iCloud does more than just backup your iPhone and iPad. iCloud can keep your photos in sync across all your devices, for example – iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. You can set up your devices to automatically place a copy of all photos in iCloud, and you can manually upload photos from your Mac or Windows PC to iCloud as well.
How to turn on iCloud Photos on an iPhone or iPad
To get started with iCloud Photos, you should ensure that it's turned on and set to upload your mobile photos to the cloud.
1. On your iPhone or iPad device, start the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap "Photos."
3. If it's not already on, turn on iCloud Photos by swiping the button to the right, turning it green.
Repeat for every Apple mobile device device you want to sync with iCloud. All your iPhone and iPad photos should now be automatically uploaded to iCloud. Note: if you want to delete certain photos from your iPhone but not from iCloud, follow our how-to guide to do so.
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How to turn on iCloud Photos on a Mac
1. Start the Photos app.
2. In the menu bar at the top left of your screen, click "Photos" and then click "Preferences…"
3. Be sure the "iCloud" tab is selected at the top of the window and then turn on "iCloud Photos" by clicking the checkbox.
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How to turn on iCloud Photos on a PC
Before you can upload photos to iCloud from your Windows computer, you need to turn on iCloud using the iCloud desktop app.
1. Download and install iCloud for Windows 10. If you are using an older version of Windows, get the iCloud app from Apple.com.
2. Restart your computer. After it reboots, iCloud might start automatically. If it doesn't, click the Start button and start iCloud from the Start menu.
3. Sign in using your Apple ID.
4. Choose the features you want to back up and synchronize across your devices. Be sure to choose "Photos" and then click "Apply."
After installing the iCloud desktop app, you can use it to choose how photos are backed up and synchronized, if you want to share your desktop browser bookmarks with Safari on your iOS device, and more.
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How to upload photos from your computer to iCloud
Once you've turned everything on, uploading photos to iCloud is easy:
- If you are using Windows, open a File Explorer folder and click "iCloud Photos" in the pane on the left. Drag photos into the iCloud Photos folder. They'll be immediately uploaded to iCloud and copied to your other synced devices.
- If you are using a Mac, start the Photos app and drag photos into the app. They'll be immediately uploaded to iCloud and copied to your other synced devices. This method will let you upload specific photos to iCloud, rather than your entire iCloud library, which can be done by accessing your Photos Preferences, as detailed above.
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Related coverage fromTech Reference:
How to access iCloud photos on your Apple devices or through iCloud's website
How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices
How to use the Apple Notes app on iCloud and sync your notes across all of your devices
How to download photos from your iCloud onto your PC through the iCloud website
How to delete photos from your iPhone without deleting them from iCloud
Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
