How to Turn Off iCloud Photos Without Deleting Everything？

iCloud is one of the best functionality you get when purchasing an Apple device, be it an iPhone, Macbook, or iPad. iCloud Photos is also an additional capability you can use as an optional backup feature. iCloud Photos work like Google Photos, allowing you to store photos and videos captured on your Apple device.

The benefit of using iCloud is that you can keep hold of your pictures and videos even if your phone gets damaged, lost, or stolen. Cloud storage of iCloud is used to store photos and videos. However, it is an optional feature, and many people want to turn it off for many reasons.

Whatever the reason, you must know how to turn off iCloud Photos. In this article, we will talk about how to turn off iCloud Photos. We will also tell you about turning it off without losing any data, be it iPhone or Macbook. We will also tell you about the tools you can use as an alternative to transferring photos.

So let's get into it.

1What Happens If I Turn Off iCloud Photos?

iCloud Photo is an optional feature that can be used to store iPhone/iPad pictures captured on the device. However, you can also store images and videos captured on other devices to have a cloud backup.

So what happens if you turn off iCloud Photos on your iPhone or iPad?

When you turn off iCloud Photos, you won't be able to create a backup of any new images you capture on your device. Besides, you lose access to the images stored on iCloud but not captured on the device.

2Will Turning Off iCloud Photos Delete My Photos?

Naturally, when you opt to turn off iCloud Photos on your Apple device, you won't be able to access the files stored on the cloud storage. However, many people wonder if they will lose access to all photos or if all pictures will be deleted from iCloud storage.

The answer is NO! Neither iCloud Photos will delete the pictures once you turn them off, nor you lose access to images captured on your device. The local copy of every image or screenshot captured on the device will remain on the phone. However, you will lose access to the images that were captured on other devices.

3What Should You Do Before You Disable iCloud Photos?

Before you disable iCloud Photos on your phone or tablet, you have to do a few things as a preemptive measure. We already mentioned that disabling iCloud Photos will remove your access to all images stored on cloud storage except the ones captured on the same device. Therefore, if you want to disable iCloud Photos, make sure that you have created a backup of the images on iCloud that you might need in the future.

4How To Turn Off iCloud Photos?

Let's discuss how to turn off iCloud Photos on your Apple devices, be it iPhone, iPad, or Mac. We will tell you how to turn off iCloud Photos on your device.

iPhone/iPad

If you are using iPhone or iPad, follow these simple steps to turn off iCloud Photos:

Step 1. On your iPhone or iPad, go to the Settings of the device.

Step 2. Tap on < Your Name / Device Name >. Tap on iCloud > Photos

Step 3. Once in there, turn off iCloud Photos. Now any photos from your device will be backed up to your iCloud Photo Library.

Mac

What if you are using Macbook and want to turn off iCloud Photo Library? Here is the step-by-step guide on how to turn off iCloud Photo Library on Macbook:

Step 1. Open your Macbook and launch the Photos app.
Step 2. Click on Photos > Settings or Photos and click on Preferences.
Step 3. In Preferences, you will see the option of iCloud. Click on iCloud.
Step 4. Under iCloud, deselect the option of iCloud Photos. As soon as you do it, no more photos will be backed up to the iCloud Photos Library.

5How to Turn Off iCloud Photos Without Deleting Everything?

Many people think that iCloud Photos will delete everything from your device once you turn it off. We mentioned that nothing is deleted, but only the access is lost; however, if you are concerned about the data stored on iCloud but not captured on your device.

So how to turn off iCloud Photos without deleting everything?

Here is the step-by-guide to turn off iCloud Photos without deleting everything:

Step 1. On your iPhone or iPad, go to the Settings of the device.
Step 2. Tap on < Your Name / Device Name >. Tap on iCloud > Photos
Step 3. Once in there, turn off iCloud Photos. Now any photos from your device will be backed up to your iCloud Photo Library.
Step 4. You will have to do an additional step so that no data is deleted from your device. Tap on Download Photos and Videos once you turn off iCloud.

Similarly, if you want to turn off iCloud Photo Library without deleting photos on your Mac:

Step 1. Open your Macbook and launch the Photos app.
Step 2. Click on Photos > Settings or Photos and click on Preferences.
Step 3. In Preferences, you will see the option of iCloud. Click on iCloud.
Step 4. Under iCloud, deselect the option of iCloud Photos. As soon as you do it, no more photos will be backed up to the iCloud Photos Library.
Step 5. Once you have turned off the iCloud Photos Library on your Macbook, you will select Download Originals to keep all the data on your device.

6Alternative to iCloud Photo For File Transferring, backup, and more

You can also create a backup before turning off iCloud to avoid ending access to the photos and videos not captured on the devices. However, you can also rely on AirDroid Web, a third-party tool, for accessing and viewing iPhone Photos and downloading iCloud Photos without any problem.

AirDroid Web has the following features that make it a good alternative to iCloud Photos backup:

Manage your Android phone remotely from a web browser
Access iPhone files and photos via the web
Remotely activate and access the camera of your phone
Download iPhone photos to your PC
A go-to file transfer tool for iOS devices

Free Trial

Conclusion

We have discussed everything you need to know about turning iCloud Photos off or on. Whether you are using iPhone, iPad, or Macbook, you can turn off the iCloud Photo Syncing on your device. However, you might lose access to data stored on iCloud Photos. Therefore, you should back up your data before you turn off the syncing. Besides you can also download the data after turning iCloud off.

You can also rely on an alternative to iCloud Backup, which is AirDroid Web. You can simply access the AirDroid Web from the web browser of your Macbook, access iPhone files & photos, and also download them for offline access.

7FAQs

1.Can I delete photos from my iPhone and keep them on iCloud?

Charudatta

Yes, it is possible to delete photos from my iPhone and keep them on iCloud. You can do it by turning off the iCloud on your device, as we have discussed in the article. Once iCloud Photos is turned off, go to the Gallery of your iPhone, select the photos you want to delete, and delete the files. Now the photos are no longer present on iPhone, but you can still see them in iCloud storage.

2.How to turn off iCloud Photo syncing?

Charudatta

Turning off iCloud Photo Sharing and iCloud Photo Syncing are synonymous with Turning off iCloud Photo Library. Therefore, you will follow the simple steps as follow to turn off iCloud Photo Syncing: Settings > Device Name > iCloud > Photos > Toggle iCloud Photos to Off Position.

3.Why is my iCloud storage full after deleting photos?

Charudatta

Apple devices and iCloud have a feature of a Recently Deleted Folder. The purpose of the folder is same as recycle bin. However, the files in the Recently Deleted Folder remain available for 30 days. Once the period passes, the photos and videos are deleted. A possible reason why iCloud storage is full even after deleting photos is due to the Recently Deleted Folder. You should also check your Recently Deleted Folder and remove the pictures from there. Once you do it, the storage will be freed.

4.Do iCloud photos save storage?

Charudatta

The original high-resolution photos and videos are saved on the devices(iPhone, iPad, and Macbook). iCloud Photos stores optimized photos and videos that take up less space than the original version. Therefore, we can say that iCloud Photos save storage when you are using it to have a backup of your data.

5.How to turn on the iCloud photo library?

Charudatta

Here is how to enable iCloud Photo Library on your Apple devices: For iPhone/iPad: Settings > Device Name > iCloud > Photos > Toggle iCloud Photos to On Position. For Mac: Photos App > Settings or Photos > Preferences > iCloud > Turn on iCloud Photos.