How to delete photos on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) without deleting the same photos saved in iCloud

Question

Level 1

5 points

How to delete photos on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) without deleting the same photos saved in iCloud

I just finished backing up all my photos to iCloud from my MacBook Pro. I confirmed they are saved. I then tried to delete a photo in "Photo's" (as a test), the photo did delete on my MacBook Pro but it also deleted the same photo stored in iCloud. Is there a way to delete all photos in Photos on my MacBook Pro (I need the space) without losing the same photos in iCloud (wanting to use iCloud to backup all my pictures now and in the future) - Thank you in advance

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), iPad, PreSonus Firebox, GB 11, LE8,

Posted on Jul 26, 2016 12:58 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

FoxFifth

Level 10

469,131 points

Jul 26, 2016 3:12 PM in response to guitardad

iCloud Photo Library is not designed to back up anything on your Mac. It is primarily designed for syncing between devices. There is no setting which will allow you to delete a photo from the Photos app on your Mac (or any other device connected to the same iCloud Photo Library) without it being deleted from iCloud and from all other devices.

You can potentially reduce the storage space required on your Mac by going to Photos > Preferences > iCloud and turning on "Optimize Mac Storage"

More information on iCloud Photo Library:

iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

Reply