Restore from backup frees up 50gb

Why when I do a restore from backup do I go from 127gb to 70gb of memory used?


is it worrying that apple etc start asking to go to iCloud+ for a problem that exists in their os?


it also does not help that you have to find a Mac with sufficient disk space left when Mac’s have so little disk space anyway. My raspberry pi has 256gb of nvme for £40 while apple charge £200

iPhone 13 mini, iOS 18

Posted on Oct 15, 2025 2:54 PM

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Posted on Oct 16, 2025 7:11 AM

That's your Phone's local storage, it has nothing to do with iCloud. iCloud Storage and your iPhone's local storage capacity are 2 different and separate things.


Of courses if you erased the iPhone and restored an iCloud backup onto it, then it would erase everything on the iPhone and then just restore what's on the backup.


Any other content that was not in the backup, including any data in the System Data section, would have been. deleted so, yes, it likely freed that part and anything else that is not part of the backup on the iPhone.

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Oct 16, 2025 7:11 AM in response to comqdhb

That's your Phone's local storage, it has nothing to do with iCloud. iCloud Storage and your iPhone's local storage capacity are 2 different and separate things.


Of courses if you erased the iPhone and restored an iCloud backup onto it, then it would erase everything on the iPhone and then just restore what's on the backup.


Any other content that was not in the backup, including any data in the System Data section, would have been. deleted so, yes, it likely freed that part and anything else that is not part of the backup on the iPhone.

Oct 15, 2025 3:22 PM in response to comqdhb

No. Restoring a backup does not in any way release the space used by the backup. The backup remains on iCloud unless you manually delete it.


Restoring the backup onto a device just transfers a copy fo the data onto the device being restored.


Not sure what problem exists on their OS that requires you to go to iCloud though.


iCloud backups are standard practice. Restoring a device may be required if something went wrong. Having a backup whether on a computer or on iCloud is a safety net in case the device becomes inaccessible.


Having it on iCloud precludes the necessity of having a computer with enough space for it. It's a more practical and convenient option.



Oct 15, 2025 11:16 PM in response to Phil0124

But it did release 55gb of used memory. Settings -> General storage was showing 127gb use out of 128gb. Couldn’t install any apps or take photos. Phone basically suggested to backup photos etc to iCloud+. I backed up on my Mac . Did a phone restore and iPhone now shows that I am using 70gb of storage. The major changes are in iOS and system storage which (I’m guessing) are related to the os?

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Restore from backup frees up 50gb

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