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Access to iCloud photos on Mac

Is there any way to access my iCloud photos on my Mac computer without uploading them onto my computer? I want to be able to get to my iCloud photos on my computer without taking up storage I need for other things. Is it true the only way to do this is online? Is there a way to access them through the photo app on the computer? Thanks!

MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Aug 25, 2020 2:31 PM

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Posted on Aug 25, 2020 2:46 PM

You can select 'Optimize Mac Storage' (in Photos, Preferences, iCloud) so it will only download the low-res previews, but there is no way to have nothing loaded on your Mac and access the pictures in the cloud besides going to your browser and accessing the cloud from there.

2 replies

Aug 26, 2020 3:49 AM in response to chocolatelab15

Is there any way to access my iCloud photos on my Mac computer without uploading them onto my computer?

Disable iCloud Photos in the macOS photos app. They will be on iCloud only and accessible via a browser.


In Photos. Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Photo Library > unchecked



Is there a way to access them through the photo app on the computer?

No, Can't have it both ways. As noted, browser only.

Access to iCloud photos on Mac

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