iPhone 12 mini: iCloud backup after deleting phone data

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Level 1

4 points

iPhone 12 mini: iCloud backup after deleting phone data

Hi guys. I have an iPhone 12 mini, 64gb. I am close to my limit with phone storage. My handset is fully backed up to the cloud. I also pay the £2.99 per month and have a 200gb cloud memory. My question is, if I delete the memory from my phone, does it stay on my iCloud account from the date of the last upload? And then secondly, when I start accumulating more memory on the handset, will this be added to the last upload so that I can download all data from the iCloud when I decide to get a new handset (with larger internal memory). Many thanks

iPhone 6s, iOS 15

Posted on Dec 14, 2025 12:52 PM

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Answer 1

sberman

Level 10

272,292 points

Dec 14, 2025 2:58 PM in response to Timmyhall55

The answer to both questions is “Yes.”

Of course, you must not exceed your iCloud storage, but it sounds like that’s not an issue for you.

And when you say “start accumulating more memory on the handset”, hopefully you realize that absolutely requires purchasing a new handset.

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Answer 2

sberman

Level 10

272,292 points

Dec 14, 2025 4:08 PM in response to Timmyhall55

I don’t understand what this means,

Timmyhall55 wrote:

… and I say accumulate a further 20gb for argument sake.

You cannot “accumulate” any additional physical memory on an Apple device. You have your original iCloud backup which will remain intact. Once you restore that iCloud backup, any content on the device receiving the restore will be removed and replaced by the backup’s contents.

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Answer 3

Timmyhall55 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 14, 2025 3:20 PM in response to sberman

Hi “sberman”.

Thanks for the response. To be clear, and to ensure you understand the scenario I am presenting - when I say, “start accumulating more memory on the handset”; what I mean is, memory uploaded where my handset at that point says “0”, and I say accumulate a further 20gb for argument sake. I then upload the extra 20gb to the cloud on my next backup, making my iCloud total 20gb + the total of the original upload. Hopefully that’s clear. Many thanks.

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