Apple’s original cloud photo synchronization service will cease its operations during the summer season.
The discontinuation of My Photo Stream is scheduled for July 26th, as Apple directs its remaining users towards the utilization of iCloud Photos.
This morning, I bring forth two significant updates. Firstly, it is noteworthy that My Photo Stream, the complimentary cloud-based feature for synchronizing photos that Apple introduced back in 2011, continues to operate even in 2023. Surprisingly, it has endured despite being effectively replaced by iCloud Photo Library approximately eight years ago. Now that you are informed of the present situation, the second update conveys that My Photo Stream will be permanently discontinued in a couple of months, specifically on July 26th. This information was gleaned from an Apple Support page discovered by Mark Gurman, a prominent figure at Bloomberg.
The impending end of My Photo Stream should not come as a great surprise. Despite its cost-free nature, it came burdened with numerous limitations concerning the number of photos one could upload. Furthermore, these photos were only stored on Apple’s servers for a mere 30 days. Consequently, if one desired to retain them on an auxiliary device, it was necessary to manually save them locally. Furthermore, 9to5Mac highlights the fact that high-quality photos were not synchronized in their original resolutions, adding to the list of drawbacks.
Though iCloud’s free storage capacity may be relatively limited at 5GB, it does serve as a modern and comprehensive cloud storage service, offering the storage of photos and videos in their entirety, preserving their original resolutions.
Apple’s support page emphasizes that the option for new photo uploads to My Photo Stream will be terminated on June 26th, and the feature will be entirely eradicated a month later. The page further reassures users that the photos present within My Photo Stream are already stored on at least one of their devices. Hence, as long as the device containing the original photos is retained, no loss of images will occur throughout this transitional process.
Should you seize this moment as an opportunity to explore alternative means of transferring your photos between devices, we have compiled a guide encompassing a diverse array of photo storage services for your perusal.
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