How to delete photos from iphone but not icloud reddit

Hey guys, relatively new apple user here. I've googled this question but have been getting conflicting answers and I also suspect some replies may be outdated.

Currently have the Iphone 8 plus with iOS 11.4.2. Up until now, I've had all my photos on my camera roll automatically "back up" to iCloud.

However, now I want to delete photos on my camera roll ( on my phone), but still keep the back-ups on the cloud. Is this possible? How would I do that? Because I was told if you delete a photo from your camera roll, it's also gone from your cloud.

Thanks

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If you have optimize iPhone Storage in the settings app under photos then the photos aren’t fully saved to your iPhone but just thumbnails. Once you click an image to view it, it downloads the full resolution for you to see. Once you’re done with it, it will delete any full resolution photos and you’ll just have the thumbnails again. Also yes, if you delete the picture/thumbnail from your phone it then deletes from iCloud in the trash folder. Once deleted from the trash folder, that’s gone forever.

It seems like you just need to turn on optimize storage in the photo settings to achieve what you want as best as iCloud will let you.

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is there actually a way to delete photos from my phone WITHOUT deleting them from iCloud? I have no storage left on my phone.

level 1

Not with iCloud enabled. You can check “optimize storage”, but that’s it.

Google Photos functions like what you’re asking for, but you’ve probably already considered it.

level 1

No because iCloud mirrors your iPhone, it isn’t like an external storage device. Try going to settings, photos and enable optimize iPhone storage. It should move most of the full size photos to iCloud and your iPhone will only show thumbnails which take up way less space.

i have 4200 photos and they’re using less than 1GB of space

level 1

iCloud is a sync service. Look for a backup service, perhaps Google Photos. Or turn on iCloud Photo Library - Optimize Photos.

level 1

okay, thanks guys. I think I will transfer all of them to google photos, and then delete them from my phone.

level 1

You could just turn off iCloud library and then delete your iphone pictures ?

level 2

It deletes along with your iphone pictures as well

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I'm still confused lol. deep breath

Let's say I have 12 photos on my phone, which is synced with icloud, so those 12 photos are both in icloud as well as on my phone. The 12 photos are both local and in the cloud. Clear enough.

I then unsync, and then delete the 12 photos off my phone. So now, the 12 photos are no longer on the phone, but still in icloud. Clear enough.

Now, one day I decide to sync with icloud. Are the 12 photos then deleted from icloud, or does icloud 'override' the phone and the 12 photos get put back on my phone? Not clear at all.

I bet if you asked ten people on the street about icloud, at least half of them would think icloud functions the same as any other backup service. Hell, this confusion comes up all the time in this very sub, which says something.

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