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iCloud storage

Does deleting photos from iPhone removes all photos from iCloud ? If yes , then why would I buy iCloud storage just to synchronize? I bought iCloud so that I can empty my iPhone storage but still keep the backup, but it seems like there is no meaning of it.

Should I go for Google Photos app or is there any solution for this?

iPhone 13, iOS 16

Posted on Feb 23, 2023 8:45 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 23, 2023 9:16 AM

You can reduce the storage used on your phone by turning on the Optimize Storage option of iCloud Photos -- but it will not completely empty the phone storage.


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See the following Apple article for more information: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.


Another way that photos may be on iCloud (if you don’t have iCloud Photos turned on) is via a backup of an iOS device. The only thing you can do with a backup is use it to restore a device or set up a new device. The contents of backups are not viewable at iCloud.com and if you delete a photo from a device it will not be included in future backups and will be lost.



1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 23, 2023 9:16 AM in response to Sagarsapkota

You can reduce the storage used on your phone by turning on the Optimize Storage option of iCloud Photos -- but it will not completely empty the phone storage.


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See the following Apple article for more information: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.


Another way that photos may be on iCloud (if you don’t have iCloud Photos turned on) is via a backup of an iOS device. The only thing you can do with a backup is use it to restore a device or set up a new device. The contents of backups are not viewable at iCloud.com and if you delete a photo from a device it will not be included in future backups and will be lost.



iCloud storage

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