is there a way to leave pictures on my icloud only and not on my phone storage?

my phone storage is full yet i have 2TB of data to use for my icloud, I'm wondering if there is a way to move my pictures into my icloud and remove them from my device?

iPhone 14, iOS 17

Posted on Nov 8, 2023 6:44 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 8, 2023 8:16 AM

No, but you should be able to reduce the phone storage by using the Optimize option in Photos.


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See the following Apple article for more information: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.


Another way that photos may be on iCloud (if you don’t have iCloud Photos turned on) is via a backup of an iOS device. The only thing you can do with a backup is use it to restore a device or set up a new device. The contents of backups are not viewable at iCloud.com and if you delete a photo from a device it will not be included in future backups and will be lost.



1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 8, 2023 8:16 AM in response to m1e2

No, but you should be able to reduce the phone storage by using the Optimize option in Photos.


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See the following Apple article for more information: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.


Another way that photos may be on iCloud (if you don’t have iCloud Photos turned on) is via a backup of an iOS device. The only thing you can do with a backup is use it to restore a device or set up a new device. The contents of backups are not viewable at iCloud.com and if you delete a photo from a device it will not be included in future backups and will be lost.



This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

is there a way to leave pictures on my icloud only and not on my phone storage?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.