Can i delete photos off my phone but keep them on iCloud?

You CAN NOT delete photos from phone without DELETEING FROM ICLOUD PHOTOS

To be sneaky, i always just upload my photos onto facebook or my computer to make sure there safe and then delete off my phone. Hope this helped

Hi MrsJW,

Happy Holidays!

If you have not yet enabled the new iCloud Photo Library feature, then you will still see the Camera Roll album in your Photos app on your iPhone. My suggestion would be to import the pictures into your computer, confirm they have been transferred, and then delete them from the iPhone.

Here's how:

Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or Windows PC - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201302

Import media to a Windows PC

Before importing your media:

• Unlock your iOS device using your passcode, particularly if you've never synced your device with the computer before. Learn more about iOS passcodes.
• Makes sure your iOS device trusts the computer you want to import your media onto. Learn more about "Trust this Computer."

Windows 8: Learn how to import photos and videos from a camera, phone, or DVD (Windows Help)
Windows 7 and Windows Vista: Learn how to get pictures from your camera to your computer (Windows Help)

If your computer doesn't recognize an attached iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch as a camera, and prevents you from importing photos to your computer, learn how to resolve the issue.

Learn more

• You can import only photo and video content taken with the built-in camera or captured on the device. You can't import photo or video content synced from iTunes.
• When importing photos and videos from your device to a Windows computer, some photos and videos may appear to be rotated incorrectly. Some third-party photo-management software for Windows displays iOS photos with the correct orientation without having to rotate the images. To play videos on your computer at the correct orientation, use iTunes for Windows.
• Windows XP might not be able to import videos larger than 500MB without iTunes installed, a third-party program, or updated drivers.

Once you have your current pictures backed up to your computer, you can explore the new iCloud Photo Library service. The resource below will explain how it works. I've highlighted some key information for you. Please click on the link for complete details.

iCloud Photo Library beta FAQ - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6378

iCloud Photo Library is available with the new Photos app for iOS 8.1 or later. You can also access your entire library from any Mac or PC at iCloud.com/photos.

What do I need to use iCloud Photo Library?

You need an Apple ID, an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8.1 or later, and enough storage in iCloud.

How do I turn on iCloud Photo Library?

After you update to iOS 8.1 or later and sign in to iCloud, you can easily turn on iCloud Photo Library. Just go to Settings > iCloud > Photos, then turn on iCloud Photo Library beta.

What happened to the My Photo Stream and Camera Roll albums?

The Camera Roll and My Photo Stream album are replaced with an All Photos album, which gives you the same compact scroll view, now with all your photos and videos organized by the date they were added. Learn more about finding photos in iOS 8.

After you enable iCloud Photo Library, all your original photos and videos are organized in one library. My Photo Stream will upload recent photos to share with your other devices, but iCloud Photo Library stores your originals. See how to upload originals below.

Does iCloud Photo Library use my iCloud storage?

Yes. iCloud Photo Library does count against your iCloud storage.

How does iCloud Photo Library save space on my device?

If you turn on Optimize [device] Storage, iCloud Photo Library will automatically manage the size of your library on your iOS device, so you can make the most of your device's storage and access more photos than ever. iCloud Photo Library stores the original, high-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and can keep lightweight, device-optimized versions on each of your devices. As long as you have enough storage, recent photos and videos that you access the most will stay on your device at full resolution.

You can turn on Optimize [device] Storage from Settings > iCloud > Photos or Settings > Photos & Camera > iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You need an Internet connection to access an original photo or video that’s stored only in iCloud.

Can I use iCloud Photo Library to back up my Photo Library instead of iCloud Backup or iTunes?

Yes. If you turn on iCloud Photo Library, it will automatically upload and store all of your photos and videos from any of your devices that are using iCloud Photo Library. iCloud Photo Library won't be part of the iCloud Backup, because it's already storing all your photos and videos in iCloud.

How does iCloud delete photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library?

Deleting a photo or video from your Photos app will also remove the item from iCloud Photo Library and from your iCloud storage allocation. Photos and videos you remove can be recovered from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. After 30 days, your content will be removed from the Recently Deleted album. Photos are backed up on our servers for up to 30 days after they're deleted from the Photos app. If you need to recover these photos during that time, contact Apple Support.

I hope this information helps ....

- Judy

Hi Judy.... I know this is an old thread.... but I have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer for me! You mentioned that if we download our (or is it upload?) our photos to our computer (in this case my iMac), and I want to delete them from my iPhone, but still keep them on my computer, they won't be deleted from my computer if I delete them from my phone?

I tried to delete them once, and then a notification said that if I delete them they will be deleted from all my devices. I still want my pictures. I just don't want them on my phone, as it takes up major storage issues for me.

So, did I hear you correctly? I can delete off my iphone and they will still stay on my iMac?

Thank you for you time ....... Maria

You should see the section "Import to your Mac" in this article:

Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Yes, you can delete photos from your iPhone and keep them on your Mac, but you should not use iCloud Photo Library.

Having photo stream on is not using the iCloud Photo Library, no? I have that on, but not the iCPL.......

Sorry for my ignorance...... In the link you posted, there is one sentence that I need broken down into simple layman's language.... "Photos and videos that you sync from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes can't be imported back to your computer."

Does this mean photos you took on your phone and downloaded them to the computer using iTunes can't then be re put back onto your phone?

Does this mean photos you took on your phone and downloaded them to the computer using iTunes can't then be re put back onto your phone?

Not sure if this qualifies as layman's terms, but this is how it works. If you have specific questions about what you wish to do, please list them and we can try to help. This is an old thread, so you may want to begin a new one to get more visibility.

You actually don't use iTunes to import photos FROM your device TO your Mac/PC.

The process detailed is, in part, about importing them FROM your device TO the iCloud Photo Library on a Mac. On a PC, there is no default Photo Library to import to, so you would have made a choice using the file explorer dialog.

The reference above is for when you SYNC photos FROM your Mac/PC TO your device using the iTunes application.

You can't do this because in this specific case, the photos are actually on your Mac/PC already.

You can't. You can delete the photos, which will delete them from icloud.

OR you can be sneaky and plug your device into your computer, then click the screen that pops up listing that it's your device, and what do you want to do with it? Click to import the pictures to your photos on your computer, deleting them as you go. That way they're saved on your computer.

I Just did that tonight after speaking with an Apple Customer service agent who said that if you delete the pics from your device, they will be deleted from iCloud. Good luck!

Yea wanna see photos

How can I get my storage more clean and do my backup also Dealte pictures on my phone but leave them on my mac book pro with the iCloud ???