What happens if I delete photos on iCloud?

Hello Trevoc,

Sorry to hear about that! You have reached out to the right place! If you delete photos from iCloud, they will also be deleted from all devices that are signed in with the same iCloud account, including your Mac. However, if you delete photos from your Mac, they will not be automatically deleted from iCloud unless you have enabled the iCloud Photo Library feature.

If you want to free up space on your iCloud, there are a few things you can do:

1. Review your iCloud storage usage: Go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad, click on your name, then select "iCloud" > "Manage Storage". Here you can see which apps and services are using the most space on your iCloud.
2. Delete old iCloud backups: If you have old backups of your device on iCloud, you can delete them to free up space. Go to "iCloud" > "Manage Storage" > "Backups" and select the backup you want to delete, then click "Delete Backup".
3. Delete unnecessary files: You can also manually delete files and documents that you no longer need on iCloud. Go to "iCloud Drive" on your Mac and select the files you want to delete, then press the "Delete" key.

It's important to be careful when deleting files from iCloud, as they will also be deleted from all devices that are signed in with the same iCloud account. Make sure to only delete files that you no longer need and to back up important files to an external hard drive or another cloud storage service.

If you're still confused about how iCloud works, you can contact Apple support for further assistance. They can help you understand how to manage your iCloud storage and provide you with step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow.

I am so sorry I didn’t even realize!

If you delete photos on iCloud, it will not automatically delete the photos on your Mac. However, if you have enabled iCloud Photos and have the "Optimize Mac Storage" option turned on, it will remove the full-resolution versions of the photos from your Mac, and replace them with smaller, optimized versions.

If you delete photos from iCloud and still have the originals on your Mac, iCloud will not back them up again automatically the next day. You will need to manually upload them to iCloud if you want them to be backed up again.

To free up space on your iCloud, you can follow these simple steps:

1. Open the Apple menu  and click on "System Preferences."
2. Click on "Apple ID" and select "iCloud."
3. Here, you can see a list of all the apps that are using iCloud storage. To free up space, simply uncheck the boxes next to the apps that you no longer need to store in iCloud.
4. If you want to delete specific files or documents, you can click on "Manage" and select the app that you want to manage. From here, you can select specific files or documents to delete.
5. Once you've freed up space, iCloud will automatically update and remove the deleted files from your iCloud storage.

By following these steps, you can easily free up space on your iCloud without the need for complicated instructions. Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support

Hello Trevoc,

I strongly suggest you contact Apple Support. I recommend paying for iCloud storage for the easier way out. iCloud+ plans and pricing - Apple Support

I tried my best to simplify the instructions on how to free up space on iCloud:

1. Click on the Apple menu () in the top left corner of your screen and select "System Preferences."
2. Click on "Apple ID" and select "iCloud."
3. Here, you will see a list of apps that are using iCloud storage. To free up space, you can uncheck the boxes next to the apps that you no longer need to store in iCloud. This will remove the data for those apps from iCloud and free up space.
4. If you want to delete specific files or documents, you can click on "Manage" and select the app that you want to manage. From here, you can select specific files or documents to delete.
5. Once you've freed up space, iCloud will automatically update and remove the deleted files from your iCloud storage.

This video should help it’s more about freeing up storage on your MacBook and not really iCloud but it should help you get to where you want to be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha2DhifzZZI

this video walks you through the whole process. It’s kind of long though: https://youtu.be/dZ34yzRTZ9I

Please don’t hesitate to reach out and have a great day! :)

What you need to know is that iCloud Library is a syncing service and not an off computer storage facility. It's designed so all of your devices, desktop Macs, iPhones and iPads can have the exact same Photos library on them. Any changes made to your any of your devices will be reflected in your iCloud Library and other devices. However, it may take up to 30 days for the photos to be removed from the iCloud Library.

Conversely, if you delete photos from the iCloud library they will be removed from your local Mac's and other devices' libraries.

Again, it's a syncing service and not an off computer storage facility.

You're very welcome! I'm glad my instructions were helpful and easy to follow. It's great to hear that you're feeling more confident about managing your iCloud storage and I'm sure you'll have it all sorted out in no time. I completely understand your concern about losing your photos, but as long as you have them backed up on your Time Machine (let me know if you would like to know how to use it), you should be good to go.

If you ever have any more questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm always here to help! Let me know how it goes! :)

Hello again,

Good to hear back from you! Based off of the pictures you sent, it looks like the "Other Documents" category in your iCloud storage is taking up the most storage. This category could include a variety of files such as:

PDF files

Text documents

Spreadsheets

Presentations

ZIP files

Audio files

Video files

Game data

App data

System files

These files may not fit into any of the other categories listed in your iCloud storage management options. If you want to free up space, you can click on "Other Documents" to see which files are taking up the most space, and decide which files you can delete or move to your Mac's hard drive or an external drive.

Hello,

Correction:

Thank you so much for your kind words! It really means a lot to me to know that I was able to help you. I'm glad that my instructions were clear and easy to follow, and that you were able to find a solution that works for you. It's always great to see someone who is willing to help others, and I'm happy that I could return the favor by helping you with your iCloud issue. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions or need further assistance, you know where to find me and others just like me willing to help. Have a wonderful day!

Please let me know if you can click on “Other Documents”