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My iCloud storage is full again, and now I am being asked to upgrade to the 1TB plan.
So I thought I would cull some photos but wanted to create a back up on a hdd first. My photos Library.photoslibary file on my iMac is 14.9GB
however according to the alert on my iCloud account my photos are taking up 10x this space at a whopping 139.3GB.
Why is there such a large discrepancy?
To check, if "Optimize Mac Storage" is enabled for Photos, check the Photos > Preferences > iCloud in Photos.
The optimize feature for Photos is independent of the general "Optimize" for iCloud in the System Preferences (or Settings). If you have chosen "Download originals" in the "Photos > Preferences > iCloud", your local version of the Photos Library will usually be roughly 20% larger than the library in iCloud, but with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled for "Photos" it can shrink down to 10% of the size in iCloud, if all photos have become optimized over time.
But your local copy of your Photos Library could simply be small, because you are looking at the wrong library in the Finder, or because Photos has stopped syncing, because you are running out of cloud storage or out of local storage on your Mac.
To see the location of your current Photos Library look also at the Photos > Preferences, but the "General" tab. It has a button to reveal the library in the Finder.
To check, if "Optimize Mac Storage" is enabled for Photos, check the Photos > Preferences > iCloud in Photos.
The optimize feature for Photos is independent of the general "Optimize" for iCloud in the System Preferences (or Settings). If you have chosen "Download originals" in the "Photos > Preferences > iCloud", your local version of the Photos Library will usually be roughly 20% larger than the library in iCloud, but with "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled for "Photos" it can shrink down to 10% of the size in iCloud, if all photos have become optimized over time.
But your local copy of your Photos Library could simply be small, because you are looking at the wrong library in the Finder, or because Photos has stopped syncing, because you are running out of cloud storage or out of local storage on your Mac.
To see the location of your current Photos Library look also at the Photos > Preferences, but the "General" tab. It has a button to reveal the library in the Finder.
How many pictures does your Mac Library say it has? How many in your iCloud.com Library. It tells at the bottom of the library view.
What operating system are you using? The newest one is macOS 13.3.1 Ventura.
Do you have "Optimize Mac Storage" checked in Photos>Settings>iCloud? (It may be Preferences rather than Settings, depending on the operating system.)
I am guessing that you have Optimize Mac Storage enabled so that most of your large size photos originals are stored in the cloud, and your Photos library contains only small sized thumbnails.
-- Rich
Why is my photos library 1/10th the size of the space being taken up on iCloud?
