bobmandolin
Level 1 (10 points)
Mac OS X

Q: How can I delete photos from my iPhone 5 without deleting them from the iCloud as well? I have plenty of space on the cloud, but none on my phone.

How can I delete photos from my iPhone 5 without deleting them from the iCloud as well? I have plenty of space on the cloud, but none on my phone.

Posted on Sep 6, 2015 11:28 AM

by FoxFifth,Solvedanswer
FoxFifth FoxFifth
Level 7 (27,551 points)
iPhone
A:

I suspect it is not an oversight. All of Apple's cloud services seem to be aimed at sharing data amongst various devices and none offer cloud-only storage options. I'm not sure why that is or what future plans are but you may want to provide feedback/make a suggestion for future enhancements. You can do that at http://www.apple.com/feedback/icloud.html

Posted on Sep 6, 2015 4:01 PM

Close
bobmandolin

Q: How can I delete photos from my iPhone 5 without deleting them from the iCloud as well? I have plenty of space on the cloud, but n ... more

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by FoxFifth,Helpful

    FoxFifth FoxFifth Sep 6, 2015 3:56 PM in response to bobmandolin
    Level 7 (27,551 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2015 3:56 PM in response to bobmandolin

    If you are using iCloud Photo Library, any photos you delete from your iPhone will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other devices using that iCloud Photo Library. The most you can do to reduce the storage space required on the phone while continuing to use iCloud Photo Library is to turn on Settings > iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage. Apple does not currently offer any cloud-only storage options. There are 3rd party services with cloud-only storage that you may want to investigate. They included Dropbox and Flickr as well as others.

  • by bobmandolin,

    bobmandolin bobmandolin Sep 6, 2015 3:57 PM in response to FoxFifth
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 6, 2015 3:57 PM in response to FoxFifth

    Thanks, I thought that might be the case, but it seems like an odd oversight on Apple's part.

  • by FoxFifth,Solvedanswer

    FoxFifth FoxFifth Sep 6, 2015 4:01 PM in response to bobmandolin
    Level 7 (27,551 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 6, 2015 4:01 PM in response to bobmandolin

    I suspect it is not an oversight. All of Apple's cloud services seem to be aimed at sharing data amongst various devices and none offer cloud-only storage options. I'm not sure why that is or what future plans are but you may want to provide feedback/make a suggestion for future enhancements. You can do that at http://www.apple.com/feedback/icloud.html

  • by bobmandolin,

    bobmandolin bobmandolin Sep 6, 2015 4:03 PM in response to FoxFifth
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 6, 2015 4:03 PM in response to FoxFifth

    Makes sense - thanks for your help!

  • by Demo,

    Demo Demo Sep 6, 2015 4:07 PM in response to bobmandolin
    Level 10 (95,986 points)
    iPad
    Sep 6, 2015 4:07 PM in response to bobmandolin

    IF you live in the Apple ecosystem all in, that's the kind of thing that you have to deal with. It is the reason why I do not use iTunes Match, Apple Music, iCloud Photo Library and any other feature that entrenches one further into the Apple grip.

     

    Having said that, you can always download the photos to your computer and then delete them on your device and get out of that Apple loop. Read the very last part of the iCloud FAQ here.

    iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support

     

    I Will never understand why it is so important to people to have access to every single song in their music library (iTunes Match/Apple Music) or every single photo (iCloud Photo Library) that they have ever taken on a mobile device, professional reasons notwithstanding. Sorry, just my 2¢.

  • by Brian Mcmillen1,

    Brian Mcmillen1 Brian Mcmillen1 May 20, 2016 11:20 PM in response to bobmandolin
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Peripherals
    May 20, 2016 11:20 PM in response to bobmandolin

    Photos take up 5.88 GB on my iPhone 5.  If they're on iCloud, it would make sense to just access iCloud to view them on the phone, and not store them on the phone's drive also.  Any news on this since the last posts?