RM S18UK
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Are My Photo Stream photos on my Imac stored permanently

On IOS devoces photos in My Photo Stream can be automatically deleted if the limit is reached and they are over 30 days old.

What happens to the ones on my iMac, will they be automatically deleted or are they permanent until deleted on the iMac?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 18, 2015 4:00 AM

by R C-R,Apple recommended
R C-R R C-R
Level 6 (17,700 points)
A:

They also are deleted automatically after 30 days. To store them permanently you need to import them. You can do this by right or control clicking on one or a selection of several & choosing "Import" from the contextual menu that pops up. See My Photo Stream FAQ for more about this.

Posted on Jun 18, 2015 5:19 AM

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RM S18UK

Q: Are My Photo Stream photos on my Imac stored permanently

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  • Helpful answers

  • by R C-R,Apple recommended

    R C-R R C-R Jun 18, 2015 5:19 AM in response to RM S18UK
    Level 6 (17,700 points)
    Jun 18, 2015 5:19 AM in response to RM S18UK

    They also are deleted automatically after 30 days. To store them permanently you need to import them. You can do this by right or control clicking on one or a selection of several & choosing "Import" from the contextual menu that pops up. See My Photo Stream FAQ for more about this.

  • by RM S18UK,

    RM S18UK RM S18UK Jun 20, 2015 9:34 AM in response to R C-R
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 20, 2015 9:34 AM in response to R C-R

    Thanks for that, I assume that anything imported from Camera or SD card to Photos on my iMac will be prominent but appear in My Photo Stream temporarily, is that correct.

    You mention that to store photos permanently to right click and choose import from the contextual menu that pops up, I can not see this option either on my iPhone or in Photos, where is the option you mention?

    My Photo Stream FAQ is in the usual Apple way lagging the products as it has no mention of Photos just iPhoto and Aperture.

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jun 20, 2015 10:55 AM in response to RM S18UK
    Level 10 (141,763 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jun 20, 2015 10:55 AM in response to RM S18UK

    If you have your Photos/iCloud preference pane setup as shown in this screenshot

     

    PhotosPSprefs2.jpg

    all photos added to the My Photo Stream by your mobile devices will be automatically imported into your library and remain there until you delete them.  They will remain even if they are deleted from the MPS or from the mobile device.

    OTsig.png

  • by R C-R,

    R C-R R C-R Jun 20, 2015 1:20 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 6 (17,700 points)
    Jun 20, 2015 1:20 PM in response to Old Toad

    Old Toad wrote:

    If you have your Photos/iCloud preference pane setup as shown in this screenshot

    {...}

    all photos added to the My Photo Stream by your mobile devices will be automatically imported into your library and remain there until you delete them.

    Are you sure about that? From the Photos help topic Set Photos preferences:

    Select this checkbox to turn on My Photo Stream. My Photo Stream automatically transfers new photos to all your other iOS devices and computers that have My Photo Stream turned on. My Photo Stream only stores photos taken in the last 30 days (up to 1000 photos); it doesn’t permanently store your photos.

    And from Access recent photos from all your devices using My Photo Stream:

    Use My Photo Stream to import your most recent photos from devices that don’t use iCloud Photo Library. My Photo Stream keeps your last 30 days of photos in iCloud so you can import them to your Mac.

    and

    Important: If you have My Photo Stream turned on and you’re not using iCloud Photo Library, photos from My Photo Stream appear in the My Photo Stream album in Albums view. If you’re using iCloud Photo Library, you won’t see a My Photo Stream album—all your photos will be added to the All Photos album.

     

    Were you maybe thinking about using iCloud Photo Library with My Photo Stream rather than iCloud Photo Sharing?

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jun 20, 2015 2:01 PM in response to R C-R
    Level 10 (141,763 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jun 20, 2015 2:01 PM in response to R C-R

    No.  The iCloud preference pane states this:

    Photos001.jpg

     

    I ran a test with my iPhone and Photos library before posting.  Took a pic with the iPhone and it was added to the MPS on both devices and was imported into the most recent Moments.  I then delete the photo from the MPS on the iPhone.  The photo was removed from the MPS on both devices but not from the Moments in Photos. 

     

    I then deleted the image from the Camera roll on the iPhone with no change in Photos.

  • by R C-R,

    R C-R R C-R Jun 20, 2015 2:32 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 6 (17,700 points)
    Jun 20, 2015 2:32 PM in response to Old Toad

    Then I wonder why the help for the Photos for Mac preferences states "My Photo Stream only stores photos taken in the last 30 days (up to 1000 photos); it doesn’t permanently store your photos." Are you sure this pic won't be deleted in 30 days?

  • by Old Toad,Helpful

    Old Toad Old Toad Jun 20, 2015 2:44 PM in response to R C-R
    Level 10 (141,763 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jun 20, 2015 2:44 PM in response to R C-R

    We're talking two different items.  With the preferences set as I show all photos in the MPS will be imported into the library and will be independent from the same image in the MPS.  That MPS image will go away after 30 days but not the imported copy.

  • by R C-R,

    R C-R R C-R Jun 21, 2015 5:04 AM in response to Old Toad
    Level 6 (17,700 points)
    Jun 21, 2015 5:04 AM in response to Old Toad

    Old Toad wrote:

    We're talking two different items.

    Yes, I see that now. I was just looking at the "My Photo Stream" album on my Mac, & just like the help topics say, if I delete a photo in my iPhone's Photo Stream album, it is deleted from that album on the Mac as well. What I didn't notice is that the photo remains in Moments & in the All Photos album because it was indeed imported to the Mac.

     

    The only thing that could be a problem with this is if a photo was deleted on my iPhone before it synced with the Mac over WiFi -- when I was experimenting I managed to do that, I think because it took a few minutes for the iPhone & Mac to start syncing.