How does sync between iPhone and iCloud work?

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Level 1

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How does sync between iPhone and iCloud work?

How can I delete photos from my iPhone without deleting them from iCloud?

I'm running out of storage on my 16 GB iPhone 6. There are many photos which don't really need to be on the phone, but when I delete an image, believing that it is backed-up up in iCloud, I discover, painfully, that it is deleted from iCloud AND from my iPad AND from my windows desktops (if I'm not careful). Learning that this is how sync. appears to work was a painful experience - some photos were lost. So now whenever I take a photo with my iPhone I have to check that it is in iCloud and then I transfer it to my Windows PC (using the iCloud application) and immediately move it out of the 'Downloaded' directory maintained on my PC by the iCloud app. That way if I delete it, I can always recover it from Windows - but never from the Apple sub-system.

This seems like a very cumbersome way to work. Not only does it mean that I can't have a different set of photos on my iPhone and iPad (which I would really like), but also that part of the additional iCloud storage, above 16 GB (the capacity of my iPhone), I am paying for, can never actually be used.

This can't be right, surely? So how does sync. work?

iPhone 6

Posted on Nov 8, 2020 9:14 AM

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Answer 1

FoxFifth

Level 10

475,461 points

Nov 8, 2020 10:24 AM in response to XEyedBear

Your photos can take more space on iCloud that on your phone if you use the Optimize Storage option on your device. It is an option on each device. iCloud always has the original high-resolution version but your devices can have smaller space-saving versions See the "Save space on your device" section of Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

There are 3rd party alternatives that have options to store photos on their cloud even if you delete them from a device. I have used some of them minimally (iCloud Photos does what I need) and I have not determined how much work would be involved in maintaining different portfolios on each device. The include Google Photos, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive and there are others.

Another option (that I have not used but which has a good reputation) that you may want to explore is https://www.photosync-app.com/home.html

Finally, you may be able to use Apple Photo Stream. I used it years ago (before iCloud Photos) and it worked well to automatically send photos to other devices while not syncing all photos between all devices. I'm reluctant to recommend it as I have not used it for years and I'm not sure how well supported it will be as Apple has added a notice in the following that it may not be available for all Apple IDs: My Photo Stream - Apple Support

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Answer 2

FoxFifth

Level 10

475,461 points

Nov 8, 2020 9:23 AM in response to XEyedBear

iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

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Answer 3

XEyedBear Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 8, 2020 10:04 AM in response to FoxFifth

Sadly what you have just confirmed about this syncing service leaves me with a sinking feeling. I see no way of being able to hold photos (for example) in iCloud that are not on my phone - and vice versa. So how can I use the additional 35 GB in iCloud that I am paying for, since I am unable to hold that amount of photos on the phone?

It is also clear that a syncing service is not what I want - but how else can I transfer photos between devices, such that I can have a different sub-set of my portfolio of photos on different iDevices? Or is this not possible?

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How does sync between iPhone and iCloud work?

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