Apple will permanently delete users' photos this month

Apple has issued a call to action for its users, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding their beloved photos before the end of this month.

In July, the closure of the My Photo Stream album poses a potential threat to numerous iPhone users, who may face the loss of a considerable number of their cherished pictures.

Introduced by Apple in 2011, this feature automatically preserves photos captured within the previous 30 days, enabling users to share images and videos across multiple devices without depleting their allotted iCloud storage space.

In recent years, the iCloud Photo Library has gradually taken the place of My Photo Stream, and now the latter feature is scheduled for complete termination.

Apple has announced that My Photo Stream will be discontinued on July 26th, resulting in the deletion of any photos and videos that have not been backed up elsewhere.

However, any images uploaded to My Photo Stream prior to June 26th will remain stored in iCloud for 30 days from their upload date, accessible on devices where the feature is enabled.

The forthcoming changes were detailed by Apple in a blog post, outlining the impact on iPhone users.

Apple clarified, "New photo uploads to My Photo Stream from your devices will cease one month in advance, on June 26, 2023. Any photos uploaded to the service before that date will remain in iCloud for 30 days from the date of upload and will be available on any of your devices where My Photo Stream is currently enabled."

"By July 26, 2023, there will be no remaining photos in My Photo Stream, and the service will be discontinued."

To ensure the preservation of your photos, it is recommended to navigate to the My Photo Stream album in your camera roll and save your pictures either to your iPhone or to iCloud.

If you have already activated iCloud Photos across your Apple devices, no further action is required, as your images are already backed up.

According to Apple, iCloud is now considered the optimal method for safeguarding and accessing all of your photos and videos across multiple devices.

For iPhone users, Apple provides 5GB of complimentary storage, with the option to upgrade to iCloud+—their premium cloud subscription—for additional capacity.

To expand the storage on your iPhone, you can choose from three available options, each requiring a monthly payment. The first option is 50GB, priced at £0.99 per month. The second option is 200GB, which costs £2.99 per month. Finally, for users in need of 2TB of storage, the monthly fee is £8.99.

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