jwilley44
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: Can I remove photos from my phone but still be able to access them in iCloud?

It seems from this, Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support, that I cannot save photos from my phone to iCloud and then remove them from my phone. What exactly is the point in having iCloud then? Any clarification is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Posted on Feb 20, 2016 7:12 PM

by LACAllen,Solvedanswer
LACAllen LACAllen
Level 5 (5,465 points)
iCloud
A:

You are thinking of iCloud as off device storage. It is not that and never was.

 

It is not designed for that. It is meant to be a sync service. It keeps the content from your phone synced across all your Apple devices and shareable in real time.

Posted on Feb 20, 2016 8:37 PM

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jwilley44

Q: Can I remove photos from my phone but still be able to access them in iCloud?

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  • by LACAllen,Solvedanswer

    LACAllen LACAllen Feb 20, 2016 8:37 PM in response to jwilley44
    Level 5 (5,465 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 20, 2016 8:37 PM in response to jwilley44

    You are thinking of iCloud as off device storage. It is not that and never was.

     

    It is not designed for that. It is meant to be a sync service. It keeps the content from your phone synced across all your Apple devices and shareable in real time.

  • by jwilley44,

    jwilley44 jwilley44 Feb 21, 2016 7:29 AM in response to jwilley44
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 21, 2016 7:29 AM in response to jwilley44

    Thanks for your reply. This is disappointing. So that means that either I am actually limited in icloud to number of photos I can keep on my iphone or I have to upload my photos from my iphone to my computer, then remove them from my phone, which also removes them icloud, then re-upload those photos from my computer to icloud. ugh.

    Thanks again.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 21, 2016 12:54 PM in response to jwilley44
    Level 9 (73,633 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 21, 2016 12:54 PM in response to jwilley44

    To increase space available, go Settings/iCloud/Photos and select Optimize iPhone/iPad Storage.  That will reduce the space required by about 90% when fully effective.