How to Stop iCloud from Filling Up a Windows Disk

iCloud for Windows keeps a copy of your photo library and iCloud Drive on the PC, and a large library can eat a small SSD. Keep the files in the cloud instead and download only what you open.

Stop photos from downloading in full

Open iCloud for Windows from the Start menu and click the options next to Photos. If you see Download new photos and videos to my PC, turn it off. Newer versions do not show that option because photos stay in the cloud until opened. Click Done, then Apply.

Free up space in File Explorer

Open File Explorer and go to iCloud Photos or iCloud Drive in the left pane. Right-click a folder that is taking space and choose Free up space. The files stay listed with a cloud icon and download again only when you open them. Do this for the largest folders, or for the whole of iCloud Drive.

Turn off folders you never need locally

Back in iCloud for Windows, click the options next to iCloud Drive and untick any folders you do not want on this PC at all. They stay in iCloud and on your other devices.

Move iCloud Photos to another drive

If the PC has a second drive, open iCloud for Windows, open the Photos options, and use the location or Change button to point the library at that drive. iCloud moves the library, which can take a while.

Empty both recycle bins

Deleted photos sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days and still count. Open iCloud.com, go to Photos, Recently Deleted, and delete them. Then right-click the Recycle Bin on the desktop and choose Empty Recycle Bin.

If space keeps filling up again. Open Settings, System, Storage, Storage Sense, turn it on, and set Content will become online-only if not opened in more than to 30 days. Windows then dehydrates on-demand files, including iCloud's, that you have not touched.

If you are checking what takes space. Files with a cloud icon in the Status column take no room on the disk. Only files with a green check or a filled green circle are stored locally.