How to delete from iCloud on iPhone & Mac at once?

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cattlencane Author

Level 1

8 points

How to delete from iCloud on iPhone & Mac at once?

iPhone 6s iOS 11.4

Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.5

Photos v3.0

I have iCloud Photo Library and My Photo Stream turned on.

I take a ton of photos on my iPhone 6s knowing that only a few will actually be good. I would like to delete photos on my phone and have them delete from Photos on my Mac too. And vice versa. I don't want to have to review my photos twice.

It seems like this is what is supposed to happen but it's not working for me. I delete photos on my phone and they are still in my photos library even after restarting Photos. Likewise I delete photos in Photos (Command Delete) and they still show on my phone.

Any ideas what the issue might be?

iPhone 6s, iOS 11.1.2

Posted on Jun 24, 2018 1:16 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Eric Root

Level 10

684,045 points

Jun 25, 2018 5:21 AM in response to cattlencane

The below is what is causing what you are seeing.

When you delete a photo from My Photo Stream on one device, the photo is removed from Photos and iCloud. The photos that you import from My Photo Stream to your other devices won’t be deleted.

Photo Stream FAQ

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Answer 2

cattlencane Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 24, 2018 6:21 PM in response to Eric Root

I haven't yet because this paragraph makes me concerned about losing photos.

My Photo Stream - Apple Support

Before you turn off My Photo Stream, save any photos that you want to keep on your device. If you sign out of iCloud or turn off My Photo Stream on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, all of the photos in the My Photo Stream album are removed from that device.

I keep reading and reading different Apple pages about all this and I don't feel at all clear about what's going to happen if I switch Photo Stream from on to off. Are you able to explain it a bit more clearly than Apple does? Thanks in advance.

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Answer 3

cattlencane Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 24, 2018 9:59 PM in response to LarryHN

It seems so. And this may be the answer to my question. But can I just turn it off with no consequence if I have IPL? I can't find a clear answer. Do you know for sure I won't lose photos from my iPhone if I turn it off?

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Answer 4

cattlencane Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 24, 2018 7:43 AM in response to Eric Root

I think I've figured it out. I have iCloud Photo Library on my Mac turned off as I don't want those thousands of photos taken years ago in the cloud. (The expense being the main reason.) So while IPL is turned on on my phone it isn't actually linked to my Mac. I thought it was because My Photo Stream made it seem like it was. Now that I've turned that off everything is separate again. Seems like I'm going back to the old days of plugging my phone into my computer to sync.

This has been the most confusing thing I have ever had to deal with on my Mac/iPhone. I'm usually the person helping others with their computer issues and often diagnose my own issues by reading manuals and support forums. These instructions and the system itself are just so unclear. I've wasted hours of my life on this. Very aggravating Apple!

Thank you to Eric Root and Larry HN for helping me to decipher.

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