Storing photos library in icloud as a back up (not for active use).

iCloud is a synchronization service. Its whole design is about keeping pictures and files exactly the same on all devices. It isn't really built for storing stuff as an archive.

That said, probably the solution to Yer_Man's concerns about corruption is to compress the Library Package into a zip file. Then it's just a bunch of 1's and 0's, and it's no more susceptible to corruption than any other file. But it can't be used like that, of course. I've zipped Library Packages, moved them to iCloud Drive, moved them back, and un-zipped them successfully. The zipping and un-zipping should be done outside of iCloud Drive.

But archiving is not what iCloud Drive is designed for.

Honestly: no

Two big issue: all of these Cloud services are running servers with a Linux OS, or a variant thereof. So you run into the issue of the library sitting on an inappropriately formatted disk, and the risk of corruption. Second: the risk of corruption in transmission - either up or down - remains the same. SO simply I would not do this.

That said, there was a service a few years back that would sell you a Mac mini, send it to you so you could run your first back up on site, then you sent it back and they put it online for you to incrementally back up. Can't recall the name of the company and a search found nothing. Maybe you might do better. But remember the cost includes the Mac mini...

Personally, I'm a bit OCD on backing up my photographs. Off-site back ups are very important protection against calamity. In the past I had one back up stored in my car, which I could update easily and another in a relative's house across town, which I might update every 3 or 4 months. Then I started backing up my photographs - the images not the database - to online Photo Sharing sites - places like Flickr. Very inexpensive and at least your images are safe (and accessible from anywhere in the world.) All of these services have privacy levels so you can control what other people see, of course. But for the last several years I have been using Adobe's Lightroom CC (not to be confused with their Lightroom Classic app). LRcc is a direct competitor to Photos but works differently. When you import your images they are uploaded to Adobe's servers. They all live in the cloud. So backing that up is Adobe's job. Then you manage, edit, process and access the images via their apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and AppleTV, Android etc. Of course, you have a back up off line of all your images, and nothing precludes you from also using other ways to back up. I beleive that the app Mylio offers a similar option. Both of these apps are subscription services, but they are also significantly more capable apps than Photos. You get what you pay for.

probably the solution to Yer_Man's concerns about corruption is to compress the Library Package into a zip file.

Never occurred to me. Good idea.

A Photos library consists primarily of jpeg image files. They are already compressed so the library won't change its size much. Only the database files and other overhead non image files will be comprised.

Before you commit to this line of backup entirely you should upload a compressed library to the cloud, download and unzip it and test to make sure it will work correctly.

I still think having local drives for backup of the libraries is safer and easier.

For example, I have a 2022 library. I want to put in icloud like any other file

Your miscalculation here is to think that the Library is a file. It isn't. It's a folder containing all your photos, their previews, the various thumbnails, your edits to images and metadata and whatever organisation you've put into it, plus the various databases that manage the relationships between all these disparate elements, often numbering in the tens of thousands. It's an immensely complex ecosystem - far more complex than the iMovie one. Further as you have no idea what disk formats are used on the iCloud servers, storing the library on those servers may lead to corruption. Indeed, the likelihood of this ecosystem being corrupted in transit is high. So, while you may want to do this that doesn't actually mean it's possible or advisable.

JMG_GIdoc wrote:

Any ideas or recommended services (outside of icloud) that I can drag and drop to hold those Photo libraries (again, not trying to open via cloud service).

Much appreciated.

That's what external drives are for. I have a Mini with 1 TB of storage but have 6 OWC 1TB SSDs as external storage and Time Machine.

4 of the SSDs are in two drive dock for easy swapping if necessary. The other two are connected via SATA-USB C adaptors. Although they are not as fast as SSDs in their own external case it's considerable less expensive this way and still fast. And I can swap them around with a couple of additional SSDs that I have as needed.

The most expensive way to go is a bare SSD with the adaptor:

And, in the light of the disasters in California they are easily removed to evacuate in case we're ordered to.

JMG_GIdoc wrote:… I did a compression... and it's the same size as the original. Is that normal?

Absolutely. It seems odd, doesn't it? But jpgs are already compressed. The database is already pretty dense. The point of the zip file for a Photos package is to keep disk/file systems from messing with the data.

I think that I thought of this originally as a way to sneak pictures and full metadata through some email accounts!

Control-click (right-click) on a file to bring up the pop-up menu: