Photos on Storage despite iCloud+ subscription

Hello Apple Community,


I have iCloud+ subscription and synced on it is around 50gb photos and videos. My iCloud storage is not full, not even half is used. When I check my iPhone/Mac storage, however, I see that there is around 2gb being used by Photos. And I can't pinpoint exactly which photos are not synced on iCloud. I do not want to toggle sync on and off because I might mess up the downloads. I don't have any photos in downloads or any other location in Finder.


Is it possible to sync ALL photos to iCloud and not take up any device storage? Is there a way to see which photos/videos are stored on my device? (Or are these the iOS/MacOS wallpapers?)

MacBook Air, macOS 14.2

Posted on Dec 30, 2023 12:30 PM

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Dec 30, 2023 12:51 PM in response to corona_esc

corona_esc wrote:
...
Is it possible to sync ALL photos to iCloud and not take up any device storage? Is there a way to see which photos/videos are stored on my device? (Or are these the iOS/MacOS wallpapers?)

If you turn on iCloud Photos on a device, all of the photos and videos in the Photos app on that device sync with iCloud.

They also stay on the device. You can potentially reduce the storage space used on the device by turning on the Optimize Storage option. See the following from Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support


iCloud Photos keeps all your photos and videos in their original, high-resolution version. To save storage space on your device, you can turn on Optimize Storage.


If you turn on Optimize Storage, iCloud Photos automatically manages the size of your library on your device. Your original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and space-saving versions are kept on your device. Your library is optimized only when you need space, starting with the photos and videos you access least. You can download the original photos and videos over Wi-Fi or cellular when you need them.


If you turn on Download Originals, iCloud Photos keeps your original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and on your device.


On your iPhone or iPad

  1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
  2. Tap Photos.
  3. Choose Optimize [device] Storage.


On your Mac

  1. Open the Photos app and click Photos in the menu bar.
  2. Click Settings or click Preferences.
  3. Go to the iCloud tab and choose a storage setting.


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Photos on Storage despite iCloud+ subscription

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