How to store my photos only in the cloud

Short answer is you can't (but see later). iCloud is a sync service, not a backup service. It creates a duplicate libarary on all your connected devices and in iCloud. What is in one place is everywhere. What you delete on your mac is also deleted in iCloud and all other connected devices.

Slightly longer answer: What you can do is select "optimise mac storage" and then your mac will only store thumbnails and low resolution previews. Full size originals are then only stored in iCloud. Your mac library wil be in the region of 10 to 20 percent of the size of the iCloud library. Your mac will download a full resolution version when it needs to (eg for editing or for export.)

TonyCollinet wrote:

Can you even buy 3TB of iCloud? I thought there was a 2TB limit.

Yes. You can buy an additional 2TB plan on top of Apple One. Here's what I see when I click Manage Storage and Change Storage Plan while already on Apple One:

Note: I haven't actually tried adding 2TB, so I can't swear it works, but it was announced and it is offered.

I'm not sure if that happens. I have an old iphone 6 with only 16GB. I have my photos library (50GB) synced with that using optimised storage. The optimised photos library is currently only using 1.1GB of the 16. When I first synced, it was only using about 400MB. I think (though this is speculation) that it stores smaller versions of the files as necessary.

If it ever did, then you'd have to disconnect that device from iCloud photos, or accept that it doesn't have a full copy of the library.

To be honest, I don't know for certain: I've never hit the problem - but then my library isn't huge.

Can you even buy 3TB of iCloud? I thought there was a 2TB limit.

What I do (to keep iCloud costs down) is have two libraries. I have a main library synced to iCloud that has recent photos in it.

I then have an archive library (not synced to iCloud) to which I regularly transfer all recent images. When my 200GB iCloud gets about 3/4 full, I delete the oldest images from the main library (after checking they are already in the archive library). I can keep about two years of photos in 3/4 of my 200GB iCloud

How much storage can you afford for your photos on the device with the least storage? the device with the smallest storage will be the bottle neck.

Tony already explained about the optimised smaller versions, but if you keep filling iCloud with photos and videos and you have only optimised smaller versions on your iPhone or iPad, working with the photos and browsing them may become painfully slow, because even the thumbnails will become so blurry or even white, that you cannot recognise and find any photos. As a rule of thumb I would reserve at least 10% of the storage in iCloud for the local optimised versions. I am only keeping the photos in iCloud that I am currently working with and my favourite photos. That makes it easy and fast to browse my photos and find the ones I want quickly, even on a small iPhone display.

My large archive of all photos is stored locally, because it is much easier to backup my photos, if they are stored locally. I can simply clone the drives with the archive. And the iCloud Photos Library (not optimised) is backed up by Time Machine on my Mac. Once your photos are in iCloud you will no longer have a Time Machine backup of them, unless you are not using "Optimise Storage". The iCloud backup of your iPhone and iPad will also not include the photos from the iCloud Photos Library.

How are you planning to keep safety copies of your 3TB of photos, once they are in iCloud?

Hi there

May I ask you for additional help on this please, as I have the same issue.

You say: 'What you can do is select "optimise mac storage" and then your mac will only store thumbnails and low resolution previews. Full size originals are then only stored in iCloud. Your mac library wil be in the region of 10 to 20 percent of the size of the iCloud library. Your mac will download a full resolution version when it needs to (eg for editing or for export.)'

May I ask how you do this please?

Hi

In photos preferences, go to the icloud tab, and check "optimise mac storage". Just to be clear, this can only work if you have space to store your complete photos library in iCloud.

Thanks!