nannyval72

Q: Where EXACTLY are my photos in icloud?

 

I am confused about icloud. I understand that when I take a pic with my iPhone it "magically" transfers to the photostream folder in "My Pictures" on my PC by way of icloud. I've mastered the understanding of deleting photos on either/both of these devices. What I haven't been able to figure out is how to view the photos that are stored IN the icloud. I assumed it would be similar to viewing items that are stored in my MSN SkyDrive. I did manage to "reset" my icloud's photostream, and there was a note saying that all photo have been removed from icloud but it had no affect on the iPhone's photostream or the folder in my PC and I was still never aware of exactly which and how many pics were there. When I go to my icloud home page there are only icons for Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Find My iPhone and iWork. Am I missing something?

iPhone 4S

Posted on Aug 18, 2012 1:13 PM

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Q: Where EXACTLY are my photos in icloud?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Viscosity,

    Viscosity Viscosity Aug 19, 2012 10:06 AM in response to nannyval72
    Level 4 (1,400 points)
    Aug 19, 2012 10:06 AM in response to nannyval72

    You are correct. It is not possible to access your photos at iCloud.com.

     

    Photo Stream is a syncing service, not a storage service such as SkyDrive.

  • by tbadman,

    tbadman tbadman Oct 17, 2012 8:13 AM in response to Viscosity
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 17, 2012 8:13 AM in response to Viscosity

    I guess I am also confused by this.  I've read the comment above, but that just adds to my confusion because I know I have GB's of iCloud "Storage" space available, and I'm pretty sure there is a way to purchase additional iCloud Storage if needed.

     

    The iCloud missing statement says "iCloud does more than store your content — it lets you access your music, photos, calendars, contacts, documents, and more, from whatever device you’re on."  

     

    The previous response makes it sound like I am not able to access my photos from "whatever device I'm on", but only from the one device that I can sync my phone to, but that would go against the iCloud missing statement.

     

    Between home computer and work computer, I use multiple devices.  My iPhone is sync'd to my home laptop, but I want to view photos taken with my iPhone on my work computer, or any other PC that I log into.

     

    When I bought my iPhone I was also told that I could use iCloud to store music on, and have access to it whenever/where ever.  But again I only seem to be able to store/manage my music on either my phone or the in my home laptop's iTunes app.  

     

    Is there an instruction manual that explains how I can access my music and photos within my iCloud Storage, from whatever device I'm on?

  • by Viscosity,

    Viscosity Viscosity Oct 17, 2012 9:02 AM in response to tbadman
    Level 4 (1,400 points)
    Oct 17, 2012 9:02 AM in response to tbadman

    tbadman wrote:

     

    I guess I am also confused by this.  I've read the comment above, but that just adds to my confusion because I know I have GB's of iCloud "Storage" space available, and I'm pretty sure there is a way to purchase additional iCloud Storage if needed.

    Photo Stream does not count towards your iCloud storage space. Your photos are automatically deleted from iCloud after 30 days.

     

    The previous response makes it sound like I am not able to access my photos from "whatever device I'm on", but only from the one device that I can sync my phone to, but that would go against the iCloud missing statement.

    I said you can't access photos from iCloud.com - which is correct. Photo Stream is intended to sync photos across your devices, it isn't intended as a long term storage solution.

     

    To access your Photo Stream from a PC you need to install the iCloud control panel.

     

    Photo Stream FAQ:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4486

  • by Mike3505,

    Mike3505 Mike3505 Sep 21, 2013 12:58 PM in response to Viscosity
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 21, 2013 12:58 PM in response to Viscosity

    That sounds completely not thought-out and very unlike Apple. What is the point of all this automatic anything if it doesn't have a storage capability?

     

    I.e., USELESS.

  • by liam145,Helpful

    liam145 liam145 Jan 2, 2014 7:23 AM in response to Mike3505
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jan 2, 2014 7:23 AM in response to Mike3505

    Couldn't agree more. iCloud is a joke. Surely one of the biggest reasons for subscribing to a cloud service is to store big files which, for most people, is their photos and movies. I bought 55gb of icloud storage and I'm struggling to use more than 4gb of it because, rather than storing my photos and movies, iCloud is just syncing all of my pics on to my laptop, which is constantly running out of memory as a result! I feel ripped off and, while Apple are very good at taking payment, I wouldn't have a clue how to claim money back from them - there is no transparent way of doing so.

     

    I would definitely advise against Apple iCloud for anyone considering it. I don't need storage for my documents or emails! My emails are in the cloud anyway and, like 99% of iphone users, I don't create a lot of documents on my phone!

  • by criag59criag59,

    criag59criag59 criag59criag59 Jun 20, 2016 4:16 PM in response to Viscosity
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 20, 2016 4:16 PM in response to Viscosity

    The last person is saying you CAN'T access photos from icloud but icloud sent me an email that said.

    "If your library exceeds the storage space available on your device, you can download your photos and videos to your Mac or PC from iCloud.com."

    So what is the truth...?

  • by javaliga,Apple recommended

    javaliga javaliga Jun 21, 2016 11:58 AM in response to nannyval72
    Level 4 (3,514 points)
    iCloud
    Jun 21, 2016 11:58 AM in response to nannyval72

    Q. Where EXACTLY are my photos in icloud?

     

    A. If you’ve turned on iCloud Photo Library, every photo and video you take will live in iCloud, including ones from your My Photo Stream. If some of your devices don't have iCloud Photo Library turned on, My Photo Stream will upload your recent photos to share with those devices.

     

    I don't have an opinion of whether iCloud is good or bad, but maybe these articles will help you understand it:

     

    About iCloud Photo Library and My Photo Stream - Apple Support

     

    Get help using My Photo Stream - Apple Support

     

    iCloud: My Photo Stream overview

     

    iCloud: Delete photos from My Photo Stream

     

    iCloud: Add photos to My Photo Stream