HT204264: iCloud Photo Library

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eddiefromrichmond hill
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: how do i delete photos and videos from my iphone to save storage without removing them from icloud

With several thousand photos and videos on my iphone, storage is quickly becoming an issue. Does anybody know if I can delete files from my phone without having them removed from my icloud account? I have optimize iphone storage turned on.

Posted on Aug 10, 2015 7:20 PM

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eddiefromrichmond hill

Q: how do i delete photos and videos from my iphone to save storage without removing them from icloud

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  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Aug 11, 2015 1:03 AM in response to eddiefromrichmond hill
    Level 10 (104,380 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 11, 2015 1:03 AM in response to eddiefromrichmond hill

    With iCloud photo enabled, you cannot delete a photo on one device without deleting it from every device that uses iCloud photo library.


    Optimisation is dynamic, it reduces the resolution of your photos as and when needed, so you may not notice it occurring at first. However when it is needed, it is very effective and users have reported libraries being optimised to much less than 10% of their original size in some cases. My own library is about 9% of its original size on my phone.

  • by eddiefromrichmond hill,

    eddiefromrichmond hill eddiefromrichmond hill Aug 11, 2015 4:14 AM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Aug 11, 2015 4:14 AM in response to Winston Churchill

    Thanks Winston.

     

    By dynamic, do you mean that regardless of how many photos and videos I take, my phone will adjust and never run out of storage space? I have over 50gb of photos and videos on my phone now and am concerned that I'll use up most of my hard drive on a trip I have planned next week.

     

    Eddie

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Aug 11, 2015 6:33 AM in response to eddiefromrichmond hill
    Level 10 (104,380 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 11, 2015 6:33 AM in response to eddiefromrichmond hill
    By dynamic, do you mean that regardless of how many photos and videos I take, my phone will adjust and never run out of storage space?

    I couldn't say that, logically there has to be a limit to optimisation at some point.

    I have over 50gb of photos and videos on my phone now and am concerned that I'll use up most of my hard drive on a trip I have planned next week.

    I have around 40 GB, they take up about 4 GB on my phone.

     

    You will of course need to make sure you can connect to a network for this optimisation to take place, the phone won't optimise images that haven't yet been sent to the cloud in full resolution.

     

    If connecting to a network might be difficult, you might want to consider turning iCloud photo library off while you are away and deleting photos from the phone before you go (don't delete photos without turning iCloud photo library off and make sure you have all your photos safe and backed up before you do.