What exactly does the iCloud Backup Photo Library option do?

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What exactly does the iCloud Backup Photo Library option do?

So, long story short, I didn't really care for using the whole iCloud Photo Library and having access to my whole library of my photos on my iPhone, so I turned off the iCloud Photo Library.

However, upon looking through the backup options settings in iCloud on my iPhone, I noticed that the toggle to backup my camera roll is now titled "Photo Library," which leads to my questions:

Are the iCloud Photo Library toggles in the [Settings > Photos & Camera] and [Settings > iCloud > Photos] the same one in [Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > This iPhone > Photo Library]?

Or is the toggle in Manage Storage just for backing up the camera roll on that device strictly for backup purposes only?

And will having just the Manage Storage toggle ON and having the iCloud Photo Library (in both Photos & Camera and iCloud > Photos) toggles OFF mess anything up?

From what I understand, that the former two are for being able to access your whole photo library from the cloud on any device and on iCloud.com and the latter is just like the backup you'd do in iTunes, but in the cloud, and is only the essentials.

Could someone clarify this for me, please?

iPhone 5, iOS 8.4

Posted on Oct 6, 2015 11:34 PM

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Answer 1

ro-md Author

Level 1

1 points

Oct 7, 2015 2:16 AM in response to ro-md

I think I found my answer here, at MacRumors. Can someone verify if their explanation is correct?

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Answer 2

Oct 7, 2015 2:43 AM in response to ro-md

Enabling iCloud Photo Library and enabling the back up of your photo library are 2 different things.

If you enable iCloud photo library, the option to back up your camera roll is removed automatically. I assume the reason for this is because iCloud photo library (sort of, in my opinion) has it's own built in recovery feature, in that deleted photos are kept for 30 days before they are permanently deleted.

Are the iCloud Photo Library toggles in the [Settings > Photos & Camera] and [Settings > iCloud > Photos] the same one in [Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > This iPhone > Photo Library]

The switch at Settings > Photos and camera turns iCloud Photo library on or off. The switch at Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > This Phone > Photo library is to turn the back up of photos on or off, this option is only available if the iCloud photo library option is set to off.

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Answer 3

ro-md Author

Level 1

1 points

Oct 7, 2015 2:50 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Oh, I get it now. Awesome, thanks for the clarification! All these iCloud settings can really confuse someone, hah, I even tried looking through the iCloud FAQs, but they didn't have the info I needed.

Thanks again, much appreciated!!

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