Based on Apple design, Photos is synced with iCloud storage by default. As long as you remove one image from Photos app, its copy on iCloud will also automatically disappear. However, there are times when Mac users expect to delete photos from Mac but not iCloud, which can optimize Mac internal storage, and make it still possible to recover deleted photos on Mac or iPhone via backup. Can this be achieved? If yes, how? This article will tell the answer.
Can I Delete Photos from Mac and Keep on iCloud?
Of course you can. Solutions are truly available to delete photos from Mac without deleting them from iCloud. The most direct way is to cut off the connection between Photos app and iCloud by disabling iCloud syncing. Moreover, other potential options are also explained as follows for your reference.
How to Delete Photos from Mac Without Deleting them from iCloud?
Here we will dive into 3 practical methods for removing photos from Mac without deleting from iCloud. Let’s get familiar with them together.
Method 1: Turn off iCloud syncing
Turning off the syncing feature on iCloud can simply stop the deletion and addition of your photos on Mac from being updated to cloud. See below for the step-by-step instruction on unsyncing iCloud photos from Mac.
- Open your Mac > click on the Apple logo from the top-left corner of the screen > choose “System Preferences” from the drop-down menu.
- Find iCloud icon and hit on it.
- You will see a list of applications which the iCloud is synced with. Untick the check box next to Photos app.
- You might get a prompt to type the Mac user’s password to allow this change. After verify the password, click “OK” to continue.
- Then iCloud storage and your Photos library on Mac will be entirely disconnected. Now you can head to delete photos on Mac without deleting from iCloud.
Once you need to add new photos from Mac to iCloud in the future, don’t forget to turn on the syncing feature again. Or just upload your photos manually to the iCloud drive.
Method 2: Back up photos to external storage
Another less direct way to make a copy of the photos you want to erase is backing up these items to an external hard disk. That ensures the data safety even if your photos are both purged from Mac and iCloud. Afterwards, photos transferred to external storage can be further uploaded to iCloud. As below is the detailed tutorial.
- Prepare an external storage device (like USB) that works normally > connect it to your Mac.
- Locate the photo of which you want to create a backup > right click on it > select “Copy” option.
- Open the prepared external drive > right click to paste the item into this drive. So far your photo has been backed up successfully.
Method 3: Use iCloud alternatives
It’s an important fact that some cloud storage services work differently from iCloud. Providing you use these cloud services for photos backup on Mac, photos won’t be removed from the cloud storage when you delete them from Photos library on Mac machine. Such useful iCloud alternatives include Google Photos, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and so on. Therefore, in order to delete photos from Mac but not cloud storage, your third choice is going to try these cloud platforms.
What if Photos are Accidentally Deleted on Mac?
Deleting photos selectively on Mac is indeed a good opportunity to free up Mac internal storage space and improve computer performance. Unfortunately, in case you erase some photos that you intend to keep saved on Mac by mistake, thing will become a bit tricky. But not to worry too much, icloud.com still offers a beacon of hope.
iCloud is assigned with a “Trash Bin” on its own. We often called it the Recently Deleted folder. Suppose photos are removed on your Mac accidentally, they will turn to this folder in the first place, so that providing a chance on photo retrieval. Here is how to recover deleted photos from iCloud.
- Go to icloud.com by your browser on Mac > sign into iCloud with your Apple ID.
- If you use two-factor authentication, allow the connection on your iOS device and enter the verification code you have received.
- Choose Photos icon.
- From the left menu bar, select “Recently Deleted” album.
- Pick out the photos you’d like to retrieve, and hit “Recover” to revert them back to their original locations.
One shortcoming in this scenario is that you can’t choose and recover the recently deleted photos all at once. Instead you need to deal with them one by one. Thus, it might take much time and energy in the recovery process if you have masses of photos to be rescued.
