iCloud Photos

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Level 1

8 points

iCloud Photos

I am trying to stop using ICloud Photos since it is getting too large. It appears it is (was) taking up 162GB on the Cloud. However, my Photos Library on my Mac shows it only as being some 40GB (6000+ Photos and 433 Videos).

I don't want to lose anything that I have on my computer, but I am daily being warned that there are only x days remaining before all of my iCloud photos are deleted. My understanding has always been that my computer has all the originals but with the discrepancy of size between iCloud and the Mac mini, I don't know what is exactly going on.

None of my devices (2 iPhones and an iPad) have enough storage for 162GB so, in the end, I am at a loss to understand what I ought to do to make sure nothing is lost once the iCloud photos are deleted.

If anyone can give me some insight, I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.

Juan

Posted on Mar 22, 2021 12:48 PM

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Answer 1

razmee209

Level 10

198,798 points

Mar 22, 2021 2:24 PM in response to JCofMars

JCofMars wrote:

I am trying to stop using ICloud Photos since it is getting too large. It appears it is (was) taking up 162GB on the Cloud. However, my Photos Library on my Mac shows it only as being some 40GB (6000+ Photos and 433 Videos).

I don't want to lose anything that I have on my computer, but I am daily being warned that there are only x days remaining before all of my iCloud photos are deleted. My understanding has always been that my computer has all the originals but with the discrepancy of size between iCloud and the Mac mini, I don't know what is exactly going on.

None of my devices (2 iPhones and an iPad) have enough storage for 162GB so, in the end, I am at a loss to understand what I ought to do to make sure nothing is lost once the iCloud photos are deleted.

If anyone can give me some insight, I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.

Juan

Read here Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support suggest you start backing up your photos now, either to external or thumb drive.

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Answer 2

JCofMars Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 23, 2021 9:13 AM in response to razmee209

This answers none of my questions. I am trying to UN-subscribe from using iCloud Photos and don't wish to lose any photos or videos that are on the iCloud photos storage. I believe I have everything backed up since I have always had the "Download Originals to this Mac" option checked. However, it is not clear to me why the bar graph representation of my iCloud storage use shows the Photos to be over 160GB whereas the Photos Library on my Mac is only at around 40GB. Can anyone explain that to me, please? Is it because each separate device has a backup of its own backup set of all the photos?

Secondly, no matter where I look -- desktop or devices -- I don't seem to have any option to download other than to a device, all of which do not have 162GB of storage. Or, is it the case that only about 40GB would be downloaded to a given device? I am assuming that I am right about the iCloud storage being a redundant set for each device: the same images/videos as are in my Photos Library. Anyway, I am beginning to think that's what is going on, but I would like some confirmation one way or another.

If I need to clarify my question, I will, but for now I don't know how else to explain it. Thank you for your considerations.

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iCloud Photos

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