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User profile for user: audiofreq
audiofreq Author
User level: Level 1
33 points

Do Hidden photos upload to iCloud Photo Library?

I just started uploading my large Photos library (~720GB) on my iMac running Mavericks and it'll be a while before it's finished. Based on the full library size and the estimated upload size (~450GB), it looks like Hidden photos do not get uploaded. This is fine for me, actually preferable even, since I use this feature to filter out my "out-take" shots.


Can anyone else confirm whether or not Hidden photos get uploaded? Does Hiding a photo remove it from the cloud and store the full resolution image locally on the device that Hid it? If so, then how could you transfer these photos off the iPhone?


Or are Hidden photos only omitted from the initial upload but will sync properly after the library is setup?


Could someone shed some light on this? Thanks.

iMac, Mavericks

Posted on Oct 15, 2015 8:30 PM

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User profile for user: audiofreq
audiofreq Author
User level: Level 1
33 points

Posted on Nov 3, 2015 6:10 PM

I've confirmed now that Hidden photos do get uploaded to iCloud Photo Library. However, the Hidden album is not visible when viewing the library from a web browser.


What's weird is that the upload status has a discrepancy, at least for me. My total library is about 110,000 photos & 720 GB. But the upload status started with about 110,000 photos & 480 GB. As it turns out, 480 GB is the size of my non-hidden library. Regardless, I definitely confirmed that one of the photos in my Hidden album also shows up in the iCloud Photo browser when viewing All Photos.

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User profile for user: audiofreq
audiofreq Author
User level: Level 1
33 points

Nov 3, 2015 6:10 PM in response to audiofreq

I've confirmed now that Hidden photos do get uploaded to iCloud Photo Library. However, the Hidden album is not visible when viewing the library from a web browser.


What's weird is that the upload status has a discrepancy, at least for me. My total library is about 110,000 photos & 720 GB. But the upload status started with about 110,000 photos & 480 GB. As it turns out, 480 GB is the size of my non-hidden library. Regardless, I definitely confirmed that one of the photos in my Hidden album also shows up in the iCloud Photo browser when viewing All Photos.

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Do Hidden photos upload to iCloud Photo Library?

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