According to this Apple iCloud Support page:

If you downgrade your storage plan and your content exceeds the storage you have available, new photos and videos won't upload to iCloud Photo Library and your devices will stop backing up to iCloud.

iCloud Drive and iCloud-enabled apps won’t update across your devices, and you won't be able to send or receive messages with your iCloud email address.

To use iCloud after exceeding your available storage, remove backups, photos, documents, or email messages you don’t need. You can access photos, videos, and documents for 30 days after you delete or disable iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Drive.

Answer from bsf on Stack Exchange
🌐
Apple Support
support.apple.com › en-us › 108318
Downgrade or cancel your iCloud+ plan - Apple Support
Before you downgrade or cancel your iCloud+ plan, first download or remove content that exceeds your new storage amount. To make sure that you don't lose any information, learn how to copy what you store in iCloud.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/icloud › what happens to your photos when you stop paying for icloud storage?
r/iCloud on Reddit: What happens to your photos when you stop paying for iCloud storage?
November 30, 2022 -

I’m going to upgrade my free plan soon, but I was wondering what would happen to my photos if I stopped paying. Storing photos on the cloud is the main reason I’m upgrading, so it’s important for me to know beforehand.

I searched on Google and I’ve found two main consequences if I stopped paying:

  1. You have 30 days to renew your plan or download your information/photos. After 30 days, if you haven’t paid, everything will be deleted.

  2. Nothing will be deleted. Everything will be safely stored on the cloud, but new content will remain on your device without the option to sync it.

Which if these is correct? Or maybe there’s a third alternative I haven’t found?

Thank you in advance ☺️

People also ask

Can you cancel iCloud storage at any time?
Yes, of course. Apple allows you to cancel your iCloud storage at any time and without reason. Once you cancel iCloud storage successfully, you won't pay for the plan the next month.
🌐
iboysoft.com
iboysoft.com › home › how to tips › how to cancel icloud storage/subscription? (full tutorial)
How to Cancel iCloud Storage/Subscription? (Full Tutorial)
Do I have to pay for iCloud storage every month?
If you choose the free 5 GB storage, you don’t need to pay. But if you choose the 50 GB, 500 GB, or 2 TB option, you need to pay monthly for your subscription.
🌐
iboysoft.com
iboysoft.com › home › how to tips › how to cancel icloud storage/subscription? (full tutorial)
How to Cancel iCloud Storage/Subscription? (Full Tutorial)
Does canceling iCloud storage delete photos?
No, everything on your iCloud storage remains there. No, photos and other files stored in iCloud storage will be kept there safely. But iCloud syncing or updating failure will happen if the content exceeds the capacity of your current plan.
🌐
iboysoft.com
iboysoft.com › home › how to tips › how to cancel icloud storage/subscription? (full tutorial)
How to Cancel iCloud Storage/Subscription? (Full Tutorial)
🌐
Quora
quora.com › I-cancel-my-iCloud-plan-and-stop-paying-for-it-will-it-still-keep-all-of-my-existing-storage-for-me-to-access
I cancel my iCloud plan and stop paying for it, will it still keep all of my existing storage for me to access? - Quora
Answer (1 of 9): Okay let’s clarify this. If you stop paying for your iCloud storage you will receive a pop-up on your phone telling you to pay. If you refuse, you will have 30 days to get your data from the cloud before it’s erased permanently.
🌐
EaseUS
mobi.easeus.com › ios questions and answers › if i cancel icloud storage, will i lose my photos?
If I Cancel iCloud Storage, Will I Lose My Photos?
September 1, 2025 - However, you will still have the free 5GB of iCloud storage with every Apple ID. Therefore, once you decide to cancel your iCloud Plan or stop paying for it, it is recommended that you download or back up your photos beforehand. Only in this way can you retain your data even if you can no longer ...
🌐
MultCloud
multcloud.com › explore more about popular clouds › cancel icloud storage? know the risks!
Cancel iCloud Storage? Know the Risks!
October 23, 2024 - Let's break down the immediate and long-term effects of canceling your iCloud storage: Access Data After Cancellation: The good news is that you won't lose immediate access to your data after canceling iCloud storage.
🌐
9meters
9meters.com › technology › what-happens-to-your-icloud-data-if-you-stop-paying-for-it
What Happens to Your iCloud Data When You Stop Paying: Understanding Apple's Policy - 9meters
April 28, 2024 - Understanding Apple’s policies will help you prevent unexpected data loss if you ever need to change your iCloud plan. Apple reduces your iCloud storage to the free 5GB limit if you stop paying.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Apple Community
discussions.apple.com › thread › 251959679
So if i cancel the plan do i loose my pic… - Apple Community
So if I understand it correctly, data will not be removed. But this policy may be changed by Apple at any moment in future. ... If you downgrade your storage plan and your content exceeds the storage you have available, new photos and videos won't upload to iCloud Photo Library and your devices ...
🌐
iBoysoft
iboysoft.com › home › how to tips › how to cancel icloud storage/subscription? (full tutorial)
How to Cancel iCloud Storage/Subscription? (Full Tutorial)
April 29, 2022 - No, everything on your iCloud storage remains there. No, photos and other files stored in iCloud storage will be kept there safely. But iCloud syncing or updating failure will happen if the content exceeds the capacity of your current plan.
🌐
MultCloud
multcloud.com › explore more about popular clouds › quick guide: how to cancel icloud subscription on iphone/android/windows/mac
Quick Guide: How to Cancel iCloud Subscription on iPhone/Android/Windows/Mac
May 6, 2024 - When your subscription expires, ... to a paid plan again. It is important to remember that your storage space will be released after canceling iCloud automatic deduction....
🌐
Stilt
stilt.com › home › how to cancel icloud storage
THIS is how to easily cancel iCloud storage [2024]
June 9, 2024 - If it still doesn’t work you can try canceling your iCloud storage using a different device. For most people, when you downgrade your plan, you will still have access to all of your features until the end of the billing period.
🌐
Apple Community
discussions.apple.com › thread › 253949777
If I were to cancel the plan, will all th… - Apple Community
If you want to store data without ... back up the computer to the external hard drive. ... If you stop paying for iCloud, anything that exceeds the free 5GBs, will be deleted from iCloud....
🌐
MacRumors
forums.macrumors.com › apple services › apple music, apple pay/card, icloud, fitness+
How do I cancel my Apple one plan but keep my 2TB iCloud+ ? | MacRumors Forums
November 13, 2023 - First you cancel Apple One, then on the day it cancels you’ll get an email saying your iCloud storage is over the limit. Simply go into iCloud at that point and upgrade to the 2Tb plan. You don’t lose anything. ... This is why it’s foolish to put everything in a cloud you don’t own.
🌐
Setapp
setapp.com › how-to › cancel-icloud-storage-plan-on-mac
How to cancel iCloud storage and keep your data – Setapp
April 23, 2025 - As soon as you cancel your iCloud storage plan, Apple will downgrade you to the free 5GB plan. You won't lose any data unless you exceed this free limit. If you go above the limit, your iCloud services could stop working properly.
🌐
iGeeksBlog
igeeksblog.com › home › how-to › how to downgrade or cancel icloud+ plan on iphone or mac
How to downgrade or cancel iCloud+ plan on iPhone or Mac – iGeeksBlog
April 18, 2025 - Q. Will my data be lost if I terminate my iCloud storage plan? No, everything stays in your iCloud storage.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/apple › what happens if i downgrade my icloud storage, and what is the difference between not paying/not downgrading and downgrading?
r/apple on Reddit: what happens if i downgrade my icloud storage, and what is the difference between not paying/not downgrading and downgrading?
February 18, 2023 -

first of all, here are some key points of information that you'll have to remember in my case

  1. i'm currently using the 200gb icloud storage plan, but i plan to downgrade soon (within around a week) in order to not have it required to be paid monthly (due to financial reasons)

  2. my iphone only has 64 gigabytes of storage; it is a pre-paid phone (which cannot be returned) and i do not have any other devices that are able to fully download all of my icloud storage
    if i were to downgrade my icloud storage from 200gb back to the default 5gb, what will happen to the rest of the data that exceeds it? (keep in mind that my iphone only has 64 gigabytes, and none of my devices have enough storage to download all of my icloud storage) if my photos won't sync to my icloud storage (uploading), will it still load the full-resolution images (downloading) when i view an image on my iphone that has been shrunken down to the optimized size?
    i read an article that said:
    "if you stop paying for your icloud storage, you will receive a pop-up on your phone telling you to pay. if you refuse, you will have 30 days to get your data from the cloud before it's erased permanently. if in those 30 days you decide to keep paying, all your stuff will remain there."
    i have questions about this:
    there are 2 routes that are in question:

  3. the route where you simply do not pay for icloud storage and do not downgrade (which has already been specified that one will have 30 days to download all of the data before it gets wiped)

  4. the route where you downgrade your icloud storage to the default 5gb (which it is unknown to me what will happen to the data that exceeds 5gb) to not have to pay monthly anymore
    for the second route, i wish to know what will happen to the data that exceeds 5gb once i downgrade my icloud storage; what will happen to my backups? will my photos still be read from icloud storage (for full resolution)?
    tl;dr: i have very valuable data on my icloud storage that, due to financial reasons, cannot be kept paid monthly, so i plan to downgrade my icloud storage, and i can't download all of my icloud storage to any of my devices because they don't have enough storage either, so i ask 3 questions:

  5. what will happen to the data that exceeds the default 5gb?

  6. what will happen to my data backups?

  7. will my photos still be read from icloud storage (meaning that will the optimized saved photos on my iphone still read the full resolution videos and images placed on icloud)?

🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/icloud › how do i cancel my icloud plan without deleting photos from my device?
r/iCloud on Reddit: How do I cancel my iCloud plan without deleting photos from my device?
July 11, 2024 -

Hello, everybody,

I'm currently currently over a 5 GB limit on the 200 GB plan, but I want to cancel my subscription. However, I want to keep all the photos that are backed up in my camera roll like they were before I upgraded (when I was over the 5gb limit and they were NOT being backed up and I was being notified about it.)

Will they stay in my camera roll when I cancel my subscription, or will they be gone locally too?

Just for clarification: all the photos that I care about have been uploaded from my iPhone. If all the photos stay in my camera roll then that's all I care about. They don't need to be backed up to iCloud.