Backed-up photos repeatedly disappearing from iCloud

Hello~ First…we are not Apple Support but your fellow forum members. If you need to contact Apple…

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

Also…

If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

What is your storage space like? Device storage and iCloud?

What's the difference between iCloud storage and device ...

If these items are critical…you need to be backing them up elsewhere as you are asking for disaster to strike. I back my photos up to my computer, another third party cloud service and an external storage device. You are responsible to keep your photos secure…not Apple.

~Katana-San~

Why my backed-up photos were removed or lost.

Photos are removed if the user deletes the images. If you use icloud photos, your images are synced across devices (iCloud is not a backup but a synchronization service). If you do not have iCloud Photos enabled, your images are part of your device backup which may be stored in iCloud.

2. Whether the data can be restored from any internal backup or recovery archive.

Only from your backups that you keep of your most important data.

3. What measures can be taken to prevent this from happening again.

Don't delete your images and practice good backup behaviors -- 3 backups made 2 different ways with 1 copy kept offsite.

"Backed-up photos repeatedly disappearing from iCloud: Dear Apple Support Team, I am contacting you regarding a serious issue with my iCloud account.[...]"

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NOTE: You are not speaking with Apple here. These are just user-to-user forums.

Troubleshooting Lost iCloud Photos:

Loss of data is something you would have agreed to upon opening an Apple Account. So, if the following does not work, then they are gone. That's just the way is is.

Four Tactics to Try:

A. Start here: If you're Missing Photos or Videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

B. Check iCloud Directly:

See if they reside in iCloud Photos. Log in here: https://www.icloud.com/photos

C. Use a Time Machine Backup:

Did you backup your Mac, recently? If so, then restore your Mac from that. You'd backup you Mac prior to doing so, and then restore your data from the backup you just created, through use of Migration Assistant.

D. Where Else to Check:

• PC
• PDA
• eMail
• Mac Device
• Cloud Storage
• Android Phone
• USB Flash Drive
• External Hard drive
• Secure Digital Card
• Compact Flash Card

Most likely, the photos were deleted on one of the devices, and iCloud synchronized the deletion (this is synchronization, not the archive), after which after 30 days they were permanently deleted from "Recently Deleted”.