Disabling iCloud photos didn’t delete local data completely

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Level 1

6 points

Disabling iCloud photos didn’t delete local data completely

Hey!

I am trying to remove the low res photos from my phone kept by iCloud Photos. I disabled iCloud Photos and choose delete, and while it deleted most of the things locally on my phone ( not all for sine reason but whatever), the siege used reported by Photos skyrocketed from 25 Gb to 75Gb. How is it possible for storage usage to go up :))

Is it maybe a bug, or should I keep iCloud Photos disabled for longer until the phone does background cleaning? Maybe someone can help me with this. Thank you!

iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 18

Posted on May 3, 2025 11:14 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Kaioliver

Level 1

66 points

May 3, 2025 11:20 PM in response to adi_random

Turning off iCloud Photos often triggers your iPhone to download and keep originals, pulling every full-resolution image back onto the device, and meanwhile deleted photos remain in the Recently Deleted album (where they still occupy space for 30 days) . To reclaim storage, empty the Recently Deleted album in Photos , enable Optimize iPhone Storage under Settings > Photos to swap full-res files for device-sized versions , then reboot your iPhone.

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Answer 2

LD150

Level 10

100,047 points

May 4, 2025 2:57 AM in response to adi_random

Often the best way to clear out remnants after disabling iCloud Photos is to Backup as you normally do, then Erase all content & Settings to completely wipe the phone.

From Hello screen you set it up again and restore the backup. Immediately it is set up double check that iCloud Photos is still turned off.

Back up iPhone – Apple Support (UK)

Erase iPhone – Apple Support (UK)

Set up your iPhone or iPad – Apple Support (UK)

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Answer 3

adi_random Author

Level 1

6 points

May 4, 2025 12:11 AM in response to Kaioliver

That doesn't quite make sense. Firstly, there are separate options for Download Original and Delete Local. Why would both options do the same things? And secondly, the reported storage increased instantly while the local deletion was in progress (I could see the photo count in Photos going down in real time). So there was no time for a download to happen. So unless it directly got the "estimated" storage used from iCloud ( since there is in fact not that much data locally yet) I don't think that is the case.

Plus, why would it download the high res images locally and not make them available in the photos app?

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 4

adi_random Author

Level 1

6 points

May 4, 2025 12:08 AM in response to Kaioliver

Also, just to clarify, I do have Optimized Storage On - but it takes up 25 Gb with the low res images for nothing. I wanted to reset it.

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Disabling iCloud photos didn’t delete local data completely

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