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Trying to delete hundreds of photos from my iPhone. Keep getting message "this photo will be deleted from iCloud Photo Library on all your devices". will I loose all my photos if I delete from the phone.

Photos will be deleted from iCloud Photo Library

Posted on Feb 17, 2017 1:39 PM

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Posted on Feb 17, 2017 1:43 PM

They will be deleted if you are using iCloud Photo Library. Deleting on one device deletes them on all, that is the way iCPL was designed, as a mechanism to sync your photos across all devices.

iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

19 replies

May 31, 2017 2:26 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

I have been trying to understand PHOTOS since it replaced iPhoto and I have come to the conclusion that I hate PHOTOS because it is way too easy to loose your precious irreplaceable photos.


iPhoto was simple to use and I never lost a single photo. In my opinion Apple made a huge mistake by trying to incorporate every possible option imaginable into one program. I have one iPhone 6s+, one Wi-Fi only iPad Air and one iMac27. I bet that over 50% of the folks using similar equipment as me believe that they are being forced into a nightmare that will eventually (after they use up Apple's gracious 5 GB of free storage) force them into buying storage from Apple. You will not have a choice in the matter. If you bite into using Apple's Photo Library, you will have to pay.


I bought the iPhone before the 3G or maybe one earlier than that. I had a clamshell phone before Apple. At that time my need was a phone that worked all the time. I carried a small digital camera in my pocket. Then I got interested in Apple cell phones because I owned a video production company and I bought Apple computers and editing software so I was driven to Apple's doorstep and I bought my first iPhone.


Apple is trying to sell iPhones because that will lead us to their doorstep. But, why buy something with all the bells and whistles if you only need the bells? I am prepared to deal with the learning curve of the bells but why force myself in to a never ending nightmare of bells and whistles? It becomes extremely frustrating to try to learn how to use something you have no need for nor the time to waste. I understand that there are youngans that live or die for products like this that can be disassembled and reassembled and the software is rewritten so that only they will be able to use it without even a password. I am retired and I do most things for fun. A computer Guru I am not.


I have had several frustrating days following two weeks off with my wife touring beautiful Alaska. My cell was set to iCloud Photo Library ON so that I could have as much freedom as I could muster to take LOTS of pictures, beautiful pictures. My wife and I were staying with a lifelong friend who had a router. I made it a point to leave my cell joined to his Wi-Fi all night so that my loaded up memory would ready for the next day. Yep...I even bought more Apple storage because I had to, not because I wanted to. I wasn't making much progress on the uploading to iCloud. All I knew was that my trusty now almost new iPhone 6s+ was starting to slow down in its operation. All of these warnings were flashing on the screen telling me to buy more storage. Then it hit me...It doesn't matter how much storage I buy, my phone will only hold so many photos, videos, documents, etc, etc.. If I can't get the photos off my phoneI am royally screwed! If I leave the iCPL on and I delete photos from my phone, they will be deleted on all of my devices. If I turn iCPL OFF the Items will stay on my iPhone. What a dilemma! My iPhone was so packed that I couldn't send Text messages so I started deleting Apps, and more Apps and more.


What did I do before PHOTOS? I took my iPad and used an App that allowed me to transfer my photos from my trusty almost new iPhone to my iPad. And when I got home I simply transferred the pics to my iMac.


I did not have my iPad this trip but my wife thinks that she brought home one **** of a bear!


I would like for someone to step up to the plate and to tell me how they would handle this.


I thing Apple would be better off if they sold a good camera with the same items as now. There needs to be clearer instructions on the use, misuse and abuse of the iCloud Photo Library control with the possibility of catastrophic results (I have lost between 1,500 - 2,000 photos) if not used properly. And Apple needs to act responsibly when presenting new products to us, the public, and state "MORE MAY NOT BE BETTER FOR EVERYONE". Does Apple want to upgrade the equipment of it's customer base, or increase it's customer base? I am a longtime customer so appreciate me, don't drive me away. Please!


I want to enjoy life and what it has to offer. Not spend my dying days trying to figure out my **** iPhone.


Andy

Jun 17, 2017 2:28 PM in response to elcpu

elcpu wrote:


Turning on iCloud Photo Library in Settings > Photos & Camera has different consequences compared to just enabling Photos in Settings > Apple ID > iCloud. The later by itself means that photos in Camera Roll are backed up to iCloud during the next backup. The former means that photos are synced across devices.


I don't believe that is correct. If you turn on iCloud Photo Library in Photos and Camera the result is the same as turning it on in Settings Apple ID iCloud. In either case your photos will be uploaded to iCloud as soon as they have been taken. That's how I got these 2 screenshots to my Mac.


The descriptions of both actions are identical:


Settings/AppleID/iCloud:

User uploaded file

Photos & Camera:

User uploaded file

Jun 17, 2017 2:06 PM in response to elcpu

Turning on iCloud Photo Library in Settings > Photos & Camera has different consequences compared to just enabling Photos in Settings > Apple ID > iCloud. The later by itself means that photos in Camera Roll are backed up to iCloud during the next backup. The former means that photos are synced across devices.


I strongly urge all users to read these articles carefully before turning iCPL ON or OFF. I have seen many lose their photos by not understanding the consequences.

iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

Aug 20, 2017 9:00 PM in response to nancya5

Turn off iCloud Photo Library on the two devices you want to remove the photos from. Leave iCloud Photo Library off while you are on your trip taking photos. Be sure to back up your devices to iCloud regularly while on your trip to ensure that the photos on the Camera Roll (all the new photos you will be taking) are backed up: iCloud: iCloud backup overview


When you get back from your trip, you can turn iCloud Photo Library back on, and it will re-sync the library contents with your devices and your new photos will be uploaded to iCloud Photo Library.


If you want to keep iCloud Photo Library turned off for the devices, you can start manually importing the photos to your computer by connecting the devices to your laptop and following these instructions: IMPORTING PHOTOS - WINDOWS/MAC.


Best of luck,


GB

Apr 20, 2017 7:01 AM in response to njgoodhueboyd

njgoodhueboyd wrote:


I am having same issue! I cant delete photos off my iphone. Why can't I use the icloud storage as backup and delete full resolution ones off my phone?

Because that's not the way iCloud Photos works. iCloud Photos is a syncing service. All devices that are enabled are kept in sync. If you delete from one device it will delete from all devices, the same way IMAP and MS Exchange email work. You can enable Optimize in iCloud Photos, that will keep lower resolution images on your phone and full resolution in the cloud.


If you want to keep your photos in the cloud or on other devices but not on your iPhone you can't use iCloud Photos. You will have to use one of the many cloud services that do not sync both ways. Some examples:

  • Google Photos
  • Upthere.com
  • Dropbox.com
  • Box.com
  • Shutterfly.com

Feb 17, 2017 3:27 PM in response to JLRS

Please read the link I included above before you delete anything. I would not want you to lose your pictures. That said, you should download the photos to a computer as suggested in the link:


Back up your photos and videos

...But we always recommend that you keep back up copies of your library. You can download your photos and videos from iCloud.com to your computer and store them as a separate library, transfer them to another computer with Image Capture or Photos, or store them on a separate drive.


After they are safely in another drive (or library) you can disable iCPL reversing the instructions in the link. Just make sure you have the photos on a separate drive, like an external HD or thumb drive.

Jun 17, 2017 12:33 PM in response to mermaidkim

iCloud Photos specifically sync your photos across all devices that have it enabled. That's the way it is designed to work. So yes, if you delete a photo from your phone it will be deleted from all other devices logged in to that iCloud Photos account. It's designed to work that way. If you want something different there are many alternatives, including Google Photos, upthere.com, dropbox.com, box.com, shutterfly.com, etc.


You CAN delete photos from your iPhone without deleting them from other devices; to do that, just go into iCloud settings on the phone and turn off Photos. This will disconnect the phone from iCloud Photos, and you can then delete them from your phone without affecting other devices.

Jun 17, 2017 2:26 PM in response to andyhutch1947

Nothin about using the Photos app (or photos on OS X) requires you to use iCloud with your photographs.


I have never enabled any of the icloud photo photo services on any of my devices. I do as I have always done with iOS devices and regularly sync my photos to my photo library on my MacBook Pro and use it as my primary photo storage and its backups as my photo backups.


The Photos app can be used exactly as iPhoto could be used. Any iCloud photo services you enable are purely optional.

Aug 20, 2017 8:51 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Please help! I have over 2,700 photos on my I phone and I pad. I am going on a big trip and want to delete all my photos from both devices to make room for all the new pictures I will be taking on vacation, however I want to make sure all my photos wont be deleted from my HP laptop or I cloud. How do I do this??? I am so nervous! i do not want to lose all my photos!

Dec 4, 2017 2:52 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

When I try to turn off iCloud Photo Library, it tells me all photos and videos will be removed from my iphone. It says they will still be available on other devices using iCloud Photo Library, but does that include accessing them from my PC via the iCloud program/app? I don't want to lose my photos for ever. I feel like I'm going to accidentally delete them all if I agree to this, but I have no more space left on my phone. I have to choose "Remove from iPhone" to turn off the Photo LIbrary on my phone, and its terrifying.

Trying to delete hundreds of photos from my iPhone. Keep getting message "this photo will be deleted from iCloud Photo Library on all your devices". will I loose all my photos if I delete from the phone.

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