a result, we have tried several apps to find the best cloud backup and storage solutions. Here is everything you need to know about them:
IDrive is an exclusive mobile backup solution for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. It is a great alternative to iCloud, as it offers you the flexibility to select the desired file for backup, be it photos, videos, contacts, and calendar events.
All backup files can be accessed without restrictions, and you can share them for collaborative access. Regarding usability, the files are organized well according to the timeline, and the interface is straightforward.
The best part of IDrive is its cross-platform compatibility and real-time sync. As a result, you can back up data from various devices under one account. We have backed up images on our iPhone XS to test its potential and successfully restored them to our Google Pixel 6.
While everything seems great, it can be complex for iPhone/iPad users who got used to iCloud as there isn’t any seamless integration with Apple’s services.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
Available for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android
pCloud is a complete mobile backup solution for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. It is a complete solution because its features aim to get you all covered.
To test its potential, we have installed it on our iPhone XS running iOS 17 and noticed it is easy to use with the intuitive interface featuring Search and Filter.
The backup on pCloud is straightforward and offers the flexibility to select photos, videos, contacts, and calendar events for backup. There are no restrictions on uploading and downloading as long as you have the allocated space with the plan.
Apart from these, pCloud offers exclusive collaboration with different users and platforms with real-time sync. While encryption is a standard offering on all apps listed in this compilation, pCloud goes beyond by offering client-side encryption.
The best part of pCloud is its file versioning capabilities, where you can restore to previous versions and rewind to see all the earlier versions. Next, the added trash functionality further enhances the experience by offering restoring flexibility.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
Available for Mac, Windows, iOS, Linux, and Android
Icedrive is another straightforward mobile backup solution for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. With Icedrive, you can manage cloud storage on various devices, offering a straightforward interface for easy data management.
To test its potential, we installed it on our iPhone XS running iOS 17 and were able to perform the backup with the flexibility to select the desired file to upload.
While using Icedrive, we noticed that it focuses more on the document viewer and the media streaming capabilities. As advertised, we could view all popular document and vector formats directly within the app. Also, the built-in media player allowed us to stream video and audio files directly from the cloud.
The best part of Icedrive is its file sharing, which allows us to share files and folders directly with friends, family, and colleagues through the app. While everything was up to expectations, the downside we noticed was that there were not enough features to cover everything completely.
What did we like?
What could be better?
Availability and Pricing:
Available for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android
While the above apps are reliable, if you’re looking for a more prominent cloud service that offers a free plan and an alternative to iCloud, you must consider checking out Google Drive.
Starting with Google Drive to back up our iPhone XS running iOS 17, the first thing that caught our attention was the 15GB of free space across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos, three times more than Apple’s free 5GB space.
Google Drive is flexible in selecting the desired files, and while it supports most files, the app data cannot be backed up. The best part of Drive is cross-platform compatibility and real-time sync, and you can use its exclusive strong collaboration features.
Why should I consider Google Drive over iCloud?
What is Google Drive lacking?
Google Drive Vs. iCloud Pricing
While Google Drive initially offered more free storage, iCloud’s paid plans became more affordable per GB as you increased the storage size, especially at the 200 GB level. However, from the 2 TB plans, both services offer the same cost efficiency.
Note: We have considered the US pricing, and as the offering varies according to region, the above observation was made for reference.
Considering the necessity of backing up iPhones frequently, we have tested multiple software programs and presented this compilation. If you’re looking for an official approach and are okay with using iTunes, irrespective of the lack of flexibility, go for it.
However, if you’re unhappy with iTunes and are looking for the best solution that features flexibility, check out iMazing for its wireless and automatic backups and compatibility with storage devices.
If you’re looking for a wide collection of tools, AnyTrans is the best pick. On the other hand, Dr.Fone is straightforward with its selective and incremental backup options. Finally, IDrive or pCloud is for those seeking a specific cloud backup purpose.
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