Q: If I delete photos on iPhone, will they also be deleted on my iMac?

If you're using iCloud Photo Library on both devices...yes.

This article should help...

iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support

ok if you use your iCloud backup it mirrors your phone for example I do my backups with iCloud instead of comp then what ever i delete on my iPhone then it erases automatically on the iCloud

BUT

if i do my backups on my computer then when i connect it to my iMac your photos app or iPhoto app should open and i can import the pics i want, then i can go to my iPhone and delete the ones i want to delete so ill have more space on my iPhone and if i want the space back from my iMac all i gotta do is put them in an external hard drive, cd/dvd, a memory card, usb, or just keep them there

Sorry, but backups have nothing to do with this. Where you back up your device has no affect on your photo archives.

If you are using iCloud Photo Library, your entire Photo Library lives in iCloud and is accessed from any device or computer that is signed into the same iCloud account that also has iCloud Photo Library turned on. Here are a couple of support articles that explain how iCloud Photo Library works:

iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support

iCloud Photo Library Help - Apple Support

If you do not use iCloud Photo Library, then you have to import your photos to your Computer in order to preserve them.

PHOTO IMPORT IOS TO MAC/PC

Backups on the other hand, make a copy of your device so that you can then use that backup to restore your device if you have issues and have to erase that device, or if you purchase a new device that you want to set up. Your Camera Roll is saved in a backup, but as you create new backups the older ones are deleted. If you were to remove or delete photos from your Camera Roll and then back up your device, the photos that were on the backup prior to the one you made after the deletions would eventually no longer be accessible, so those photos would be gone forever.

iCloud: iCloud backup overview

https://www.apple.com/support/iphone/backup/

Cheers,

GB

sorry but i ALWAYS recommend backup before you do ANYTHING to your phone

if you use iCloud in ALL devices and you delete them then they get DELETED EVERYWHERE

vs if you import them to your iMac then they stay there no matter what until you delete them

when i was talking about iCloud backups i was talking about the iPhone backup to the iCloud i.e. photo backups

Sorry, but you are confusing backups with iCloud Photo Library. You are correct, one should always back up before doing anything (including updating the iOS).

The backing of of your device is referred to as a backup. The backing up of photos is either done via the use of iCloud Photo Library, which does not back up - it is a real-time update of a library that lives in iCloud, or via an Import process that imports to your computer.

But using iCloud on all devices is not related specifically to iCloud Photo Library or to Importing. iCloud is used for any or all of the following:

iCloud backups of iOS devices

iCloud Photo Library

iCloud Music Library (which is used for subscribers to iTunes Match or Apple Music or both)

The uses above are all counted against your iCloud Storage - the 5GB free that you get from Apple as well as any additional storage that you purchase.

iCloud is also used to sync things like Messages, Calendars, Notes, Contacts, iCloud Photo Stream, iCloud Photo Sharing. The storage used for syncing these items does not count against your iCloud storage.

I am signed into iCloud on all of my devices but I do not use iCloud Photo Library. So, if I delete a photo from my Camera Roll on my iPhone, it is only deleted on my iPhone because each device has its own Camera Roll. If I delete it from iCloud Photo Stream on my iPhone, then it is deleted from the Photo Stream which is shared by all devices using Photo Stream that are signed into the same iCloud account.

If someone is using iCloud Photo Library, then there is no Camera Roll or Photo Stream, there is only All Photos. So, if one deletes a photo from the All Photos album, it doesn't matter where they initiate the deletion, it is deleted from the iCloud Photo Library which is what all of the devices using the iCloud Photo Library are "looking" at.

Backups, on the other hand are not accessible via any means except when you are selecting one to be used to restore a device. You cannot see or access the contents of a backup. You can delete an entire backup, but that has no affect on anything. It just removes the backup from the list of available backups that can be used to restore a device.

Photos can use iCloud Photo Library, or they can use the Photos Library which is housed on a Mac. If you use iCloud Photo Library, all photos are sync'd OTA to iCloud. If you use the Photos Library, you must import your photos to that Library.

Hope that clears up the terminology

Cheers,

GB

Most excellent! Glad that was helpful

Cheers,

GB

Savvy Granny wrote:

 

One  concern is that I have deleted photos from the iPhone camera roll and then discovered that they had vanished from my Favorites album as well. Now I'm afraid to delete anything ...

So, for clarification - are you using iPhoto or Photos? And not sure where the "Favorites" album is located?

Cheers,

GB

Well, we need to establish what your configuration is. What OS x are you running on the Mac and what iOS are you running on the phone? Do you have iCloud Photo Library turned on? And as above, are you using the Photos app or the iPhoto app on your Mac?

Cheers,

GB