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How do I delete iCloud photos from iPhoto on Mac without deleting the photos from iCloud

How do I delete iCloud photos from iPhoto on my Mac without deleting the photos from iCloud

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on May 2, 2020 7:24 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 3, 2020 6:57 AM

To save storage on your Mac you can enable the "Optimise Mac Storage" option in the Photos Preferences > iCloud. Then Photos will automatically remove some of the full resolution originals from your Mac and keep them only in iCloud.

Or move the complete Photos Library from the Pictures folder to an external volume.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

When you simply delete the complete Photos Library from your Mac, the photos will stay in iCloud.

You can then create a new, empty Photos Library that is not syncing with iCloud, if you want to use Photos on your Mac.


4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 3, 2020 6:57 AM in response to samanthamoriarty

To save storage on your Mac you can enable the "Optimise Mac Storage" option in the Photos Preferences > iCloud. Then Photos will automatically remove some of the full resolution originals from your Mac and keep them only in iCloud.

Or move the complete Photos Library from the Pictures folder to an external volume.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

When you simply delete the complete Photos Library from your Mac, the photos will stay in iCloud.

You can then create a new, empty Photos Library that is not syncing with iCloud, if you want to use Photos on your Mac.


How do I delete iCloud photos from iPhoto on Mac without deleting the photos from iCloud

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