I have an iPhone XS with iOS 12. In the photos app, I selected 5 photos and clicked on the Messages icon to send them to someone. In iOS 11 this would send the photos as separate photos through text or iMessage. For whatever reason, the photos were combined into some sort of iCloud link available for a month. How can I disable this? Thanks!
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Disable iCloud Photo Linking?
- Thread starter jason2811
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Are you on iOS 12? If I open Photos, select 5 photos, press the Share button, then select Messages, it generates an iCloud photo link (rather then sending the actual photos like in iOs11) as I mentioned above. Does the same thing not happen to you? I would like to disable this.
Did some more testing. Selecting more than 3 pictures creates a link, 3 or less sends as usual. Don't know if you can disable this.
Just a question, why does this bother you? Whats good about it is that the link will be sent immediately and the person receiving it can download it when they want to from iCloud. Instead of having to wait for all files being sent thus also saving data if you're on mobile.
Well first of all the link expires so you can’t come back a month or two later and see the photos. Second, I don’t think they can even download the photos from the link. I tried to open the link and you can only view the photos not download.
If you sent one to yourself you were looking at the sent copy not the received. With the received link when you select a photo you can "add to library". Selecting all and then long pressing one lets you add them all to your library.
This is likely a side effect of messages in iCloud (vs saved in back ups). You could accidentally (or even intentionally) run someone out of iCloud space with a single message. Plus there were too many duplicates before if you saved a photo from messages with iCloud services on, 2 in iCloud (messages and iCloud photo library) and 2 on the phone (photos.app and message.app). Plus there was 2 uploads from the receiving device, 1 to iCloud photo library and 1 to Message in iCloud.
The recipients settings would contribute however I think you see my point.
There are a ton of benefits to this current method. Since most people just glance at photos and dismiss them they allows just that without the data and storage use. Sometimes you save a photo and this also allows that but lets you pick out exactly what you want to download.
The negatives are obvious and you bring up both. The download process is convoluted, the recipient can't turn it off (which this should be an option on the receivers end). You can't reference an old photo that you decided wasn't important at the time you received it (which is something I have done quite a few times).
