Where did the "delete after import" option go?

Question

Level 1

20 points

Where did the "delete after import" option go?

There used to be an option [when importing photos from iPhone to Apple Photos] to automatically delete the photos from phone after import, but I don't see it anymore. Does anyone know what happened, or if there's a way to select that option somewhere else?

Also, if I have "iCloud Photo Library" and "Optimize iPhone Storage" selected on my iPhone 6s, does that mean my imported photos are safely in my desktop's Apple Photos and I can delete them from my phone? I am nervous about deleting them because, when I click the PHOTOS app on my iPhone, it looks like the photos go back many years. The old iphone iOS had a "Camera Roll" where I knew I could delete those particular photos and not worry about deleting my entire image library.

I have been a diehard Apple user since the beginning but the last couple of years I have grown increasingly frustrated with Apple products. It seems like they're making things harder on users, rather than easier. I loved iPhoto - then they ditched it for the oversimplified Photos, which I think is much less user friendly.

iPhone 6s, iOS 10.2.1

Posted on Jul 4, 2017 10:40 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

raina_b22

Community Specialist

Jul 5, 2017 7:34 AM in response to misalodesign

Hi misalodesign ,

I understand that you no longer see the option to delete photos from your device after you've imported them to your computer. I'm happy to provide some help for this.

You do not see this option because you have iCloud Photo Library enabled on your devices. Since you have iCloud Photo Library and Optimize iPhone Storage enabled, all of your photos are stored in iCloud. Note that deleting a photo from one device will delete it from your iCloud Photo Library.

With Optimize Storage, smaller, space-saving photos and videos are kept on your device while all of your original, full-resolution versions are stored in iCloud. And as long as you have enough space in i Cloud, you can store as many photos and videos as you want.

Manage your photo and video storage - Apple Support

You can read more about iCloud Photo Library here:

Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Cheers!

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Answer 2

misalodesign Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 18, 2017 9:24 AM in response to raina_b22

Thank you for clarifying that. I much prefer the old way, where you just plugged your phone into the Mac, iPhoto imported all of the new photos — and then conveniently deleted them from your phone. Is there no way to get this functionality back? What happens if I de-select the "enable iPhone Photo Library" option?

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Answer 3

Nov 26, 2017 10:44 PM in response to misalodesign

I agree, the old way is preferred. This is very unclear where our photos are being stored. I'm feeling more and more like Apple is trying to sideline everyone into paying for cloud storage they don't need.

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