Delete pictures on phone will they still be on iCloud?

If pictures are on my iCloud, I can delete them off my phone without loosing them on iCloud?

iPhone 11, iOS 16

Posted on Oct 1, 2023 7:19 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 1, 2023 7:49 AM

iCloud Photos Library is a syncing service, not a backup service; if you delete the photos from the Photos app on your iPhone, they will be deleted from iCloud and your other Apple devices as well.


To archive or make copies of your photos on your Mac or PC, follow this official guide: Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support


Alternatively, if you haven't already, you can optimize the storage on your iPhone by storing the full-resolution photos in iCloud and storing smaller copies on your iPhone. Here are the steps to enable this:


  1. Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos.
  2. Select Optimize iPhone Storage to save space on your device.
1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 1, 2023 7:49 AM in response to athompson6515

iCloud Photos Library is a syncing service, not a backup service; if you delete the photos from the Photos app on your iPhone, they will be deleted from iCloud and your other Apple devices as well.


To archive or make copies of your photos on your Mac or PC, follow this official guide: Archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud - Apple Support


Alternatively, if you haven't already, you can optimize the storage on your iPhone by storing the full-resolution photos in iCloud and storing smaller copies on your iPhone. Here are the steps to enable this:


  1. Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos.
  2. Select Optimize iPhone Storage to save space on your device.

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Delete pictures on phone will they still be on iCloud?

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