Photo Storage Question

[tfindlay]

I'm confused about what is stored on my iPhone and what is stored in iCloud in terms of photos. In the storage management settings it shows 147 MB for Photos & Camera. Shouldn't everything be stored in iCloud or is the 147 MB the amount of space taken up by the Photos and Camera apps?

 

[chas_m]

I'm confused about what is stored on my iPhone and what is stored in iCloud in terms of photos. In the storage management settings it shows 147 MB for Photos & Camera. Shouldn't everything be stored in iCloud or is the 147 MB the amount of space taken up by the Photos and Camera apps?

The answer very much depends on whether you are using iCloud Photo Library or not. I'm not, because at present it appears to be an "all or nothing" proposition -- it wants to upload my entire Photo library and that would exceed the space I have.

Assuming you're not using iCloud Photo Library, than all of the photos on your iOS device are stored locally, and are controlled by what you told it to sync in iTunes.

 

[tfindlay]

Thanks Chas. I am using iCloud. I am paying a monthly fee so it can accommodate my photos. This being the case, I assume the storage shown for Photos and Camera in the Manage Storage setting reflects the storage required for the apps and any photos that I haven't deleted from the device.

Which brings up another question. When I delete photos from my iPhone or iPad I am assuming they are not being deleted from iCloud. Am I right in thinking that photos are only deleted from iCloud if I go into iCloud and delete them there?

 

[chas_m]

When I delete photos from my iPhone or iPad I am assuming they are not being deleted from iCloud. Am I right in thinking that photos are only deleted from iCloud if I go into iCloud and delete them there?

Since I don't use iCloud Photo Library, I can't say for sure -- but I would THINK that deleting a photo off your iPhone that is only there because of iCloud Photo Library would delete it off the iCloud library, and subsequently to all synced devices. You'll have to test this theory yourself on an unimportant or test photo to find out for sure, however.