How to Use iCloud Photos on Your iPhone

What you will learn

You will learn how to turn on iCloud Photos on your iPhone so your pictures are backed up automatically. You will also learn how to view your photos on other devices, manage your storage, and share albums with family.

What you need

• An iPhone running iOS 15 or later
• An Apple ID (the account you use to sign in to your iPhone)
• A Wi-Fi connection (for uploading photos)

Step 1: Open your iCloud settings

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Tap your name at the very top of the screen. This opens your Apple ID settings. Then tap iCloud.

Step 2: Turn on iCloud Photos

In the iCloud settings, tap Photos. Turn on the switch next to Sync this iPhone. Your iPhone will now automatically upload all your photos and videos to iCloud whenever you are connected to Wi-Fi.

Step 3: Choose how photos are stored on your phone

On the same screen, you will see two options. Optimize iPhone Storage keeps smaller versions of photos on your phone to save space, while the full versions stay in iCloud. Download and Keep Originals stores the full photos on your phone. If your phone is running low on storage, choose Optimize iPhone Storage.

Step 4: Check your iCloud storage

Go back to Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud. At the top, you will see a colored bar showing how much storage you are using. Photos usually take up the most space. If your storage is almost full, you may need to upgrade your plan or delete photos you no longer need.

Step 5: View your photos on another device

You can see all your iCloud photos on any Apple device signed in with the same Apple ID. On a computer, open a web browser and go to icloud.com. Sign in with your Apple ID and click Photos. You will see all the same photos that are on your iPhone.

Step 6: Create a shared album

Open the Photos app. Tap the Albums tab at the bottom. Tap the plus icon in the top-left corner and select New Shared Album. Give it a name and tap Next. Add people by typing their email address or phone number. They will receive an invitation to view and add photos to the album.

Step 7: Free up space on your iPhone

If your phone storage is full, iCloud Photos can help. Go to Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage. If you have iCloud Photos turned on with Optimize iPhone Storage, your phone automatically keeps smaller versions of old photos. You can also delete photos you no longer want — they will be removed from iCloud too, so download them first if you want to keep them.

Tips

• Connect to Wi-Fi regularly so your new photos upload to iCloud
• Check your iCloud storage every few months to make sure you are not running out of space
• Deleted photos go to a Recently Deleted album where they stay for 30 days before being permanently removed
• You can recover accidentally deleted photos from the Recently Deleted album in the Photos app
• If you share your iCloud storage with family through Family Sharing, each person’s photos remain private

Useful links

• Apple iCloud Photos guide
• Manage your iCloud storage
• How to share photo albums