iPadOS 26.1 No Transparency in Photos

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Level 1

9 points

iPadOS 26.1 No Transparency in Photos

I have on my Windows PC a small image with a transparent background.

I currently have this image uploaded to my Google Drive and iCloud as well.

I have tried syncing with Apple Devices, iCloud, as well as directly downloading the file from Google Drive in Safari and downloading the image, sharing it, and saving it as an image so it saves in the Photos directory.

Every time, except for when syncing with Apple Devices, when the image file is downloaded it is appropriately transparent in the 'On My iPad' view or from the fan out downloads section from the Dock.

The moment it enters into Photos however, it has a white background.

When downloading from iCloud or Google Drive and then Sharing it and Saving it as a Photo, if you open the Photo app and then access the file it shows it as PNG

If you inspect the one done via Apple Devices Sync, it shows JPEG

I'm not sure what exactly is causing this to happen whenever something gets placed into the Photos directory.

iPad Pro, iPadOS 26

Posted on Nov 9, 2025 3:35 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

200,495 points

Nov 9, 2025 4:42 AM in response to machetemike

The Photos.app is meant to be used for photos taken with a camera, not for graphics and cannot display the transparent parts properly. The original PNG file will preserve the transparency in the PhotosLibrary, but Photos cannot display it, and when you add adjustments to the file in Photos, the transparency will be lost.

You may want to store graphics with transparency on iCloud Drive, so you can use them in apps that can handle transparency, like Pages or Keynote or Preview.

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Answer 2

machetemike Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 9, 2025 5:20 AM in response to léonie

The end goal of this endeavor is to be able to upload the image as my Apple Account Picture for the iPad and when you go to Choose a Photo for it, you're presented with only the options of your Photo Library or Camera.

When you choose Photo Library you're left with

If you do it through Windows (in web browser through iCloud) the transparency is preserved

But when I see a nail, I want to hammer it you know? So I'd like to figure out a solution from the iPad, if possible. I feel like, even if the Photos app cannot display the transparent parts properly, why is it altering it the moment it goes into the Photos category, rather than when it's opened in the Photos app. (The app should definitely be fixed to handle transparency though, really.)

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