You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

maniemjr Author

Level 1

8 points

How do I keep all my photos/videos on my Macbook Photos App even if I delete it on iPhone Photos and iCoud after syncing??

Hello. How do I set my sync settings on my Photos on Macbook, iPhone and iCloud so that all the photos/videos stay on my Macbook Photos database after syncing even if I delete them on my iCloud and iPhone Photos App? What I wanted to achieve here is, since iCloud and iPhone have limited storage spaces, I wanted to keep all my photos/videos organized on my Macbook since I can use an external hard drive as my system database for my Photos so it can store all my files forever.

It seems that when you turn on photostream, deleted photos/videos on iPhone will also be deleted on iCloud and hence on the Macbook Photos App after syncing. What have I missed on the settings? And if this is really not possible, is there any workaround that someone can suggest?

Thanks and keep safe everyone.

MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Sep 2, 2021 1:43 AM

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

197,291 points

Posted on Sep 2, 2021 6:05 AM

The main purpose of iCloud Photos is to keep the Photos Libraries identical and in sync across all devices syncing with iCloud Photos. So the iCloud Photos Library on your Mac will always be identical to the library in iCloud and all your other devices. If you want a larger library on your Mac with an archive of all your photos, use more than one library on your Mac. I am using a small library with just my favourites and the new photos I am currently working on as my iCloud Photos Library. I keep this library so small that it will fit on all my devices. In addition to this I am keeping several other Photos Libraries on external drives, with a collection of all photos that I want to keep archived.

Only one of your Photos libraries can sync with iCloud Photos, your System Photos Library, see:

System Photo Library overview

But you can keep many more local libraries:

Create additional libraries

View in context

How do I keep all my photos/videos on my Macbook Photos App even if I delete it on iPhone Photos and iCoud after syncing??

Similar questions