How to Delete Photos From iCloud (While Keeping Them on Your iPhone) (2024)

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Turn off syncing first, then clear up iCloud space while keeping images on your iPhone

Saikat Basu

Writer

University of Pune (India)

Saikat has been a technology writer for 12+ years. His writing has appeared at MakeUseOf, OnlineTechTips, GoSkills, and many others.

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Updated on July 12, 2024

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What to Know

Before deleting photos from your iCloud account, turn off the automatic back up of the iPhone to the iCloud.
Go to Settings > Your Apple ID > iCloud > Photos > turn off iCloud Photos or Sync this iPhone.
Sign in to iCloud.com > Photos > choose the photos to delete > select Delete (trash can icon).

This article explains how to delete photos from iCloud without removing them from your iPhone.

How to See if Syncing is Turned On or Off on iPhone

Syncing must be off to ensure photos deleted from iCloud aren't removed from your iPhone as well. To check whether or not iCloud Photo syncing is enabled on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Open Settings from your iPhone Home screen and tap your Apple ID.
Select iCloud > Photos.
To delete photos from iCloud without deleting them from the iPhone turn off syncing by toggling the switch to off.
You may see this setting labeled as Sync this iPhone. Move the toggle to the left to disable iCloud Photos syncing.
Now, you can delete photos from iCloud without removing them automatically from the iPhone. Follow the same steps to turn off iCloud syncing for any other Apple device.

How to Delete Photos From iCloudWhile Keeping Them on the iPhone

To delete photos from iCloud without deleting them from the iPhone, you need to check your phone's syncing status. Be sure syncing is turned off. Then, follow the steps below to remove images from iCloud only:

Open iCloud.com in any browser and sign in with your Apple ID and authenticate your identity.
Select Photos.
Press the Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) key on your keyboard and select the photos you want to delete.
Select the Delete (trash can) icon to delete the selected photos.
The photos will be deleted from iCloud. With iCloud Photos turned off on your device, the photos in the iPhone's Photos library will not be affected.

Tip:

When deleted, photos and videos are shifted to the Recently Deleted folder on both iCloud and the iPhone. They will be permanently deleted after 30 days, thus making it possible to recover them if you change your mind. To remove them permanently before 30 days, go to the Recently Deleted folder and select Delete All.

How to Mass Delete Images and Photos in Bulk on iPhone, iPad

Understanding the 'Optimize iPhone Storage' Setting

If Optimize iPhone Storage is enabled, all your full-resolution photos and videos are kept on iCloud and only the latest photos and videos are on the iPhone.

When the iPhone is low on storage, the iPhone will upload the full-resolution images (and videos) to iCloud and replace them with smaller-sized versions on your iPhone.

If you delete anything from iCloud Photos, ensure you have the Download and Keep Originals option selected. Now, your entire photo library will remain on your phone (if there is enough free storage) even when you turn off iCloud Photos and start deleting photos from the cloud.

How to Delete Photos From iPhone but Not iCloud

FAQ

How do I download photos from iCloud?

To download photos from iCloud, go to iCloud.com > select Photos > choose the photo(s), and select the Download icon (the cloud and down-arrow) at the top. To download the original version of the photo or video (in the original format with no edits), click and hold the Download icon and select Unmodified Original.
How do I upload photos to iCloud?

To upload a photo to iCloud, go to iCloud.com > select Photos > Upload icon (the cloud and up-arrow) at the top. Or, drag files from your computer to the Photos folder in your browser.
Why aren't my photos uploading to iCloud?

Uploads may be paused when your battery is low or when you're connected to cellular. Restart your device, check your internet connection, and charge your battery.
Do Photos stay on iCloud if deleted from iPhone?

iCloud Photos is not a backup of a set of photos from your iPhone. Instead it is a replica of your current photo library on your iPhone. If you delete from either place (iCloud Photos or your iPhone), the syncing feature deletes the photo in the other place. The only way to keep a photo on the iPhone while deleting it from iCloud is to turn off the automatic syncing. This action will not work if you later turn iCloud Photos back on.

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How to Delete Photos From iCloud (While Keeping Them on Your iPhone) (2024)

FAQs

Can I delete photos from my iCloud but keep them on my iPhone? ›

If you delete from either place (iCloud Photos or your iPhone), the syncing feature deletes the photo in the other place. The only way to keep a photo on the iPhone while deleting it from iCloud is to turn off the automatic syncing. This action will not work if you later turn iCloud Photos back on.

Read On ›

How do I permanently delete photos from iCloud on my iPhone? ›

To delete a photo or photos from iCloud, log in on iCloud.com, and go to Photos. Then, simply select all photos and press the trash icon. This is the same as using Photos on iPhone or Mac; you'll need to go to your Recently Deleted folder to permanently delete everything.

Discover More Details ›

How to turn off iCloud photos without deleting everything? ›

iPhone/iPad

On your iPhone or iPad, go to the Settings of the device.
Tap on < Your Name / Device Name >.
Toggle off the switch next to "iCloud Photos." and confirm your choice if prompted. You can choose the "Download and Keep Originals" option.

What happens if you turn off and delete photos from iCloud? ›

Don't worry, everything will keep on iCloud eventually, you can download all the photos and videos from iCloud.com to the device that you might disable iCloud Photos. Thus, there is nothing to worry about.

See Details ›

Does deleting photos from iPhone automatically delete from iCloud? ›

However, if you have enabled iCloud Photos (previously known as iCloud Photo Library), deleting a photo from your iPhone will also remove it from iCloud and all other devices connected to your iCloud account. This ensures that your photos are synced across all your devices.

Find Out More ›

How do I delete thousands of photos from iCloud? ›

Method 3: Using iCloud Photos

Open iCloud.com and log in to your account.
Select the pictures you want to delete. Tip: you can hold down the Shift key on your keyboard to select multiple pictures.
Once you've selected all the photos to delete, click the Trash icon.
Confirm to delete the pictures.

May 23, 2024

Tell Me More ›

Can I free up iCloud storage by deleting photos? ›

You can make more space in iCloud when you delete photos and videos that you no longer need from the Photos app on any of your devices. Before you delete anything, make sure that you back up the photos and videos that you still want.

Show Me More ›

Can I delete a photo from my library and keep in an album? ›

When you delete a Photo from your Photo Library, it is permanently deleted from your account and is removed from all Photo Albums in which it was inserted.

Explore More ›

How do I free up space on my iPhone without deleting photos? ›

To optimize storage on your iPhone without losing data, you can:

Enable iCloud Photo Library: Store high-resolution photos and videos in iCloud while keeping smaller versions on your device.
Offload Unused Apps: Remove apps while retaining their data, allowing you to reinstall them without losing any information.

More items...

May 21, 2024

How do I delete photos from iCloud but keep them on my iPhone? ›

Head to the Settings app, tap on Your Name, go to iCloud, and then Photos. Disable the Sync this iPhone option. Now log into iCloud.com from an internet browser, go to Photos, and delete the items you want to remove. You can log in on any device, whether the iPhone, Mac, or Windows computer.

Show Me More ›

How do I take all my photos off iCloud? ›

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

On iCloud.com, tap Photos.
Tap Select, then tap a photo or video. To select multiple photos or videos, tap more than one. To select your entire library, tap Select All.
Tap the more button .
Choose Download, then tap Download to confirm.

Feb 8, 2024

Read The Full Story ›

Will I lose everything if I turn off iCloud? ›

Disabling iCloud Drive will stop syncing files to your device, potentially freeing up storage space. However, keep in mind that any files already synced to your device will remain unless you choose to delete them.

See Details ›

How do I delete files from iCloud only? ›

Here's how to delete files from iCloud:

Go to iCloud and sign in with your Apple ID. Open your iCloud Drive.
Choose the files you want to remove and click the Delete icon in the iCloud Drive toolbar.

Jan 11, 2023

Get More Info Here ›

Does deleting photos make iCloud storage? ›

Why is iPhone storage full when I have iCloud? ›

The key takeaway: iCloud stores your data, but it doesn't remove it from your device by default. Downloaded movies, music you haven't streamed in ages, and those "just-in-case" apps can silently gobble up space.

Will I lose my photos if I cancel iCloud? ›

Data like documents and photos remain on iCloud after you stop paying, but syncing stops if you're over the free storage limit. This means you can't add more data without managing your storage.

View Details ›