Removing iCloud-synced photos from iPad while keeping local photos

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Removing iCloud-synced photos from iPad while keeping local photos

I had to enable iCloud photos because of insufficient storage to update my iPad. Being finished with that, I now want to remove all of the photos that got synced from the iCloud to my iPad while keeping the local photos that were originally on my iPad before turning on iCloud. With 32 GB of total storage on my iPad and 190 GB worth of iCloud storage, I don't think I'd be able to choose "Download and Keep Originals", and I don't know if just by clicking "Remove from iPad" it would solve my dilemma.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Is it possible to delete iCloud-synced photos off of my iPad, but keep the photos before iCloud was enabled. Wondering before I click "Remove from iPad"

iPad, iPadOS 15

Posted on Oct 20, 2025 12:41 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 20, 2025 9:27 AM in response to SoberaB00

How do you know which pictures were on your phone before you merged them with those in iCloud Photos? How many are there of each kind? Separating them can be really hard.

iCloud Photos keeps exactly the same pictures at iCloud.com and on the iPhone. "Optimize" works by keeping smaller versions on the phone and relying on the full files being kept at iCloud Photos. The only way they you can have different pictures in Photos on a phone than at iCloud is to turn off iCloud.

As you mentioned, if you try turning off iCloud on the device, you get this ominous warning:

(Sorry, that's my phone. The iPad's pretty much the same.)

"Remove from iPad" means that all the pictures that were "Optimized" will be deleted. They would still be at iCloud, of course. You can tell if a particular picture or video is "optimized" by trying to open it in Edit mode-- if the picture is not local, then a little circle will begin filling as the original files are loaded from iCloud. Going into Edit mode forces an Optimized picture to be local. Doing this for 1000 pictures, say, isn't very practical. Hence my first question.

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