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How can I sync my photos to iCloud on my MacBook Pro?

I found myself running out of space on my Macbook Pro so I checked the space report and it said I have 51.25 GB of photos and videos on the drive. How can I go about getting those synced up to iCloud? I do have iCloud Photos.


Thank you in advance


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro (M2, 2022)

Posted on Oct 1, 2024 6:46 PM

Reply
10 replies

Oct 1, 2024 10:59 PM in response to Todd Thomas

If your iCloud Photos aren't syncing to your device - Apple Support


Check that you have enough iCloud storage. ("If you exceed your iCloud storage limit, photos and videos won't sync to iCloud and your library won’t stay up to date across your devices.")


iCloud Photos is a syncing service. When you are using iCloud Photos anywhere, deleting a photo ANYWHERE is taken as a request to delete it EVERYWHERE. So don't go and manually delete a bunch of photos from your Mac, under the misconception that they will be safe in iCloud. You will be deleting them there, as well.

Oct 6, 2024 5:10 PM in response to Todd Thomas

Just to be clear, the fact that you still have 51GB of photos on your Mac does NOT mean that they are not syncing up to iCloud Photos. When operating properly, iCloud Photos keeps exactly the same set of photos on your Mac and in the cloud (and on your iPhone and iPad if you have those connected to the same iCloud Photos library); that’s its job.


The amount of storage used for photos and videos on your Mac would be reduced only if BOTH Optimize Mac Storage is enabled AND a storage shortage is detected. Alas, there is no button to declare that you need it to clear some storage.

How can I sync my photos to iCloud on my MacBook Pro?

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