cman6216

Q: iCloud storage, what is the point?

Okay, I simply want to store my photos from my phone to iCloud, instead of my phone. Is this even possible? If not, what is the point for the iCloud storage I'm annually paying for?

iPhone 4S, iOS 6.0.1

Posted on Dec 15, 2012 5:09 PM

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Q: iCloud storage, what is the point?

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Dec 15, 2012 5:12 PM in response to cman6216
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    Dec 15, 2012 5:12 PM in response to cman6216

    Yes, it's possible. It's called PhotoStream. And, you don't pay anything for iCloud. It's free including the 5 GBs of storage space. So you aren't paying anything for it.

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Dec 15, 2012 5:14 PM in response to cman6216
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    Dec 15, 2012 5:14 PM in response to cman6216

    iCloud is not there to store photos, there are plenty of other services that do this. You don't need to pay for iCloud storage unless you want more than 5 GB.

  • by cman6216,

    cman6216 cman6216 Dec 15, 2012 5:17 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2012 5:17 PM in response to Kappy

    No, I am paying for 15 GB. At one point I thought you could use iCloud for your phone storage but I haven't had enough time to look into the 'how to.' So, if I turn on photo stream under my settings I can just delete all the photos off my phone? And further, if it is possible, can I view the photos from my phone once they are deleted off of my phone's storage? Some more info and possible walk-through would be appreciated!

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Dec 15, 2012 5:21 PM in response to cman6216
    Level 8 (43,957 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 15, 2012 5:21 PM in response to cman6216

    Photos in the cloud are free. Paying for iCloud storage does not expand your phone's storage. You also don't need to pay to store photos. As both Kappy and Winston Churchill have said, you get 5GB for free, and the only things that count against that storage are backups and documents.

  • by cman6216,

    cman6216 cman6216 Dec 15, 2012 5:29 PM in response to stevejobsfan0123
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    Dec 15, 2012 5:29 PM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    This is all understandable. I am not concerned with the payment. I simply wanted to know if it was possible to store my photos, which take a great deal of space on my phone, to iCloud-thus removing them from my phone's actual storage capacity. Obviously, I can save them to my computer and delete them from my phone... But if there was a way with iCloud I would. Thanks for all the replies.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Dec 15, 2012 5:33 PM in response to cman6216
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    Dec 15, 2012 5:33 PM in response to cman6216

    iCloud- Photo Stream FAQ

    iCloud- Photo Stream limits

    iCloud- How to delete photos from your Photo Stream


    Yes, you can delete photos that are physically on the phone. All your pictures would be in the cloud. All you would need is access to the Internet for them to be available.

     

    You would need iPhoto to keep all your pictures.

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Dec 15, 2012 5:33 PM in response to cman6216
    Level 8 (43,957 points)
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    Dec 15, 2012 5:33 PM in response to cman6216

    Hopefully you don't have THAT many photos, as the limit to store in Photo Stream is 1,000. If you try to add a 1,001st photo, the 1st one will be pushed out.

  • by Winston Churchill,Helpful

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Dec 15, 2012 5:37 PM in response to cman6216
    Level 10 (104,380 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 15, 2012 5:37 PM in response to cman6216

    As I understand this you want to permanently store photos in the cloud and not have them on your phone, both of these are not possible with photostream. Dropbox will automatically sync your photos to the cloud and keep them permanently allowing you to delete them from the phone.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Dec 15, 2012 5:45 PM in response to Winston Churchill
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    Dec 15, 2012 5:45 PM in response to Winston Churchill

    What? I do exactly that. My pictures are in an iPhoto Library as well as in Photo Stream. I do not keep them on my Touch. They are permanently stored in the cloud. My iPhoto Library is the local backup. I do the same with iTunes Match.

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Dec 15, 2012 5:56 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 10 (104,380 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 15, 2012 5:56 PM in response to Kappy

    Perhaps we are seeing what the OP wants slightly differently, I had understood their requirement based on the following.

     

    If the OP has a Mac and has iPhoto, they could use photostream to sync the photos to iPhoto and store them permanently. However the OP doesn't say whether they have a Mac with iPhoto and is asking about keeping them in the cloud rather than on a computer.

     

    They also don't appear to want them on the phone, which they would have to be if photostream was turned on, which it would have to be if they were to sync using photostream. If they deleted them from photostream on the phone, they would be deleted from photostream in the cloud too.

     

    Indeed they will be deleted from photostream anyway once they are 30 days old or there is 1,000 photos in photostream.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Dec 15, 2012 6:05 PM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 10 (271,743 points)
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    Dec 15, 2012 6:05 PM in response to Winston Churchill

    Who needs 1,000 photos? Way too many photos. I have a little over 500 and it's way too many. I keep them in Photo Stream so as to free up space on my Touch for my iTunes Library. I keep a substantial number of tracks on my Touch. However, my entire library is stored via iTunes Match. Then the entire library is on the computer for backup, and on backups of the computer.

     

    My wife's Touch has neither photos nor music stored on it. She uses the cloud entirely.

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Dec 15, 2012 6:08 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 8 (43,957 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 15, 2012 6:08 PM in response to Kappy

    Since the OP said that his photos,

    take a great deal of space on my phone

    ...I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he has 1,000 photos or more.

  • by cman6216,

    cman6216 cman6216 Dec 15, 2012 6:13 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2012 6:13 PM in response to Kappy

    I have a Mac. I turn photo stream on on both my phone and my computer (under iPhoto), then all my photos are sent via cloud from my phone to my comp. Thus allowing me to then take them off my phone.

     

    Correct understanding on my part?

     

    Sorry to run this into the ground. I just wanted to make sure before I went deleting.

  • by stevejobsfan0123,

    stevejobsfan0123 stevejobsfan0123 Dec 15, 2012 6:15 PM in response to cman6216
    Level 8 (43,957 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 15, 2012 6:15 PM in response to cman6216

    Yes, assuming that you are downloading them to your computer and not leaving them solely in the cloud.

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