iCloud deletes my pictures

iCloud Photo's is a syncing service, not a backup service. This means if you delete from a device with iCloud Photos on it deletes from iCloud and all other devices with it on, too. This is outlines at Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

"Any changes you make to your collection on one device change on your other devices too."

"Photos delete from all of your devices

When you delete photos and videos on one device, they're deleted everywhere that you use iCloud Photos. If you delete something accidentally, you can recovery it in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days. After that, it's deleted permanently."

Also see details about your physical storage vs iCloud storage and how optimizing works at What's the difference between device storage and iCloud storage? - Apple Support

The worst part about this, is that it tells you, over and over, YOUR PHOTOS ARE SAFE, when you've stopped synching. In my client's case, he was changing phones, and forgot to re-enable the sync feature on his new phone.

YOUR PHOTOS ARE SAFE

<deletes all photos permanently>

Jeff_1963 Said:

"iCloud deletes my pictures: I bought 200 Gigs of 'storage' on iCloud thinking when my phone fills up I would delete the pics because they’re in the cloud now, right? Not so! They deleted my pics in the cloud. Why do I pay for this service? I want my money back"

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For reference...

Troubleshooting Lost Photos and Videos:

Loss of data is something you would have agreed to upon opening an Apple Account. So, if the following does not work, then they are gone. That's just the way it is :(

Four Tactics to Try:

A. Start here: If you're Missing Photos or Videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

B. Check iCloud, Directly:

For Photos: Go here, and see if they reside in iCloud: https://www.icloud.com/photos

C. Restore your iPhone from a Backup:

Have any backups of this iPhone prior to this occurrence? If so, restore your iPhone from one that has these photos (the most recent backup, ideally). If not, then take this as a learning experience, knowing to always back up your device for recovery purposes. Important: Back up you iPhone prior to performing this restoration, should anything go wrong from here on out.

D. Where Else to Check:

1. PC
2. PDA
3. eMail
4. Mac Device
5. Cloud Storage
6. Android Phone
7. USB Flash Drive
8. External Hard drive
9. Secure Digital Card
10. Compact Flash Card

I am not defending anything, I’m just sharing the facts. It’s not a lie. It’s not a change of service. Apple since day one has said iCloud Photos is for syncing and not a backup service.

User errors are not Apple’s fault. It’s the user choice to pay for iCloud, which includes a lot more than just iCloud Photos. Just like it’s the users responsibility to read Apple’s support articles that explain how to use it the service correctly.

They have a support page to send feedback which is read, but not replied to. Product Feedback - Apple

This is extremely unhelpful. The iCloud photo sync and storage is something we pay for. Trying to say it's "a syncing service, not a backup service" is a bald-faced lie. I currently have photos stored on iCloud from three years ago that are no longer synced to anything. That's because I have an older account.

This is a recent change in their service, and they're royally screwing over their users. There is no feedback system that goes to a human, and the customer service reps apparently don't have a way to report customer feedback.

And THAT is info I gleaned from Apple customer service a week ago, when I tried to help a client retrieve 6 years of family photos that Apple DELETED WITHOUT WARNING.

Don't defend this absolute garbage decision by Apple. They did something horrible and shouldn't be let off the hook like this.

-Chilton

Yes, this is a horrible, horrible thing Apple is doing, and they're doing it to punish people for leaving their platform.

I can't believe they're charging for this, and then acting like it's suddenly "a syncing service".

Jesus this is horrible. Just plain horrible.