how do I know what photos are physically stored on my device?

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Level 1

30 points

how do I know what photos are physically stored on my device?

hi,

at some point I turned on iCloud Photo Library on my iPhone 6s w/ current iOS but currently it is turned off. However, my Camera Roll shows 11,188 photos...which is what is in photos on my mac so I assume these are in the cloud. When I try and delete some from the phone, it warns that it will delete from x other Albums as well. I just was to at least know or preferably only see photos and videos that are actually physically stored on my phone so I can manage storage. What is

iPad 2, iOS 7.0.3

Posted on Oct 31, 2016 8:13 AM

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Answer 1

meegwell Author

Level 1

30 points

Nov 3, 2016 6:02 AM in response to chuck_3rd

I have no "Photos" option when my iPhone is plugged into iTunes? My phone connects, but "photos" is not an option in the drop down or on the left bar. (OS Sierra and OSi 10.0.2). What might cause this?

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Answer 2

rose_10

Community Specialist

Nov 1, 2016 9:56 AM in response to meegwell

Hi meegwell,

I understand that you want to know more about which photos are stored in iCloud Photo Library or on your devices. I know it's important to have control over your data, so I'm happy to help.

If you're seeing this warning when trying to delete photos, that means that iCloud Photo Library is still enabled on your device. With iCloud Photo Library turned on, all of your photos will be uploaded, but you can alter whether the originals are kept on your iPhone. You can learn more about how iCloud Photo Library works here:

iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Cheers!

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Answer 3

meegwell Author

Level 1

30 points

Nov 1, 2016 12:51 PM in response to rose_10

But iCloud Photo Library is turned OFF on my device (Settings>iCloud>Photos>OFF). Do I need to change it somewhere else?

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Answer 4

braden85

Community Specialist

Nov 1, 2016 1:46 PM in response to meegwell

meegwell,

Thanks for verifying that for us. Since iCloud Photo Library is turned off, and you are seeing this message, then it is likely that it is simply warning you that you will be removing the master copy of this photo, thus deleting it from any albums it is a part of as well. If your iCloud Photo Library is off, then all of the photos are stored locally on your iPhone.

This article provides additional details on how to delete photos on your iPhone:

Delete photos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Cheers!

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Answer 5

meegwell Author

Level 1

30 points

Nov 2, 2016 4:18 AM in response to braden85

Hi and thanks. Why is my phone showing 11,800 photos? The same as on my mac? This is new - it never has more thatn about 100. Plus, most all of them were not taken with my phone, so how are they masters when they were originally loaded on my mac from my dslr camera?

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Answer 6

meegwell Author

Level 1

30 points

Nov 2, 2016 11:11 AM in response to meegwell

Is it possible that when I switched on iCloud, it put 11,000+ photos on my phone. I dont even see how 11k photos fit on my when my storage says (not icloud) says photos take up 1.1GB?

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Answer 7

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

Nov 2, 2016 11:39 AM in response to meegwell

meegwell,

In this case, we use the term master photo not to signify that it's the original, but that it is the one that all of the albums with that same image are based from. This simply means that if you delete the photo, it will be removed from your other albums as well.

If you are seeing that same number of photos on both devices, it's possible that you've manually synced these photos to your iPhone using the steps here:

Keep your photos safely stored and up to date on all your devices - Apple Support

Cheers!

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Answer 8

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

Nov 3, 2016 11:52 AM in response to meegwell

meegwell,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Community. Due to the nature of your issue, you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources:

Contact Apple Support

Cheers!

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