Deleting photos without deleting them from cloud

TheLittles wrote:

Applequestionssssssssss Said:

"Deleting photos without deleting them from cloud : Just trying to free up space on my iPhone without loosing my pics in the cloud."

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These are locally stored. So, as long as these are uploaded to iCloud you will be safe when deleting them from your iPhone.

If you are using iCloud Photos, a request to delete a photo from your iPhone is taken as a request to delete it from all of your other devices, and from iCloud Photos.

The OP will not be "safe when deleting them" unless there are copies of the photos stored in some location that is safely OUTSIDE of the iCloud Photos libraries on his/her iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Making these copies (e.g., by using File > Export in the Mac version of Photos) is something the OP will need to do manually.

There is an "Optimize Photo Storage" setting on the iPhone that will allow the iPhone to delete some full-size local copies and replace them with thumbnails. That should leave the full-size photos in iCloud intact. They will only be intact if the OP uses this method. Not if the OP does manual deletions.

You said that deleting photos locally on the iPhone was safe, and would not affect photos in iCloud.

It is NOT safe, due to the way that iCloud Photos synchronization works, and is designed to work. Yes, iPhone device storage, iCloud storage, and Mac device storage are separate physical places. But when you are using iCloud Photos, there is always software running trying to sync them according to certain rules.

One of which is that a request to delete photos ANYWHERE is taken as a request to delete them EVERYWHERE. Which is not the result that the OP wants!

See also:

Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

”When you use iCloud Photos and delete a photo or video on one device, it gets deleted on all other devices where you're signed in with the same Apple ID.”

Delete and recover photos and videos on iCloud.com - Apple Support

Applequestionssssssssss Said:

"Deleting photos without deleting them from cloud : Just trying to free up space on my iPhone without loosing my pics in the cloud."

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These are locally stored. So, as long as these are uploaded to iCloud you will be safe when deleting them from your iPhone.

Troubleshooting iPhone Storage:

Internal storage cannot be upgraded. It is what it is. So, the maximum internal storage capacity never increases, even if you upgraded your iCloud plan. Learn More here: What's the Difference Between Device Storage and iCloud Storage? Apple Support

So, what to do...

Clear Space Using my User Tips:

• How to Clear Space from your Mobile Device, and What to Clear: - User Tip
• How to Clear "Other" in your iPhone's Storage - Use Backup - User Tip

Servant of Cats Said:

"Making these copies (e.g., by using File > Export in the Mac version of Photos) is something the OP will need to do manually."

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I don't see your distinction. Just like a Mac, iCloud is not local storage on the iPhone.