New to iCloud, need some help!

[bcemail]

Hi, never used iCloud, only ever backed up my iPhone via iTunes but I'd like to switch now. I'm assuming 5Gb isn't enough, especially if I want to start uploading photos. When I look in storage on my phone, it says my photos take us 25Gb, so maybe the 50 Gb plan would make sense? Other than photos, my biggest storage items on my phone are Music (which I wouldn't want uploaded) and then Safari and other apps. These don't count, right?

Is there an easy way to move photos from iCloud to my hard drive (Windows 10)? I have lots of photos from my DSLR so I'm used to storing them locally and I have online backup. If I move the photos, that would mean they aren't counting toward my iCloud total right?

Other than adding music, is there anything I would need iTunes for as far as backup goes? Had an instance where there wasn't a backup so started over on my phone, which was a huge pain.
Thanks for the help!

 

[0128672]

All apps that you enable for iCloud will store data there, so yes, they do count. For Windows, you can install iCloud for Windows (and iTunes for Windows too if you like), both available in the MS App Store. That will give you access to not only iCloud Photos but also iCloud Drive. You can download to your PC photos from iCloud Photos.

A good starting point is to read through the iCloud User Guide. This will answer many of your questions but of course ask anything you like here too.

iCloud User Guide

Use iCloud to keep photos, files, data, and more up to date across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Windows PC, and on iCloud.com.

support.apple.com

 

[bcemail]

All apps that you enable for iCloud will store data there, so yes, they do count. For Windows, you can install iCloud for Windows (and iTunes for Windows too if you like), both available in the MS App Store. That will give you access to not only iCloud Photos but also iCloud Drive. You can download to your PC photos from iCloud Photos.

A good starting point is to read through the iCloud User Guide. This will answer many of your questions but of course ask anything you like here too.

iCloud User Guide

Use iCloud to keep photos, files, data, and more up to date across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Windows PC, and on iCloud.com.

support.apple.com

Thanks for the link, lots of good info there.

For the apps, does the actual size of the app count? Or just data like user settings etc.? Just trying to figure out which storage size I need. Glad that I can download photos from iCloud. Does that remove them from my iCloud storage to free up space?

Thanks again

 

[0128672]

Thanks for the link, lots of good info there.

For the apps, does the actual size of the app count? Or just data like user settings etc.? Just trying to figure out which storage size I need. Glad that I can download photos from iCloud. Does that remove them from my iCloud storage to free up space?

Thanks again

The app is installed on your device, but the data and documents are stored in iCloud so that it's available on any of your other devices that have the same app installed. You can see how much storage is used for each app by going to Settings > [Your Account] > iCloud > Manage Storage.

Getting too close to the iCloud storage limit can cause problems with the way apps work, so whatever storage tier you decide on, give yourself space for your current needs plus room to grow.

As long as you have iCloud Photos enabled, a version of the photos will be stored in iCloud. Depending on the options you choose, you can optimize your device storage or download the originals to your device. You might also find this user guide helpful:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

iCloud Photos works with the Photos app to keep your photos and videos securely stored in iCloud, and up to date on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, and iCloud.com.

support.apple.com

 

[bcemail]

The app is installed on your device, but the data and documents are stored in iCloud so that it's available on any of your other devices that have the same app installed. You can see how much storage is used for each app by going to Settings > [Your Account] > iCloud > Manage Storage.

Getting too close to the iCloud storage limit can cause problems with the way apps work, so whatever storage tier you decide on, give yourself space for your current needs plus room to grow.

As long as you have iCloud Photos enabled, a version of the photos will be stored in iCloud. Depending on the options you choose, you can optimize your device storage or download the originals to your device. You might also find this user guide helpful:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

iCloud Photos works with the Photos app to keep your photos and videos securely stored in iCloud, and up to date on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, Apple TV, and iCloud.com.

support.apple.com

Ah, I had checked iCloud > Manage Storage but thought the app data was in Mb, but it's in Kb! So not as much as I thought.

And just to clarify, after I download to my PC, can I remove pictures from iCloud? That way it won't always be growing? I would imagine people fill that up pretty quickly, I don't take as many pictures or videos as some people (possibly my wife...). I wasn't sure what you meant when you said a version of the photos would always be stored in iCloud.
Thanks again for all the help!

 

[0128672]

Ah, I had checked iCloud > Manage Storage but thought the app data was in Mb, but it's in Kb! So not as much as I thought.

And just to clarify, after I download to my PC, can I remove pictures from iCloud? That way it won't always be growing? I would imagine people fill that up pretty quickly, I don't take as many pictures or videos as some people (possibly my wife...). I wasn't sure what you meant when you said a version of the photos would always be stored in iCloud.
Thanks again for all the help!

iCloud Photos works with the Photos app, so you'd have to turn iCloud Photos off if you don't want to use that storage. That would mean your photos via the Photos app would not be available on other devices, only the device on which you're storing them.

What I meant about a version would always be stored in iCloud is only true if you have iCloud Photos enabled. If it's enabled, a version of your photos is stored in iCloud; if it's disabled, they're only stored locally on that device.

Of course you can store a folder (or folders) of your photos using iCloud Drive, but they wouldn't be viewable and editable in the Photos app.

There's quite a bit to learn about how iCloud, iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos, and iCloud Backup work, so I recommend taking your time to learn everything you can before you start disabling features.

 

[Mike Boreham]

iCloud Photos works with the Photos app, so you'd have to turn iCloud Photos off if you don't want to use that storage. That would mean your photos via the Photos app would not be available on other devices, only the device on which you're storing them.

What I meant about a version would always be stored in iCloud is only true if you have iCloud Photos enabled. If it's enabled, a version of your photos is stored in iCloud; if it's disabled, they're only stored locally on that device.

Of course you can store a folder (or folders) of your photos using iCloud Drive, but they wouldn't be viewable and editable in the Photos app.

There's quite a bit to learn about how iCloud, iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos, and iCloud Backup work, so I recommend taking your time to learn everything you can before you start disabling features.

Good advice to learn first but be careful! iCloud for Windows is nothing like iCloud for Mac. There is no Photos app and no iCloud Photos Library. I have only dabbled with photos in iCloud on Windows but enough to realise that it is very different.

 

[0128672]

Good advice to learn first but be careful! iCloud for Windows is nothing like iCloud for Mac. There is no Photos app and no iCloud Photos Library. I have only dabbled with photos in iCloud on Windows but enough to realise that it is very different.

Yes, of course iCloud for Windows is very different. But to download one's iCloud photos onto a PC, which is what the OP asked for, it will work just fine. Learning about everything first and having backups is the key before deleting anything.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Yes, of course iCloud for Windows is very different. But to download one's iCloud photos onto a PC, which is what the OP asked for, it will work just fine. Learning about everything first and having backups is the key before deleting anything.

I am 99% all Mac but I have Windows 10 in Parallels which has iCloud for Windows installed and iCloud Photos turned on . I did this to find out more for a relative but haven't really followed up, so interested to learn from this thread.

From the OP's point of view, my concern would be about how iCloud for Windows syncs with the Apple iCloud. In an all-Apple setup if you delete a photo which is in your Apple iCloud Photos Library, it is deleted on all devices and from iCloud (but stays in recently deleted for 30 days). The OP talked about deleting photos from their phone once they were downloaded to their PC. I just tried deleting a photo from my iPhone and it was deleted from the Windows iCloud Photos album on the PC. Also the default setting does not put the full size photo in the Windows iCloud Photo album.

As far as I can tell, if the OP wants to delete pics off their phone once they are on their PC they needs to do two things before deleting:

1. Click the option "always keep on this device" so that a full-size pic is downloaded to the PC
2. Move or copy the photos to a different folder on the PC, out of the iCloud Photos album, so that they don't get deleted when they are deleted from the phone..

The above would make sure they have their full size photos in the PC but they will not be in the iCloud and not syncing to other devices.

As I said I am no expert on Photos in iCloud for Windows but these are the concerns I had when I said be careful earlier. Happy to be told I am wrong about this.

 

[Mike Boreham]

As far as I can tell, if the OP wants to delete pics off their phone once they are on their PC they needs to do two things before deleting:

1. Click the option "always keep on this device" so that a full-size pic is downloaded to the PC
2. Move or copy the photos to a different folder on the PC, out of the iCloud Photos album, so that they don't get deleted when they are deleted from the phone..

On reflection, I wonder if the setting "always keep on this device" would prevent it being deleted when the pic is deleted from the phone. This would make 2. above unnecessary. The converse option is "free up space" so I assumed that it meant the same as full size original (as opposed to "optimised") on the Apple side.

 

[Mike Boreham]

On reflection, I wonder if the setting "always keep on this device" would prevent it being deleted when the pic is deleted from the phone. This would make 2. above unnecessary. The converse option is "free up space" so I assumed that it meant the same as full size original (as opposed to "optimised") on the Apple side.

It doesn't! "Always keep on this device" does not stop it being deleted. Just did a test:

-took a photo on phone,
-it appeared a few seconds later in the Windows iCloud Photos album.
-I right clicked "always keep on this device"
-A green bar appeared briefly under the thumbnail as it downloaded the full size pic.
-I deleted the photo on my phone
-It disappeared from the Windows iCloud Photos album.

This also confirms the steps I mentioned earlier that must be done before deleting off the phone.

 

[bcemail]

It doesn't! "Always keep on this device" does not stop it being deleted. Just did a test:

-took a photo on phone,
-it appeared a few seconds later in the Windows iCloud Photos album.
-I right clicked "always keep on this device"
-A green bar appeared briefly under the thumbnail as it downloaded the full size pic.
-I deleted the photo on my phone
-It disappeared from the Windows iCloud Photos album.

This also confirms the steps I mentioned earlier that must be done before deleting off the phone.

Thanks for adding this info! This is the sort of thing that has had me confused.

I just downloaded iCloud for Windows and turned on the Photos option (had it off first since I thought it was just moving stuff from my PC to iCloud, not vice versa). Now I have the iCloud Photos folder in File Explorer and it pulled down the photos from iCloud. So far only 3 photos have green check marks, the rest have cloud icons. Do I need to actually download these? Am I just bascially seeing iCloud.com but in File Explorer?
--Just copy and pasted a photo to another folder, and that seems to have triggered the download, now it's a green check mark--
I'll have to see what is easier, copy and pasting from my iCloud Photos folder, or downloading a zip file from iCLoud.com. Either way, I plan on copying them to a separate folder in order to make sure they are saved (and in my online backup that I use). Once copied, shouldn't be affected, right?

Also, where you said:

1. Click the option "always keep on this device" so that a full-size pic is downloaded to the PC

I thought that option meant a full size pic is pushed to your phone. Isn't the pic on iCloud always full size?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Mike Boreham]

Thanks for adding this info! This is the sort of thing that has had me confused.

I just downloaded iCloud for Windows and turned on the Photos option (had it off first since I thought it was just moving stuff from my PC to iCloud, not vice versa). Now I have the iCloud Photos folder in File Explorer and it pulled down the photos from iCloud. So far only 3 photos have green check marks, the rest have cloud icons. Do I need to actually download these? Am I just bascially seeing iCloud.com but in File Explorer?
--Just copy and pasted a photo to another folder, and that seems to have triggered the download, now it's a green check mark--
I'll have to see what is easier, copy and pasting from my iCloud Photos folder, or downloading a zip file from iCLoud.com. Either way, I plan on copying them to a separate folder in order to make sure they are saved (and in my online backup that I use). Once copied, shouldn't be affected, right?

Also, where you said:

I thought that option meant a full size pic is pushed to your phone. Isn't the pic on iCloud always full size?

Thanks for all the help!

You asked " Am I just bascially seeing iCloud.com but in File Explorer?" Same pictures but your PC downloads an actual "optimised" small version of the pics to your PC. When you click "always keep a copy" it downloads the full size.

Yes the version on iCloud is always full size.

 

[bcemail]

You asked " Am I just bascially seeing iCloud.com but in File Explorer?" Same pictures but your PC downloads an actual "optimised" small version of the pics to your PC. When you click "always keep a copy" it downloads the full size.

Yes the version on iCloud is always full size.

Wait, I was thinking of the option on my phone of "Optimize iPhone Storage" vs. "Download and Keep Originals." Or maybe the Transfer options of "Automatic" vs "Keep Originals". I've been playing around with a lot of settings getting everything set up!

So you are talking about right-clicking on a photo in the iCloud Photos folder in File Explorer? Or is there a setting that changes this for all photos?

To ensure I have a full sized version of the photos, should I download from iCloud.com, unzip, and move to a new folder, rather than copying from the iCloud Photos folder?

Thanks!

 

[Mike Boreham]

Wait, I was thinking of the option on my phone of "Optimize iPhone Storage" vs. "Download and Keep Originals." Or maybe the Transfer options of "Automatic" vs "Keep Originals". I've been playing around with a lot of settings getting everything set up!

So you are talking about right-clicking on a photo in the iCloud Photos folder in File Explorer? Or is there a setting that changes this for all photos?

To ensure I have a full sized version of the photos, should I download from iCloud.com, unzip, and move to a new folder, rather than copying from the iCloud Photos folder?

Thanks!

You don't need to download directly from iCloud.com.

You can right click > 'Always keep on this device' on the iCloud Photos folder, or a group of pics or an individual pic.

You should be fine moving the full size pics to a new folder from the iCloud Photos folder.

Bear in mind that once you delete them from the iCloud folder they will delete from your iCloud so they won't be available on any other devices signed in to iCloud, but will of course stop your iCloud usage building up.