Question about deleted pictures on iPhone

Hello all,

First of all, thank you for any and all help! I'm fairly new to the Apple/iOS "world" but within the last year I bought an iMac and an iPhone (previously had a iPod/iPad).

I'm getting really frustrated because being a long time Windows user, I have no idea how anything works on anything Mac/iPhone/iCloud related and have many questions...but I'll start with this first one:

Why don't pictures permanently delete? Let's say I take a picture with my iPhone. I don't like the picture so I delete it. Well, a few days later I'm on my iMac and the very same picture pops up somewhere! I delete it.

A few days after this, I find the picture in My Photo Stream, Recently Deleted pictures, or somewhere else around my devices.

Is there a way to get these pictures to PERMANENTLY delete from EVERYTHING when I hit "delete"?

Thanks!

First... Welcome to the Mac-Forums!

Each of us has had to go through a learning curve coming from the world of Windows. Quite natural. As for the photos: You probably have photo stream turned on and also iCloud syncing of your photos.

On my iPhone: Settings, Photos & Camera, I have photo stream turned off, iCloud photo sharing turned off. iCloud drive is turned on, but I have Photos off. Those are my settings which prevent what's happening between your iPhone and Mac. You really need to go through all your settings for iCloud both on your iPhone and Mac. Experiment a bit and then keep the settings that you like and work best for you.

Thanks for the reply! I'll have to look into it. I don't fully understand just how the iCloud drive works, but how does turning off the photo stream affect iCloud?

For example, if I decide I want a iPhone 6...(i may get one in the near future) I'll want all my pictures put on the new phone. Would I have to turn on photo sharing temporarily?

Sorry if I'm getting off-topic here... What can go to the "cloud"? Is it just pictures, or can I upload documents, music, etc...?

And how can I tell my stuff is safe...? For example, if I wipe out my phone or iMac for whatever reason, does that affect the iCloud at all?

Thanks!

shadwell10201 said:

Thanks for the reply! I'll have to look into it. I don't fully understand just how the iCloud drive works, but how does turning off the photo stream affect iCloud?

Click to expand...

It doesn't affect iCloud. All it does is stop the picture you take from here on in, to not sync with iCloud, and hence other Devices/Macs.

shadwell10201 said:

For example, if I decide I want a iPhone 6...(i may get one in the near future) I'll want all my pictures put on the new phone. Would I have to turn on photo sharing temporarily?

Click to expand...

Yes.

shadwell10201 said:

Sorry if I'm getting off-topic here... What can go to the "cloud"? Is it just pictures, or can I upload documents, music, etc...?

Click to expand...

iCloud can have documents, pictures and settings uploaded to it, and music is different which is called iTunes Match. Its still in iCloud, but in iTunes cloud, which is iTunes match and can be bought via iTunes.
When the new Photo's App comes out for Mac OS X, it will have the option to either have ALL your photos on a device at full resolution, OR have the photos in the cloud at full resolution, and then give you the opportunity to download what ever photo you want to whatever device or Mac you want.
You can also have Apps like Pixelmator, or any App that has a iOS Equivalent save to iCloud too.
Have a read of this https://www.apple.com/au/icloud/

shadwell10201 said:

And how can I tell my stuff is safe...? For example, if I wipe out my phone or iMac for whatever reason, does that affect the iCloud at all?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

No it doesn't. You can still log into icloud.com and use Pages, Number or Keynote, send receive email, use Find my Phone, see your photos, use Calendar, Notes, Reminders and Settings, so EVERYTHING is as safe as it is on your Mac or iPhone as long as your iTunes password is a strong one.

HTH