Apple Is Shutting Down My Photo Stream: How To Save Your Photos In iCloud (2024)

Apple has announced that My Photo Stream is shutting down on July 26, 2023, but not many users might be aware of how the feature works, and if it's even enabled on their iPhone or Mac. Like iCloud Photos, My Photo Stream helps Apple users access their photos across their devices. It's essentially a way to ensure that photos taken on an iPhone are available on a Mac or Windows PC, and photos stored on a Mac can be downloaded on an iPhone. Unlike iCloud Photos which are stored in the cloud permanently, My Photo Stream only uploads recent photos taken in the last 30 days so that users can download them on other devices, after which they are deleted from iCloud servers.

To find My Photo Stream on an iPhone or iPad, open Photos, tab 'Albums,' and then tap 'My Photo Stream.' To find it on a Mac, open the Photos app and look for 'My Photo Stream' in the sidebar under 'Photos' or 'Albums.' My Photo Stream is also available on iCloud for Windows. If Photos are enabled, a folder called 'iCloud Photos' is created in File Explorer. Any new photos taken on an iPhone are then automatically downloaded to the Windows PC. Windows 10 users can search for 'iCloud Photos' on their PC to view the folder.

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Why My Photo Stream Isn't Showing On iPhone

If users have recently created their Apple ID, My Photo Stream might not show up as an option in Settings or in the Photos app on an iPhone. Additionally, if the feature hasn't been used in a while, it might no longer show up as an option. Another reason why My Photo Stream may not be visible is if users have already enabled iCloud Photos on their iPhone. Once iCloud Photos is enabled, photos from other Apple devices will no longer appear via My Photo Stream on iPhone. This could also be the reason why users aren't seeing recent photos from My Photo Stream on another Apple device, such as a Mac.

When My Photo Stream eventually stops working, users don't need to worry about losing access to their photos. The photos and videos will still be available on the original device where they were stored, and will only be deleted from the cloud. If users want to save their images from My Photo Stream on their other Apple devices, it makes sense to do this before the service shuts down. To do this on an iPhone or iPad, open the My Photo Stream album in Photos, select the images that need to be saved, tap the share button and hit 'Save.' On a Mac, open the My Photo Stream album and drag the images to the Library.

Use iCloud Photos Instead Of My Photo Stream

With My Photo Stream shutting down, Apple users can switch to iCloud Photos to continue accessing photos across devices. Unlike My Photo Stream, photos and videos stored in iCloud remain there forever. Apple includes only 5GB of free storage with iCloud, so users will need to pay to access more storage for all their data. Apple's iCloud storage plans are priced at $0.99 per month for 50GB, $2.99 per month for 200GB, and $9.99 per month for 2TB.

To set up iCloud Photos on an iPhone or iPad, open Settings and tap the name right on top. Tap 'iCloud' and then 'Photos.' Enable the toggle next to 'Sync this [device].' To enable this on a Mac, open the Photos app, select 'Settings' from the menu bar on top, and then click the 'iCloud' tab. Enable the checkbox next to 'iCloud Photos.' If using a Windows PC, the first step is downloading iCloud for Windows, if not done already. Open the app, select 'Photos,' and then 'iCloud Photos.' Click on 'Done' and then 'Apply.'

Once iCloud Photos is enabled, all photos and videos stored on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac are uploaded to iCloud, where they will be accessible on other linked devices or through the iCloud.com website. Before enabling the feature, it's worth noting that users will need to have enough iCloud storage to enable iCloud Photos on all their devices, since this feature uploads a user's entire photo library to the cloud. For this reason, it might be worth enabling iCloud Photos only on an iPhone. This ensures that a user's entire iPhone photo library will be backed up to the cloud, and accessible on any device via Apple's iCloud website.

Source: Apple