I take many pictures on my iPhone that sync to iCloud. I have two young kids (5 year old twins), who also love taking photos. Inevitably they delete pictures, sometimes at random. Is there a way to mark important photos, like all photos in my Favourites folder, so they cannot be deleted erroneously?
iPhone 14 Pro
Don't give them unrestricted access to your phone.
The camera can be used while the phone is locked. They will not have access to photos other than the ones they take during that session so long as the phone is locked.
Note that handing a 5 year old a locked phone significantly increases the risk that they will manage to lock you out of your phone by entering an incorrect passcode multiple times, resulting in you having to restore the phone and losing any data that hasn't been backed up.
Don't give them unrestricted access to your phone.
The camera can be used while the phone is locked. They will not have access to photos other than the ones they take during that session so long as the phone is locked.
Note that handing a 5 year old a locked phone significantly increases the risk that they will manage to lock you out of your phone by entering an incorrect passcode multiple times, resulting in you having to restore the phone and losing any data that hasn't been backed up.
I’ve cleaned up from somebody that was… unwise… here, and that allowed the little people access to their iPad.
They had their settings corrupted.
Conversations deleted.
They had their device disabled.
They lost data.
And the coup de grâce; their iPad was damaged and needed repair.
Among other misadventures.
The busted iPad did (finally) convince them of the error of their (loaning) ways.
Do not allow little people near any gear you can’t afford to replace, nor near any data you can’t recover.
Data preservation:
… Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support
… Back up iPhone - Apple Support
Backing up will not protect your photos here, if you are using iCloud Photos. Only archiving.
PS: Some might be surprised about the damage possible to an iPad in a robust protective case, too. The little people saw it as a challenge.
How do I prevent erroneously delete photos?
