How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

Hello, Team! I don´t want to share my images with the cloud anymore, and I don´t want to spend a lot of time selecting and deleting pictures from the storage. Could you please explain to me how to delete photos from iCloud in a few clicks?

Thanks,
Alicia

How do you delete photos from iCloud? This article will show you how to delete iCloud photos in 3 ways. By default, your device syncs photos to iCloud, where you have about 5 GB of free storage, which get used up quickly.

If you are uncomfortable with entrusting your photos to any cloud service, or if you simply don’t want to pay for iCloud storage anymore, this article will show you how to delete pictures from iCloud and downgrade your iCloud storage plan.

TIP: If you have Photo Stream enabled, check out this article by Apple on how to delete photos from My Photo Stream.

Don’t forget to back up your photos to PC from time to time so that you don’t lose them if something happens to your iPhone. Anyway, let’s get started!

Before you start:

  • How to delete photos from iCloud but not iPhone

Choose the method you prefer below:

  • Delete all photos from iCloud
  • Delete multiple photos from iCloud (not all at once)

We also thought that you might be interested in:

  • How to upload photos to iCloud from PC
  • How to mass-delete photos from iPhone

The quickest solution will delete your photos from iCloud in just three clicks:

  1. Start CopyTrans Cloudly.
  2. Log in to your iCloud.
  3. Click on “Empty iCloud Photo Library”.

How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone


How to delete photos from iCloud but not iPhone

If you want to remove photos from iCloud but keep them on your iOS devices, make sure to disable iCloud Photos first.

Go to Settings -> Apple ID (your name at the very top) -> iCloud -> Photos -> Toggle off “iCloud Photos”.

How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

Now, when you remove photos from iCloud, they will stay on your iPhone.


  1. To help you mass-delete photos from iCloud, we have developed a program of our own: CopyTrans Cloudly.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

    🧡 What CopyTrans Cloudly can do for you:

      Delete all iCloud photos in one go;

      – Restore permanently deleted iPhone photos from iCloud on PC;

      Upload photos and videos from PC to iCloud in different formats;

      Download iCloud photos in albums just as you have organized them.

    Get CopyTrans Cloudly

  2. Run the app. Enter your Apple ID and password.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  3. If you have two-factor authentication enabled, please allow the connection on one of your devices and enter the code.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  4. Wait until your iCloud library is loaded. To delete all the photos and videos from iCloud, click on “Empty iCloud Photo library”.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  5. Confirm that you want to delete ALL your photos and videos from iCloud by ticking the checkbox.

    Important: Your photos and videos will be deleted from all devices synced with the current iCloud account. To safeguard yourself against any unwanted loss, you can disable iCloud Photos on your device.

  6. Voila! All you need to do now is wait until all your photos and videos are deleted.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

We compared the strengths and weaknesses of all three methods described in this article and created a table for you to decide which one suits you best.

Makes it pretty straightforward, doesn’t it?

CopyTrans Cloudly iCloud.com iOS
Deleting all photos Deletes everything at once Deletes only 1000 items at a time Have to select manually
Speed Instantly 1000 at a time Eternity
Retrieving permanently deleted photos Yes No No
Downloading all photos to PC Yes 1000 at a time No
Uploading photos to iCloud Yes 1000 at a time Only from Camera Roll
Uploading videos to iCloud Yes No No
Viewing and selecting photos before deleting No Yes Yes

BONUS: If you accidentally deleted files that you didn’t mean to delete, don’t panic: you can still rescue your permanently deleted photos using a little trick from CopyTrans Cloudly! Who would’ve thought?

❤ We currently have a great deal – you can get 75% off CopyTrans 7 Pack. It’s cheaper than buying just two programs 😉


Delete multiple photos from iCloud (not all at once)

Use icloud.com

👎 The biggest drawback of this method is that you can’t delete more than 1000 pictures at once.

How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

If you do not want to delete all the photos at once, select photos for deletion manually at icloud.com.

  1. Go to icloud.com and log in using your Apple ID and password.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  2. Click on “Photos”.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  3. You will see all the photos and videos stored in your iCloud. Select the one(s) you want to delete and click on the trash bin icon.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  4. You can also delete photos by moments. Choose a moment and click on “Select” (1). Now you can click on the trash bin icon (2) and delete the entire moment.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone


Use your iPhone

It is also possible to delete iCloud photos directly from your device (iPhone/iPad) if you have iCloud Photos enabled.

  1. To make sure your iCloud Photos is enabled, go to Settings > tap on your name on the top > iCloud > Photos. The switch next to iCloud Photos should be on.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  2. Go to your Photos app, tap “Select” in the top-right corner, and then select all the photos you want to delete.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  3. Click on the trash bin icon in the bottom-right corner. Don’t forget to delete your photos from the Recently Deleted folder as well 🙂


How to upload photos to iCloud from PC

After you have deleted everything from iCloud, you might want to upload some photos and videos back. Not all of them, just the ones you need. CopyTrans Cloudly can do that too!

💗 What CopyTrans Cloudly can transfer for you:

Videos: upload MOV, MP4, M4V files to iCloud;

Photos: upload HEIC, JPEG, PNG images to iCloud in great numbers;

👍 After you’ve uploaded your files to iCloud, you can move or delete them from the PC folder – they will still be available in iCloud.

Here are the steps:

  1. Instead of “Delete”, click on “Upload”;

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  2. Select the files you want to upload to iCloud.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  3. When everything is selected, click on “Go!”;

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

  4. Great! Your selected photos are now back in iCloud.

    How to store photos in icloud and delete from iphone

YouTube tutorial

Get CopyTrans Cloudly

Conclusion

When it comes to iCloud, you may find yourself struggling with how to delete pictures from iCloud. Now you know 3 ways of deleting iCloud photos and can delete photos from iCloud while still keeping them on your iPhone. If your data size still exceeds 5 GB, check out our tips on how to clear more iCloud storage.

Iris is a marketing and tech-support specialist in charge of the English-speaking market, who dyes her hair in the color of her cats' fur (future cat lady detected) and enjoys sitting on her balcony on a rainy day reading books, watching TV shows, playing video games and drinking hot chocolate. With marshmallows.