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Can I delete videos from my device and still have them on iCloud ?

I am reaching maximum storage limit in my phone. If I choose a 200 GB iCloud plan will I be able to delete photos and videos from my phone storage while still maintaining it in iCloud? I tried to find articles online but there is no clarity on whether it can only be freed up from phone. And one more question -

if my 128 GB gets over on phone will I be able to continue taking photos if I have a 200 GB iCloud ?

iPhone 11, iOS 14

Posted on Jul 23, 2021 12:56 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 23, 2021 1:33 PM

iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.


Regarding the second question, if your phone storage is full you will not be able to continue even if you have space on iCloud. The Optimize Storage option discussed above should help reduce the possibility of your phone storage becoming full.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 23, 2021 1:33 PM in response to vynonymous

iCloud Photos is a syncing service. Any photo you delete from a device where iCloud Photos is turned on will also be deleted from iCloud and from any other device connected to iCloud Photos. You can potentially reduce the storage space required on a device by turning on Optimize Storage. See: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264


Apple does not currently offer cloud-only storage for photos. If that is what you want or need, you may want to explore 3rd party options such as Google Photos or Dropbox.


Regarding the second question, if your phone storage is full you will not be able to continue even if you have space on iCloud. The Optimize Storage option discussed above should help reduce the possibility of your phone storage becoming full.

Can I delete videos from my device and still have them on iCloud ?

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