HT204264: iCloud Photo Library

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Tim Baker

Q: How remove full size photos from iPhone

I have iCloud Photo Library on and when I backed up my pics to Google Photo, it downloaded all the photos in high res to my phone taking up over 20 GB. Now that they're backed up, I'd like to remove the downloaded versions and keep the iPhone optimized version on to recover most of that space. How can I do that?

Posted on Oct 31, 2015 3:48 PM

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Q: How remove full size photos from iPhone

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  • by Demo,

    Demo Demo Oct 31, 2015 3:58 PM in response to Tim Baker
    Level 10 (95,718 points)
    iPad
    Oct 31, 2015 3:58 PM in response to Tim Baker

    Have you seen this?

    iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support

     

    Can I use iCloud Photo Library to save space on my device?

    iCloud Photo Library automatically keeps all your photos and videos in the original, high-resolution version. Follow these steps to choose how you store your photos and videos on your device:

    • On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap Settings > iCloud > Photos or Settings > Photos & Camera, then select a storage setting.
    • On your Mac, click Photos > Preferences > iCloud, then select a storage setting.

    If you turn on Optimize [device] Storage, iCloud Photo Library will automatically manage the size of your library on your device, so you can make the most of your device's storage and access more photos than ever. All of your original, full-resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud while device-size versions are kept on your device. You can download the original photos and videos over Wi-Fi or cellular when you need them.

    If you turn on Download Originals, iCloud Photo Library will keep your original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and on your device. Download Originals is the default setting for iOS devices with the free 5 GB storage plan and for all Mac devices.

    You need an Internet connection to access an original photo or video that’s stored only in iCloud.

  • by Tim Baker,

    Tim Baker Tim Baker Oct 31, 2015 4:01 PM in response to Demo
    Level 2 (302 points)
    Apple Music
    Oct 31, 2015 4:01 PM in response to Demo

    Yes however from what I've heard, all that space will be used untill you start running low before iOS starts deleting the full size photos and replacing them with the thumbnails. I'd like to, if possible, remove them before I start running really low.

  • by Demo,

    Demo Demo Oct 31, 2015 4:11 PM in response to Tim Baker
    Level 10 (95,718 points)
    iPad
    Oct 31, 2015 4:11 PM in response to Tim Baker

    Tim Baker wrote:

     

    Yes however from what I've heard, all that space will be used untill you start running low before iOS starts deleting the full size photos and replacing them with the thumbnails. I'd like to, if possible, remove them before I start running really low.

    You heard, but did you try adjusting the setting to optimize storage to see what happens?

     

    I don't use iCloud Photo Library becuse I personally think is a crappy way to handle photos. I would rather store the ones that I really want to keep on my Mac and create albums or events and sync them back to the phone or my iPads if I want to view them. iCloud Photo Library really isn't an ideal way to manage photos IMO no matter what Apple thinks.

     

    You can download them to your computer and then dump them form the phone. Once again, IMO, iCloud Photo Library is not a best of all worlds solution for managing photos.

     

    iCloud Photo Library stores all of your original photos and videos in iCloud, but we always recommend you keep back up copies of your Library. You can download your photos and videos from iCloud to your computer and store them as a separate library, transfer them to your computer with iTunes, or store them on a separate drive.