How To Turn Icloud Photo Library On Mac Rating: 8,8/10 9399 votes

The best place for all your photos, files, and more.

iCloud is built into every Apple device. That means all your stuff — photos, files, notes, and more — is safe, up to date, and available wherever you are. And it works automatically, so all you have to do is keep doing what you love. Everyone gets 5GB of free iCloud storage to start, and it’s easy to add more at any time.

iCloud Photos

All your photos and videos.
Always available.

2020-2-3  To upload original versions of your Mac library, click Photos Preferences and turn on iCloud Photos. You can also use AirDrop to copy the photos from your computer to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID on your computer and iOS device. Unlock your iOS device and turn on AirDrop. I recently wrote a Mac 911 column titled, “Yes, if you delete your photos from iCloud Photo Library, they’re deleted everywhere.”I thought that might close the door on the question. ICloud Photo Library was introduced with iOS 8, but with the launch of the Photos for OS X app, it's now available on the Mac. In a nutshell, ‌iCloud Photo Library‌ is Apple's newest photo.

A lifetime of photos
on all your devices.

2020-3-3  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, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, and iCloud.com. How it works iCloud Photos automatically keeps every photo and video you take in iCloud, so you can access your library from any device, anytime you want. ICloud Drive lets you organize your files with folders, rename them, and tag them with colors. And when you make a change, the update is made across all your devices. You can even have everything in your Mac Desktop and Documents folders automatically available in iCloud Drive. 2020-4-6  iCloud Photo Library is a great way to back up the images you capture on your iPhone. But if you don't have much space left in your iCloud storage, or indeed on your device, then you might be.

With iCloud Photos, you can browse, search, and share all the photos and videos from any of your devices, whether they were taken yesterday or years ago.

Take all the photos you want. Without worrying about space on your devices.

To save space on your devices, the original, full‑resolution photos you take are automatically uploaded to iCloud. You’ll still always have a lightweight version of every photo on your device, and you can download the originals whenever you need them.

All your files available from all your devices.

The files you keep safe in iCloud Drive are easy to get to, no matter which device you’re using. You can access all your files from the Files app on iOS, the Finder on your Mac, File Explorer for Windows PCs, or iCloud.com.

Organize files however you want. Get to them on any device you want.

iCloud Drive lets you organize your files with folders, rename them, and tag them with colors. And when you make a change, the update is made across all your devices. You can even have everything in your Mac Desktop and Documents folders automatically available in iCloud Drive.

Apps using iCloud

Your favorite apps are
even better with iCloud.

All your essentials.
Accessible from all your devices.

iCloud automatically keeps apps — including Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, Safari, and some of your favorite apps from the App Store — updated across all your devices. So when you add a new phone number, bookmark a website, or update a slide in a presentation, the change appears everywhere.

Collaborate with Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Notes.

Work with others on documents, presentations, and spreadsheets and see edits as they’re made. With live updates on all your devices, your collaborators will always be on the same page.

Every message. Updated across all your devices.

iCloud now automatically stores all of your messages. Search for an address, a funny exchange, or anything else. And you can pick up every conversation right where you left off. Even when you move to a new phone or computer.

iCloud Backup and Restore

All the things that matter.
Safe and secure.

Automatic backups give you peace of mind.

iCloud automatically backs up your iOS devices when they’re connected to power and Wi-Fi. So if you lose your device or get a new one, you’ll have all the things that matter without missing a beat.1

Move to a new device with everything you loved about your old one.

iCloud makes moving your settings, photos, apps, and documents to a new device seamless. Just sign in to iCloud when you set up your new device, and you’ll be ready to go in minutes.

Two‑factor authentication helps keep your data safe.

Two‑factor authentication is an extra layer of security designed to ensure that only you can access your account. That means your account can only be accessed on devices you trust, like your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Find the storage plan that’s right for you.

The right amount of storage depends on how you and your family members want to use your devices. Everyone gets 5GB of free iCloud storage to get started and it’s easy to upgrade at any time. Your apps and iTunes purchases don’t count toward your iCloud storage space, so you need it just for things like photos, videos, files, and device backups.

How To Turn Icloud Photo Library On Mac Laptop

Good for safely storing all the basics, like contacts, calendars, and notes.
Recommended for storing your photos, videos, files, and app data and backing up your device.
Good for families or one person with lots of photos and videos.
A lifetime of photos, videos, and everything else for you and up to five family members. Ideal for families to share.

Family Sharing

Family Sharing makes it easy for you and up to five family members to share iTunes, Apple Books, and App Store purchases, an Apple Music family plan, an iCloud storage plan, and more.2

Designed with your
privacy in mind.

Apple takes the security of your data and the privacy of your personal information very seriously. Because of that, iCloud features are designed to keep your information safe, secure, and available only to you.

Backing your iPhone or iPad to iCloud, and backing up photos on your Mac, can be very useful. It makes it easy to recover data in the event of a catastrophic problem with your device, and means you never have to worry about losing your precious photos.

Library

In addition, individual apps on your Mac can use iCloud to store data, in order to make it available on multiple devices. However, there may be occasions when you need to turn off iCloud backup. Perhaps your iCloud storage is nearing its maximum limit, or you switch to a different backup strategy. In this article, we’ll show you how to stop iCloud backup on a Mac and on an iOS device.

How to stop iCloud backup on your Mac

Unlike an iPhone or iPad, your Mac doesn’t backup all of its files to iCloud – Apple’s recommended solution for backing up your Mac is to use Time Machine with either a directly-connected hard drive or SSD or with a compatible network drive like Time Capsule. However, Photos on your Mac stores images in iCloud if you use iCloud Photo Library, and various apps use iCloud to store files and data.

May 30, 2019  Despite the fact that Apple keeps the Mac Library folder hidden from users, it’s good to learn how to show the Library folder on Mac. You may need to access the Library folder when you need to clear cache, remove the app’s leftovers, edit preference files manually, etc. Jan 12, 2020  You can access the hidden Library folder without using Terminal, which has the side effect of revealing every hidden file on your Mac. This method will only make the Library folder visible, and only for as long as you keep the Finder window for the Library folder open. Show library folder mac os. Oct 03, 2018  Inside the home folder on your Mac is a Library folder that stores app-specific files and settings, personal settings, and some data. Access the Library Folder Using the Go to Folder Option.

How to stop apps using iCloud

  1. Go to the Apple menu and click System Preferences.
  2. Choose the iCloud pane.
  3. At the top of the next window, next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
  4. Scroll through the list of apps in the next window and uncheck the box next to those you don’t want to store data on iCloud.
  5. Click Done.

Note: Switching off iCloud for apps may impair the performance of the app. You should check the app’s website and satisfy yourself that it will continue to work properly before you uncheck the box.

How to disable iCloud Photo Library

If you take lots of photos, storing them in iCloud is going to use several gigabytes of disk space. For most of us, that means paying for extra storage. While the cost of extra iCloud space is relatively small, you may want to stick with the 5GB we all get for free. And so, you might need to turn off iCloud Photo Library.

To turn off iCloud Photo Library on a Mac:

  1. Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
  2. Click on the iCloud pane.
  3. Select Options next to Photos.
  4. Uncheck the box next to iCloud Photo Library.

That will stop your Mac using iCloud Photo Library, but it won’t stop photos you take on your iPhone or iPad being backed up to iCloud.

To stop photos being backed up to iCloud for all devices on your account, do the following:

  1. Launch System Preferences.
  2. Click on the iCloud pane.
  3. Press Manage Storage.
  4. Select Photo Library.
  5. Click Disable and Delete.

That will disable iCloud Photo Library altogether. You have 30 days after clicking the button to download your photos, after which your photographs will be deleted from iCloud.

Tip: If you want to free up space used by the Photos app on your Mac, as well as in iCloud,CleanMyMac X can help. It has a special utility designed for removing files you don’t need. Here’s how to use it.

  1. Download CleanMyMac free here.
  2. Once it’s installed, launch it from your Applications folder.
  3. In the Cleaning section on the left hand side, choose Photo Junk.
  4. Press the Scan button.
  5. Click Clean to remove the files right away or select Review Details to discover what it’s found.
  6. If you clicked Review Details, uncheck the box next to anything you don’t want to delete, then press Clean.

How to turn off iCloud completely on a Mac

Turning off iCloud altogether will have significant consequences for the way you use your Mac. You won’t be able to use iCloud Drive, or any app that stores files in iCloud. In addition, you won’t be able to sync Reminders, Contacts, Calendar entries, Keychain items, or Safari Bookmarks. And features like Handoff and Universal Clipboard won’t work. So, think carefully before you do it. Still want to go ahead? Here’s what to do.

  1. Go to System Preferences and click on iCloud.
  2. Press Sign Out at the bottom left of the window.

How to turn off iCloud backup on an iPhone

  1. Launch the Settings app.
  2. Tap your name at the top of the screen.
  3. Scroll down to iCloud Backup and tap it.
  4. Toggle the iCloud Backup switch to the off position.

Your iPhone will no longer backup to iCloud. That means if you lose it, you’ll lose all the changes to data that have taken place since the last backup.

The process for turning off iCloud backup on an iPad is the same as for an iPhone.

Using this method, you’ll still be able to sync data from Reminders, Calendar and other apps with iCloud. And iCloud Keychain, Universal copy and paste, and Handoff will all work. In addition, any apps that store data in iCloud, will continue to work as normal.

How To Turn Icloud Photo Library On Macbook Air

If you want to prevent specific apps from using iCloud to store data, here’s what to do:

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap your name, then tap iCloud.
  3. Scroll through the list of apps and toggle the switch next to the ones you want to stop using iCloud to the off position.

To log out of iCloud altogether, go to Settings, tap your name and then tap Sign Out. This will have the same effect as it does on the Mac, described above.

There are a number of different ways to turn off iCloud backup, depending on whether you want to prevent individual apps using it, stop an iOS device from backing up to iCloud, or sign out of iCloud altogether. Make sure you read the above carefully and choose the method that suits your needs, in order to prevent your Mac or iOS device losing functionality you want to keep.

How To Turn On Icloud Photo Library On Macbook Pro

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