How do I remove photos from my iPhone without losing them on iCloud?

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xoxoxox2 Author

Level 1

15 points

How do I remove photos from my iPhone without losing them on iCloud?

Hi

There are way too many photos on my iPhone and they are using most of its storage.

I do not wish to lose these photos but I would like to remove many from the iPhone. They are backed up in iCloud.

How do I remove photos from my iPhone without losing them on iCloud?

I've seen posts that say to disable sync with iCloud to prevent photos deleted from iPhone from being deleted on iCloud but that does not solve the problem. At some point, I will need my phone to sync with iCloud again and when it does, those deleted photos will disappear, yes?

There have also been posts saying to download all photos to a MacBook and then un-sync it. My MacBook is only showing photos up through March 16th. I cannot tell if photos shown are on my MacBook or on iCloud.

Can some please provide clear, step-by-step instructions on how to remove photos from my iPhone without losing them altogether?

Thank you

Danielle

MacBook Air

Posted on Nov 13, 2021 5:32 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

muguy

Level 9

76,123 points

Nov 13, 2021 5:47 PM in response to xoxoxox2

You cannot. You can, as indicated, turn off iCloud photos on your device. Otherwise, anything you do to a photo will be reflected on all devices connected to iCloud. You can optimize your photo library to keep originals in iCloud and lower resolution versions on your device. This can save up to 90 percent of space. (Settings > Photos)

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How do I remove photos from my iPhone without losing them on iCloud?

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