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Ive been paying £0.79 for Apple to Photo Stream my photographs. They are now going to iCloud do I cancel my Direct Debit to Apple now.

I have been paying Apple £0.79/month for them to store my photos. As they are cancelling their Photo Stream service do I cancel my Direct Debit to Apple even though my photos are going to iCloud?

Posted on Jul 27, 2023 6:26 AM

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10 replies

Jul 27, 2023 6:34 AM in response to stclarky

Photo Stream was free. I don't know what it is that you have that costs £0.79 since iCloud+ starts at £0.99


Photo Stream ended yesterday so I presume if you had it and didn't transition to iCloud then it is too late to do that yow. You can check, but also realize that Photo Stream was a very old service and not many people were still using it.


My Photo Stream shut down on July 26, 2023. Only the copies of photos stored in the My Photo Stream folder in iCloud will be deleted. Photos in your Photos libraries on your devices are safe. Learn more about this transition and how to keep your photos up to date across all your devices and safely stored in iCloud by reading this support article —> Information about the My Photo Stream shutdown - Apple Support


"My Photo Stream" dates from 2011 and is an old precursor to iCloud Photos which replaced it in 2015*. Many people have never used it or have since transitioned to iCloud Photos. If you don't see a My Photo Stream folder/album in iCloud Photos then you don't use it and don't have to do anything.

1) Go to: Settings

2) Choose Your Name / AppleID

3) Go to iCloud

4) Go to Photos

5) See if you have My Photo Stream. If you do, read the support article about what to do.


* History summary here —> Is Apple doing away with Photo Stream ? - Apple Community



If you are using the older iPhoto (instead of Photos), read this post about what you need to do instead. -->

Nothing called "My Photo Stream" exists, … - Apple Community



Jul 27, 2023 6:47 AM in response to stclarky

You weren't paying anything to Apple for My Photo Stream. I never used it, but I read about it. It put a cap on the number of photos you could sync – and it deleted photos after 30 days – but it was free. The iCloud space it used did not count against your iCloud storage plan.


If you were paying £0.79/month, it was for storage for other things, such as iCloud Photos, or files in iCloud Drive, or Calendar / Contacts / Notes data. Apple only gives you 5 GB of free iCloud space for these things, so if you are storing things in iCloud Photos and/or iCloud Drive, it's easy to exceed the 5 GB and need to go to a paid plan.


If you want to downgrade your iCloud+ plan, Apple recommends that you first "download or remove content that exceeds your new storage amount." (If you are not paying for enough iCloud space to store everything that you have in iCloud, syncing and updating will stop.)


Downgrade or cancel your iCloud+ plan - Apple Support



Jul 27, 2023 6:50 AM in response to Limnos

Limnos wrote:

Photo Stream ended yesterday so I presume if you had it and didn't transition to iCloud then it is too late to do that yow. You can check, but also realize that Photo Stream was a very old service and not many people were still using it.

Just a FYI, This “not many people” has been using it pretty much since day one. I can confirm that it has now gone by the wayside. No trace of my Photo Stream on any of my 4 iOS devices exists. Even the album named Photo Stream in the photos app is gone on my devices.

Jul 27, 2023 10:35 AM in response to stclarky

Well, as I said earlier, is that 79-something going to iCloud+?


If it is, then it is up to you. I manage to get by with the free 5 GB Apple gives me but I hardly let my photos sit on my phone for more than a few days before transferring them to long-term storage on a backed up computer.


You also have to decide if you need/want the other services of iCloud+ and the implications of downgrading.


What happens when you decrease your storage plan

● If you downgrade or cancel your iCloud+ plan, the change takes effect after your current subscription billing period ends.

● If your iCloud storage exceeds your new storage plan capacity, iCloud won't sync or update your information. iCloud updates again when you increase your storage capacity or delete information to make more space.

● If you downgrade to the free iCloud plan, you will no longer have access to iCloud+ features like Hide My Email, Private Relay, and HomeKit Secure Video support.

● If you pay for both Apple One and an iCloud+ plan, you can downgrade or cancel the iCloud+ plan and just use the iCloud+ plan included in Apple One. After you select Change Storage Plan, there might be additional steps before you can downgrade or cancel your storage. 

● If you leave a family that shares an iCloud+ plan and you're using more than 5GB of storage, you can buy your own plan [ Upgrade to iCloud+ - Apple Support ] to continue using iCloud storage.

● If you choose not to buy your own plan and the content that you’re storing in iCloud exceeds your available storage, new photos and videos won’t upload to iCloud Photos, files will no longer upload in iCloud Drive, and your iOS and iPadOS devices will stop backing up.


- From:

Downgrade or cancel your iCloud+ plan - Apple Support

Share iCloud+ with your family - Apple Support




Jul 27, 2023 1:25 PM in response to stclarky

As stated, the decision is yours. Do you want to keep syncing Photos with iCloud which is what iCloud Photos does? Then you probably want to keep paying for the additional storage. I don’t use iCloud Photos. My photos are included in my backup. I have over 5 GB just in photos, so for me, I need and want the additional storage.


In addition to my needs, I am in a Family Sharing plan with my wife and daughter. Together, we are using in excess of 85 GB of storage, so we need the space as a family.

Jul 27, 2023 1:40 PM in response to stclarky

It definitely was not for iCloud. iCloud costs £0.99 not £0.79.


If you are paying £0.79 its for something entirely different.


Wether you can cancel it or not would depend on what it's for and wether you need that service or not.

But it would have nothing to do with your Photos or iCloud.


Check your charges by following the steps in the support document linked below.

click here ➜ If you see 'apple.com/bill' on your billing statement - Apple Support


Ive been paying £0.79 for Apple to Photo Stream my photographs. They are now going to iCloud do I cancel my Direct Debit to Apple now.

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