How to Transfer Photos to iCloud Library from Devices

With iCloud drive, you can access your photos, videos, music and documents from any device. In this guide you will learn how to transfer photos to iCloud.

How to transfer photos to iCloud on iPhone and iPad

To transfer your entire photos, you need to enable iCloud access for photos app. Follow the steps to do so.

Open settings on your device, it is a gear icon on your home screen.

On the top on settings menu, you have your profile name and picture (if you have set any). Tap on your profile.

Then tap on iCloud.

You will see a list of apps with their switch buttons. Find photos and turn its switch on (turns green).

Important notes about iCloud Photos

Now your entire photo gallery including videos will be synced to your iCloud storage. The time to sync depends on the speed of internet.

Once your photos are synced, you can access them on any device through this account.

When you enable access for photos, it will give two options, Optimize iPhone/iPad storage, Download and keep original. The first option means that low resolution photo will be saved in your device storage and original resolution on iCloud. The second option means no change in resolution on eithers.

When you deletes a photo from your iPhone/iPad device, it is also deleted from iCloud too. Similarly, when you deletes a photo from iCloud storage, it is deleted also deleted from your device.

How to transfer photos to iCloud on Mac

Photos in Mac can also be transferred to iCloud photos library. Follow the steps below on Mac OS X to sync your photos to iCloud.

Click on photos on your mac > click on photos from menu bar.
Click on preferences from drop down list > click on iCloud Tab from the interface.
Check the box saying iCloud Photo Library.
If you want to store low resolution photo in your mac storage and original resolution photo in iCloud storage, check the box saying optimize mac storage.

Now, you have successfully enabled syncing between your mac photo library and iCloud photo library. When you are connected to internet, your photos will be synced with iCloud and iCloud photos with your mac Photos.

How to view photos synced by iCloud

If you want to view/download photos from your iCloud library that are synced from your iPhone, iPad or mac device, follow the steps below.

Open www.icloud.com
Sign in with your ID and Password.
Click on photos.

All of your pictures, synced from all devices will be here in photo library. This method works on every Operating System like Windows, Android, Linux etc.

Store your Passwords in iCloud Keychain

In this guide, we would also like to introduce you with iCloud keychain feature. As the name implies, this feature allowed you to save your passwords, here saving means iCloud makes backup of your passwords and they can be restored later. So, follow the steps below to enable iCloud keychain.

Open settings on your iOS device.
Tap on iCloud.
In iCloud section, find keychain option and turn its button on (it will turn green).

Now, it will keep your passwords and whenever you need to enter them, keychain will autofill the password field.

How do I save all my photos to iCloud?

First, navigate to Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos and toggle to on, which will automatically upload and store your library to iCloud, including iCloud.com, where you can view and download photos on a computer.

Do photos stay on iPhone if deleted from iCloud?

Your device will immediately remove any photos and videos that you delete and they won’t be available for recovery in your Recently Deleted album. If you’re out of storage, your devices won’t back up to iCloud, and new photos, videos, documents, and your information won’t stay up to date.

How do I know if my photos are backed up on iCloud?

First you have to turn on iCloud Back Up:

To turn on iCloud backup, go to Settings > iCloud > Backup.
Turn on iCloud Backup.
Make sure you’re connected to the WiFi and click the Back Up Now button.
To check whether you backed up your photos, go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage and view your latest backup.

How do I get my old pictures from iCloud?

iCloud Photos securely stores all of your photos and videos in iCloud, so that you can access them on all your devices.

On your Mac:

Go to Photos > Preferences.
Click the iCloud tab.
Select iCloud Photos.

How do I view photos stored in iCloud?

How long do photos stay in iCloud?

Question: Q: how long does icloud save your pictures

The backup is saved until overwritten, and photo stream photos remain in iCloud for 30 days. The iCloud backup includes your camera roll pictures, but those are overwritten each time you back up.

Does iCloud store photos permanently?

1 To touch up a photo or keep a favorite shot permanently, simply save it to your Camera Roll. iCloud stores new photos for 30 days, so you have plenty of time to connect your iOS device to Wi-Fi and make sure you always have your most recent shots handy.

Should I use iCloud for photos?

Bottom line. For me, iCloud Photo Library is an excellent way to bring my images and video to all my devices. It boasts impressive sync capabilities, offline photo access, and easy management and backup, even for gigantic libraries. But it also has a few caveats that, while not deal-breakers for me, might be for others

Does iCloud store all photos forever?

The photos and videos that you delete on one device are deleted everywhere that you use iCloud Photos. Photos and videos stay in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days before they’re deleted permanently.

What happens to photos when iCloud off?

If you turn off the iCloud Photo Library, it will remove photos from your iPhone that weren’t taken on that device. If you want to learn how to turn off iCloud photos without deleting everything, here’s how to ensure current iCloud images aren’t removed during the process.

Will iCloud delete my photos if I don’t pay?

You can‘t send or receive messages with your iCloud email address. Learn how to manage your storage by deleting backups, documents, photos, and email messages that you don’t need anymore. If you cancel your plan or you don’t renew it, you’ll automatically go back to 5GB of free storage.

Why is iPhone storage full when I have iCloud?

The biggest thing that takes up storage is photos. If you’re running iOS 9 or later, then go to Settings -> iCloud -> Photos and enable iCloud Photo Library. Then, make sure optimize iPhone storage is checked. Also, delete any apps that you may not use.

Does iCloud free up storage on iPhone?

Use the Cloud

Moving files to the Cloud is an easy way to free up space locally on your iPhone. For those with large Camera Rolls, enabling Apple iCloud offers 5GB of space for free. There’s also an option under Settings > iCloud > Photos (when iCloud Photo Library is turned on) called Optimize iPhone Storage.

How do I use iCloud storage instead of iPhone storage?

To do so:

Head to Settings and tap on your name (underneath should read “Apple ID, iCloud, iTunes, & App Store”).
Select “Change Storage Plan”.
From those available, choose which storage plan works best for your needs.
Once selected, tap on Buy.
You may be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID to confirm the purchase.

Is buying iCloud storage worth it?

iCloud Storage is one of the most misused and misunderstood features of the iPhone. I love Apple products, but there’s no other way to put this: In most cases, buying iCloud Storage is unnecessary and you should never pay for it.

Is iCloud storage worth it 2021?

The iCloud Drive file-syncing and storage service is worth using, especially if you’re committed to Apple’s ecosystem, but it doesn’t quite measure up to the competition from Google and Microsoft.

What is better iCloud or Google Drive?

iCloud is the more secure platform, although Google Drive has made several necessary steps forward recently. Both platforms enable you to use multi-factor authentication, which we highly recommend. Almost all data stored on iCloud’s servers is encrypted both in transit and at rest to 128-bit AES standard.