How do I back up screenshots to the cloud without paying for iCloud?

If you have thousands of screenshots and don't want to pay for iCloud+ (which starts at $0.99/mo for 50 GB), here are the working options in 2026.

Option 1: Google Photos — 15 GB free, but compresses photos by default. In 2026, screenshots count fully against your Google account quota (shared with Gmail and Drive). Auto-upload from iPhone is built into the app. Privacy trade-off: Google can scan content for ML training under their current ToS.

Option 2: Microsoft OneDrive — 5 GB free, auto-uploads from iPhone via the OneDrive app's "Camera Backup" toggle. Compresses by default but offers full-resolution if you have storage. Better privacy than Google, but lower free tier.

Option 3: Dropbox — 2 GB free, auto-upload, but the free tier is small enough that screenshots fill it within months for most users.

Option 4: Apple's own free tier (5 GB iCloud) — most people don't realize iCloud's free tier already syncs Photos, including screenshots, until storage fills up. The trick is to delete old screenshots regularly so you stay under 5 GB.

Option 5: A dedicated app like Némos — Némos uses CloudKit (Apple's iCloud) but only stores the *metadata and index* in iCloud, not the full-resolution images. This means even with 10,000 screenshots, Némos's iCloud footprint is under 50 MB, leaving your 5 GB free tier for actual photos. Your screenshots stay on your devices, synced via CloudKit's encrypted P2P sync.

Option 6: External drive backup — for the truly storage-conscious, plug a USB-C SSD into your iPhone (iPhone 15+ supports USB-C external storage) and export the Screenshots album. One-time backup, no ongoing fees.

Our recommendation:

• If you want a *single* free cloud backup: Google Photos.
• If you want privacy + free + iCloud-native: Némos (free tier covers unlimited devices) or Apple's free 5 GB iCloud if you're disciplined about deletion.
• If you have 10,000+ screenshots and want truly offline backup: external SSD.

Whichever you choose, automate the backup. Manual exports get forgotten.