Turn off iCloud Photos on your Mac and choose to download photos to keep a local copy; 2. Delete the photos from the Photos app on your Mac, which will not affect the copies stored in iCloud; 3. Optionally, create a separate local Photos library for future use to avoid syncing issues; do not delete photos while iCloud Photos is enabled, as this would remove them from all devices and iCloud. This method ensures photos remain in iCloud while being removed only from the Mac.

If you want to delete photos from your Mac but keep them in iCloud, you need to understand how iCloud Photos syncs across devices. By default, when you delete a photo from one device, it gets deleted everywhere — including iCloud and other synced devices. But there’s a way around this, depending on your setup.

Here’s how to delete photos from your Mac without removing them from iCloud:

? 1. Turn Off iCloud Photos on Your Mac (Temporarily)

This is the key step. If iCloud Photos is turned on, any deletion on your Mac will sync to iCloud. To avoid that:

1. Click the Apple menu ? > System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS).
2. Go to Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Drive.
3. Scroll down and find Photos, then turn off iCloud Photos.
4. When prompted, choose Download Photos and Videos (so you keep a local copy).
   • This ensures your Mac has a full copy of your iCloud library before disconnecting.

?? Important: Once iCloud Photos is off, your Mac will no longer sync new photos to or from iCloud.

? 2. Delete Photos Only from the Mac

Now that iCloud Photos is disabled, your Photos library is local only. You can delete photos from your Mac without affecting iCloud.

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Select the photos or albums you want to remove.
3. Press the Delete key or right-click and choose Delete**.
4. Confirm deletion.

? These photos will stay safe in iCloud and on your other devices (like iPhone or iPad), as long as they’re still synced there.

? 3. Optional: Use a Separate Local Photos Library

To avoid this hassle in the future, consider using a dedicated local library for editing or temporary storage:

1. Quit the Photos app.
2. Hold the Option (?) key and open Photos.
3. Choose Create New to make a second library (e.g., “Local Only Photos”).
4. Import photos you want to manage locally.
5. Keep iCloud Photos turned off for this library.

Now you can delete freely in this local library without touching iCloud.

? What NOT to Do

• Don’t delete photos while iCloud Photos is enabled — they’ll be removed from all devices and iCloud.
• Don’t rely on “Recently Deleted” to save them — after 30 days, they’ll vanish from iCloud too.

Final Tips

• After turning off iCloud Photos, remember to back up your Mac regularly — your photos are no longer in the cloud.
• If you turn iCloud Photos back on later, your Mac will re-sync with iCloud, and deletions made while it was off won’t affect iCloud (as long as the photos weren’t deleted on iCloud itself).

Basically, the trick is: break the sync first by disabling iCloud Photos, then delete locally. Once they’re no longer linked, your Mac and iCloud act independently.

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