Disabling Icloud Photo Library On Your Mac

iCloudPhotos, formerly known as ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library, is an Apple service that moves the user's entire photo and video library into the cloud. It's part of Apple's push to make it as easy as possible for users to switch among Mac and iOS devices throughout the day, making sure the user's photos are available on all of their devices and ensuring any changes get quickly synced across devices.

Turning on ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library

Apr 21, 2016  Normally, iCloud Photo Library syncing is turned off on a per-device basis. On an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you’d venture into Settings → Your Account → iCloud → Photos and slide the iCloud Photo Library to the OFF position. On the Mac, you could stop using the feature in System Preferences → iCloud → Photos. How to enable iCloud Photos on a Mac. As long as iCloud Photos is enabled the storage service backs up every photo or video you add to your Photos App. In addition, it synchronizes your new files across all the devices in which you have logged in with the same iCloud account. That Mac, in the end, will wind up as the main repository for all of your photos: First things first, convert to Photos on your Mac. IPhoto is great, but the future is Photos. Once you're using Photos, disable iCloud Photo Library on your Mac by going into Photos. On your Mac, import each of. May 10, 2019  Whatever your reason for turning off iCloud — be it lack of iCloud storage space or dislike towards the cloud, we will tell you what happens when you disable iCloud and delete photos from it. How to Quickly Enable and Disable iCloud on iOS, Mac and Windows With iCloud launched on October12, 2011, Apple makes it unprecedentedly easy to sync, share and send data (documents, photos, music, email, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, notes, etc.) on iOS, Macintosh and Windows devices and manage Apple devices if lost or stolen. I have been using iCloud Photo Library on my Mac for several months but I'm wanting to quit using it now. If I go in and try to turn it off, I get a message that all my photos will be deleted from my Mac but the full resolution originals will still be available in iCloud for 30 days. Mar 03, 2020  Save space on your device. ICloud Photos keeps all of your photos and videos in their original, high-resolution version. You can save space on your device when you turn on Optimize Storage. On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Tap Settings your name iCloud.

- iOS: Open the Settings app and head to account section and tap on your ‌iCloud‌ account. In the 'Apps Using ‌iCloud‌' section, tap on ‌Photos‌ and you'll find a toggle for ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌. This option can also be accessed through the ‌Photos‌ app section of Settings.

- macOS: Open System Preferences and head to the ‌iCloud‌ pane. If you're logged in, you'll see a list of the various ‌iCloud‌ services. Hit the 'Options...' button next to ‌Photos‌, and you'll see a window where you can turn on ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌. You can also manage settings within the Preferences section of the new ‌Photos‌ app directly.

- Apple TV: On a fourth-generation ‌Apple TV‌ or ‌Apple TV‌ 4K, head to the Accounts section of Settings, then choose ‌iCloud‌ and turn on the ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ option.

- iCloud.com: ‌Photos‌ stored in ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library are also accessible through Apple's web-based iCloud.com service. Through the web interface, users can upload or download photos, browse via Moments and Albums view, print or email photos, and mark individual photos as favorites.

‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ Settings

The ‌Photos‌ apps for Mac and iOS are built to work with ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌, although users can opt to use local photo libraries on their devices if they prefer. Users opting for ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ have the choice of storing the original photos on their Mac or iOS device, which is ideal for offline access, or a more flexible optimized arrangement that stores originals locally if you have enough storage space but uses lower-resolution versions if local storage is tight and only downloads the full-resolution versions from ‌iCloud‌ as needed.

‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ settings on Mac (left) and iOS (right)

Similar settings are available on iOS, where users can choose between storing full-resolution photos right on their devices or saving some space by storing lower-resolution versions onboard and keeping the full-resolution versions in ‌iCloud‌.

On iOS and macOS, users may also continue to see an option for My Photo Stream, which is Apple's separate service that allows users to automatically sync their last 30 days' worth of photos (up to 1,000 photos) between devices. Users who recently created their Apple IDs may not see the My Photo Stream option, as Apple is phasing out the feature.

On devices where ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ is active, there will no longer be a separate My Photo Stream album as there was prior to the rollout of ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌, as all photos are now included in the main library stored in ‌iCloud‌. My Photo Stream doesn't count against your ‌iCloud‌ storage limits, but edits made to photos in My Photo Stream don't update across your devices.

The My Photo Stream setting does, however, offer some level of integration between devices where ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library is enabled and those where it is disabled. Turning on My Photo Stream on a device with ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library is enabled allows the device to import Photo Stream photos from other non-iCloud devices and also send new photos out to My Photo Stream for display on those devices.

Using ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌

Once you understand that ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ stores and syncs photos across devices, usage is very straightforward and it behaves very much like a local photo library stored on the user's machine. Users can freely manage, edit, and save their photos as they have always done, with the added bonus of that work automatically appearing wherever they have ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ enabled. The original photos always remain stored in ‌iCloud‌, making it easy to revert any edits made on a device.


As with a local photo library, users can include photos from any source, making ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ more than the alternative Photo Streams of images taken on their devices. ‌Photos‌ and videos of a wide range of types from any source can be added to the user's library on one device, and they will sync to all other devices.

One important consideration when deciding whether or not to use ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ is that it is an all-or-none proposition on a given device unless the user chooses to use multiple photo libraries on macOS. With a single photo library, there is no option to sync only some photos while the remainder is stored only locally. For example, users can not opt to have only their iOS device photos synced to their Mac via ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ but not have their full library of photos in the ‌Photos‌ app for Mac synced to ‌iCloud‌ and the user's other devices unless they want to manage multiple libraries.

‌Photos‌ are stored in ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ at their full resolutions and in their original formats. Common formats like HEIF, JPEG, RAW, PNG, GIF, TIFF, HEVC, and MP4 are all supported, as are special formats captured on iOS devices like slo-mo, time-lapse, and Live Photos.

Pricing

‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ taps into a user's ‌iCloud‌ account storage, which is also used for iCloud Drive document storage, device backups, and more. ‌iCloud‌ users receive 5 GB of storage for free, but users who wish to back up their devices to ‌iCloud‌ frequently find they need more than that, and ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library will only increase the need for additional storage.

Apple offers several paid storage tiers for ‌iCloud‌, priced on a monthly basis and ranging from 50 GB to 2 TB. The lowest paid plan at 50 GB costs $0.99/month in the U.S., with Apple also offering a 200 GB plan for $2.99/month and a 2 TB plan for $9.99/month. Even the high-end 2 TB plan may not be enough for some users who have a lot of photos, requiring them to either archive some photos outside of the service or simply opt to not use ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ at all.

If you fill up your ‌iCloud‌ storage allotment, new photos and videos will no longer be uploaded to ‌iCloud‌, and libraries will no longer be synced across devices. In order to restore ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ functionality, users will need to either upgrade to a larger storage plan or reduce storage usage by manually deleting certain photos or other files from ‌iCloud‌.

Turning Off ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌

So what if you've turned on ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ and later decide you don't want to use it anymore, either for a specific device or across all devices? On a specific device, ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ can be disabled the same way it was turned on, through the ‌iCloud‌ portion of the Settings app on iOS device or System Preferences or ‌Photos‌ preferences on a Mac. If you are currently storing optimized versions of your photos, your system will give you the opportunity to download the full-resolution photos from ‌iCloud‌, at which point you will have a complete local photo library on your device.

Disabling ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ entirely in ‌iCloud‌ settings on Mac

If you prefer to turn off ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ entirely, you can head to the Manage Storage section of ‌iCloud‌ settings either in the Settings app on an iOS device or System Preferences on a Mac. In that section, you can choose to Disable and Delete ‌iCloud‌ Photo Library, after which point you will have 30 days to download your library to at least one device before it is removed entirely.

Wrap-up

‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ represents one of Apple's key efforts to streamline the experience of using multiple devices, many of which have been bundled under the 'Continuity' umbrella. Many of these Continuity features tap into ‌iCloud‌ as a method for linking various devices, and ‌iCloud‌ ‌Photos‌ takes that one step further to ensure the users' photos are available regardless of which device they are currently on.

How it works

iCloud Photos automatically keeps every photo and video you take in iCloud, so you can access your library from any device, anytime you want. Any changes you make to your collection on one device change on your other devices too. Your photos and videos are organized into Years, Months, Days, and All Photos.And all of your Memories and People are updated everywhere. That way you can quickly find the moment, family member, or friend you're looking for.

Your collection uploads to iCloud each time your device connects to Wi-Fi and your battery is charged. When you have iOS 11 or later, your library can update over cellular too. Depending on your Internet speed, the time it takes for you to see your photos and videos on all of your devices and iCloud.com might vary.

Before you begin

  1. Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest iOS or iPadOS, your Mac to the latest macOS, and your Apple TV to the latest tvOS.
  2. Set up iCloud on all of your devices.
  3. Make sure that you’re signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID on all of your devices that you want to use with iCloud Photos.
  4. If you have a Windows PC, update to Windows 7 or later and download iCloud for Windows.

Turn on iCloud Photos

  • On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos, then turn on iCloud Photos.
  • On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Apple ID. Click iCloud in the sidebar, then select Photos. If you have an earlier version of macOS, go to System Preferences > iCloud. Click Options next to Photos, then select iCloud Photos.
  • On Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, go to Settings > Users and Accounts > iCloud. Then turn on iCloud Photos.
  • On your Windows PC, follow these steps.

In earlier versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and iCloud for Windows, iCloud Photos was called iCloud Photo Library.

See your edits on all of your devices

When you make edits in the Photos app on your iOS or iPadOS device or on your Mac, the photo automatically updates across all your devices. So when you crop or enhance a photo from your iPhone, you see the changes when you access your library from your Mac. Your original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and you can go back to them at any time, and revert any changes you made.

The photos and videos that you delete on one device are deleted everywhere that you use iCloud Photos. Photos and videos stay in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days before they're deleted permanently.

You can make edits on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, and you’ll see them on your Apple TV automatically. Your entire collection is available on Apple TV, including your Memories and shared albums.

File types that you can use with iCloud Photos

Your photos and videos are stored in iCloud exactly as you took them. All of your images are held in their original formats at full resolution — HEIF, JPEG, RAW, PNG, GIF, TIFF, HEVC, and MP4 — as well as special formats you capture with your iPhone, like slo-mo, time-lapse, 4K videos, and Live Photos.

Back up your photos and videos

When you turn on iCloud Photos, your photos and videos automatically upload to iCloud. They're not duplicated in your iCloud backup, so you should keep backup 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.

If you're on a device with iOS 11 or later or macOS High Sierra or later, the photos and videos you take are in HEIF and HEVC format. These formats use less storage, with the same quality.

Download your photos and videos

You can download a copy of your original photos or videos on iCloud.com, iOS, iPadOS, or Mac.

  • On iCloud.com, click Photos, then select the photos and videos that you want to download. Click and hold the download button in the upper-right corner of the window. If you want to download your content as it was originally captured or imported, choose Unmodified Original. For JPEG or H.264 format — including edits, and even if it was orginally in HEIF or HEVC format — choose Most Compatible. Click download.
  • On iOS and iPadOS, you can use AirDrop: in the Photos app, select some photos or videos. Tap the share button , then select the device that you want to share with. Learn more about using AirDrop.
  • On Mac, select one or more photos. Drag the content to your desktop, or right-click and select Share > AirDrop.

Make sure that you have enough storage

The photos and videos that you keep in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage and your device storage. And as long as you have enough space in iCloud and on your device, you can store as many photos and videos as you like.

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you need more space, you can buy more iCloud storage. Plans start at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month. If you choose 200GB or 2TB plans, you can share your storage with family.

Icloud

Turn On Icloud Photo Library

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Save space on your device

iCloud Photos keeps all your photos and videos in their original, high-resolution version. You can save space on your device when you turn on Optimize Storage.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

  1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
  2. Tap Photos.
  3. Choose Optimize [device] Storage.

On your Mac:

  1. Open the Photos app and click Photos in the menu bar.
  2. Click Preferences.
  3. Go to the iCloud tab and choose a storage setting.

If you turn on Optimize Storage, iCloud Photos automatically manages the size of your library on your device. Your original photos and videos are stored in iCloud and space-saving versions are kept on your device. Your library is optimized only when you need space, starting with the photos and videos you access least. You can download the original photos and videos over Wi-Fi or cellular when you need them. You can use Optimize Storage on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.

If you turn on Download Originals, iCloud Photos keeps your original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud and on your device.

Pause library uploads to iCloud

When you turn on iCloud Photos, the time it takes for your photos and videos to upload to iCloud depends on the size of your collection and your Internet speed. If you have a large collection of photos and videos, your upload might take more time than usual. You can see the status and pause the upload for one day.

  • On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. You can also open the Photos app, go to the Photos tab, and scroll to the bottom of your screen.
  • On your Mac, open the Photos app. Select Photos in the sidebar, then click All Photos in the list of tabs in the toolbar. Scroll to the bottom of your photos and click Pause.

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Icloud Photos Disable And Delete

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