What Happens to Your Data If You Stop Paying for Cloud Storage?

If it's been a while since you added up how many digital subscriptions you're paying for, it's likely to be more than you think: streaming services, software packages, games, AI bots, health and fitness wearables ... the list goes on. You can add cloud storage subscriptions to that list too. Apple, Google, and Microsoft offer very little in the way of free storage in the cloud, which means if you want the convenience of having your photos, videos, and other files safely backed up and accessible on every device, you're probably going to have to pay for it. What if you don't want to have these subscriptions for life, though—what if you've found a better option for your backups and storage (and there are plenty of options out there)? You might be wondering what happens to the years and years of files you've amassed in the cloud if you cancel your storage subscription. While we can't cover every single cloud storage service here, we've picked four of the main ones below. Here's what happens to your data if you stop paying, and what you need to do with your files before hitting the unsubscribe button. Apple iCloud You can manage your iCloud subscription from any Apple device. David Nield Pricing for Apple iCloud storage starts at $0.99 per month for 50 GB of space, and you get extras like Hide My Email included too. You can manage your subscription from your iPhone by going to Settings, tapping your name and then Subscriptions, and from System Settings on a Mac by selecting your name, then iCloud. If you cancel your iCloud storage, you go back down to the free allocation of 5 GB. If you currently have more than that in the cloud, you won't be able to make new backups or sync any new files until you've freed up some space—so you'll need to delete files to add any new ones. What Apple is less clear about is what will happen to your existing data. The official documentation implies, but doesn't specifically say, that your files will be kept in a read-only state, with no backups completing until you delete files or increase your storage plan. The iCloud terms and conditions state that if you've not backed up a device for 180 days, Apple “reserves the right” to delete any existing backups (including photos and videos)—so it may delete your files, and it may not.