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Why do photos delete from Macbook when they should stay in photos library

Under iCloud photos setting on my MacBook running Catalina 10.15.7, I have ICloud Photos selected as well as “Download Originals to this Mac.” When I take a photo on my iPhone (iOS 14.4) and later delete it from my iPhone, it warns me that it will remove it from iCloud and all devices. It also deletes off my MacBook. Why doesn’t it stay on the MacBook?

Posted on Mar 8, 2021 4:21 PM

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Posted on Mar 8, 2021 8:07 PM

swat7120 wrote:

Under iCloud photos setting on my MacBook running Catalina 10.15.7, I have ICloud Photos selected as well as “Download Originals to this Mac.” When I take a photo on my iPhone (iOS 14.4) and later delete it from my iPhone, it warns me that it will remove it from iCloud and all devices. It also deletes off my MacBook. Why doesn’t it stay on the MacBook?

iCloud is a syncing service.


It's design is to do exactly what you're asking about.


Keep a library of photos the same across all subscribed devices. If you deleted a photo in your Mac's photo library, it would also sync that deletion to your phone.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 8, 2021 8:07 PM in response to swat7120

swat7120 wrote:

Under iCloud photos setting on my MacBook running Catalina 10.15.7, I have ICloud Photos selected as well as “Download Originals to this Mac.” When I take a photo on my iPhone (iOS 14.4) and later delete it from my iPhone, it warns me that it will remove it from iCloud and all devices. It also deletes off my MacBook. Why doesn’t it stay on the MacBook?

iCloud is a syncing service.


It's design is to do exactly what you're asking about.


Keep a library of photos the same across all subscribed devices. If you deleted a photo in your Mac's photo library, it would also sync that deletion to your phone.

Mar 9, 2021 11:13 AM in response to LACAllen

So, even though the selection of

“Download Originals to this Mac” is indented and underneath iCloud

Photos, having them both selected does not download and keep a copy of 

photos on the MacBook? You would have to deselect iCloud Photos to have a

photo remain after deleting from your iPhone? Deselecting iCloud Photos

gives the following message: “Two low resolution items will be removed

from this Mac. Full resolution versions will remain in iCloud”  and I

can either cancel, or select remove from Mac. What happens to all the

photos in regards to the MacBook if I select remove from Mac? Thank you.

Mar 9, 2021 2:24 PM in response to swat7120

c. What happens to all the photos in regards to the MacBook if I select remove from Mac? Thank you.

If both Macs are syncing to iCloud with the same Apple ID, they are kept in harmony.


So you have a synced system where your photos on iCloud.com and both Macs stay the same. Deletions from of the 3 are synced to the other 2.


If you also have a phone usingiCloud Photo Library and the same Apple ID, it will be synced as well.


The originals vs. optimized is about saving local space, not syncing.

Why do photos delete from Macbook when they should stay in photos library

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