Can I control what goes into my iCloud backup?
Short answer
Yes, folder by folder. Each top-level folder in your library can be included in or excluded from the device backup, so a large video folder does not consume the iCloud quota you would rather keep for photos. The rules are re-applied after every library scan.
Reviewed 30 July 2026
By default a folder is included. Exclude one and its contents stop counting against your backup; include it again and they come back. The setting is stored with the library and re-stamped whenever the folder is rescanned, so it does not quietly lapse.
One honest limitation: an app cannot read the state of your backup or start one. FoxDL therefore tells you what it has marked, never that a backup has happened — that part belongs to iOS.