Calculating size of shared albums for iCloud storage limits

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Level 1

13 points

Calculating size of shared albums for iCloud storage limits

Hello all fellow Apple loyals :)

I'm using Catalina 10.15.7 and am trying to free up some storage since my iCloud limit (50GB) has been reached, I refuse to submit to more monthly charges since its the $1.99 and the $3.99 and the $10.99 per months that just end up breaking the Corona bank these days.

When I select one single or multiple shared albums in Photos or even if I try to select a group of photos and right click "get info" the tittle and the date span show up and the "calculating size..." shows up but never gives the resulting calculation. In regular albums it shows up right away or in a few seconds if a large group has been selected.

I've waited for 10-15 min and it never comes up with the total size.

In fact even if we only select one photo or video within the shared albums it comes up as "zero kb"🤦🏻‍♂️

Appreciate in advance any beneficial input or help to solve this one 😊

Betzy

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Oct 14, 2020 7:29 AM

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Answer 1

Bigbetzy Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 15, 2020 8:45 AM in response to Bigbetzy

For any coming across this same issue, just figured out how to select more than the screen view on iCloud online when deleting or managing the phots. Using the trustee "SHIFT" button to select multiple.

Basically you click on the bottom or first desired to be modified photo, then hold down the shift button, scroll as normal up or down to see multiple selections (up to 1000 photos can be selected this way) then when you find the last desired photo to be selected click it with the shift button still pressed. This will select all the range of photos. Hit the delete key then it will ask to confirm delete, press enter and presto they all will disappear.

Caviat: They will be sent to and remain in your "Recently deleted" for 30 days, still taking up valuable iCloud space. Just click "Recently deleted" and then "Delete all" on the top right of the page. They will then be gone from iCloud permanently:)

Hope this helps others...

Betzy

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Answer 2

Bigbetzy Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 14, 2020 10:57 AM in response to léonie

Well thank you for making me aware of the difference between iCloud photos and shared photos. I finally found this check box in Photos Preferences.

And then it still said iCloud storage full, so I had to go online to iCloud and see that they were all still here in the iCloud online storage base! Yikes its like they stay here even though its unchecked in the preferences. Now I am in the process of deleting them 70 items (on iCloud online) at a time because it won't let you select all if more than a 1000 and the manual click and drag select won't go beyond one page view at a time. Hard lesson learned but at least it should free up my 50gb and avoid paying for more 🕺

Thanks for your help 👍🏽

Betzy

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

216,992 points

Oct 15, 2020 9:48 AM in response to Bigbetzy

Interesting observation on my Shared Albums. On those that I own and created I get the continual Calculating size….

However, on one that I was invited to and is much, much bigger I get the size instantaneously.

My libraries are all local and iCloud Library is not enabled. 'Tis a puzzlement.

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Answer 4

Bigbetzy Author

Level 1

13 points

Oct 14, 2020 9:28 AM in response to léonie

Thanks Léonie for the quick reply,

Unfortunately I'm not sure this is totally correct, and I'm very happy to admit being corrected if we can figure this out.😊

Here is a snip of what I get when following your instruction to ⌘I

Never gives the result...

And if the shared albums don't count towards iCloud storage then why do my devices give me this option under iCloud storage.

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

201,333 points

Oct 14, 2020 9:42 AM in response to Bigbetzy

Shared albums and My Photo Stream are using a different iCloud service from iCloud Drive. Only iCloud Drive needs a paid subscription.

See the last sentence of the last paragraph on Apple's Support page: How to share albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Apple Support

Shared Album storage limits

A shared album can hold up to 5000 photos and videos. If you reach your Shared Album limit, you need to delete some photos or videos before adding new ones. The photos and videos you share (and the comments or likes associated with those photos) stay in iCloud until you or the contributor delete them manually, or until you delete the shared album completely.

The photos and videos in your Shared Albums are kept in iCloud, but they don't count against your iCloud storage limit.

It is a pity, that you are seeing the endless "Calculating Size".

On my Mac the size is appearing instantly, but my shared albums are much smaller. There may be problem with the access to that shared album. Quite a few users are currently complaining that the shared albums are no longer updating or syncing to their Mac. Do you have enough fee storage on your Mac that the shared albums can be downloaded from iCloud?

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Answer 6

léonie

Level 10

201,333 points

Oct 14, 2020 8:58 AM in response to Bigbetzy

Shared albums are free and do not count against your cloud storage subscription. They are using a different part of iCloud. Because the shared albums are free, the number of photos in a shared album is limited.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4858?viewlocale=en_US

Deleting photos from your shared albums will not free your Cloud Storage.

But you should be seeing the storage used by the shared albums in your Photos Library. When I select a shared album in the sidebar and enter the key combination ⌘I to open the Info for the album, the total of the storage for the photos in this album will be shown.

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Calculating size of shared albums for iCloud storage limits

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