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Delete photos on laptop only.

I need to get rid of photos on my mac to make room for the new OS. They're all backed up on time machine - but - will they still be in iCloud if I delete them from the laptop?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 20, 2021 10:32 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 20, 2021 10:51 AM

If your mac is synced with iCloud, then anything you do in the photos app will be done in iCloud. So anything you delete in the photos app will also be deleted in iCloud.


You can prevent this either by first disabling iCloud photos on your mac before deleting. But be aware if you then reconnect iCloud photos it may well delete them on iCloud.


Safer would be to disconnect from iCloud and then delete the whole library (using finder, not photos). Deleteing the library won't have any effect on iCloud, because it is only actions you do inside the photos app that are synced to iCloud. Alternatively moving it to an external hard drive would allow you to keep using the photos app on your mac.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 20, 2021 10:51 AM in response to aesp43

If your mac is synced with iCloud, then anything you do in the photos app will be done in iCloud. So anything you delete in the photos app will also be deleted in iCloud.


You can prevent this either by first disabling iCloud photos on your mac before deleting. But be aware if you then reconnect iCloud photos it may well delete them on iCloud.


Safer would be to disconnect from iCloud and then delete the whole library (using finder, not photos). Deleteing the library won't have any effect on iCloud, because it is only actions you do inside the photos app that are synced to iCloud. Alternatively moving it to an external hard drive would allow you to keep using the photos app on your mac.

Delete photos on laptop only.

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