Thanks for posting back. Very kind.
In my system preferences >iCloud , photos is not checked but has a "-" in blue,
. Correct.
I don't want to disable iCloud Drive as I do use it for some document storage.
. Fine. It is different. I only mentioned it in passing.
I have always had Photo stream turned on as it is a feature I like
. So do I. No problem there.
I also don't necessarily mind upgrading my storage to the 200 gb plan, but I really have no need to store my whole 80gb photo library in the cloud either.
. Agree. The 200GB is incredibly cheap (about the cost of one mug of coffee per month). Still no need to if you don't require it.
However when going settings>icloud>storage>manage storage - photos shows "iCloud photo library 46.5 gb. when selecting that I am than taken to the info pane which gives me the option to disable and delete iCloud photo library.
so ...is iCloud photo library enabled on my phone or not?
. This is how I read this: it relates to what you have already stored in iCloud, as you mentioned in your first post. That is not in dispute - how it got there, well......
seemed to imply that photo stream and iCloud photo library are one and the same.
. Not really. My Photo Stream allows you to take a photo on your iPhone, for example, and have it sync to all your iDevices and Mac IF they also have My Photo Stream checked.
Perhaps, if I tell you my set up and how I manage my photos that might help?
On all my
iDevices, I have My Photo Stream switched on. Nothing else.
On my
iMac, I have My Photo Stream switched on AND iCloud Photo Library AND download originals to this Mac. (So iCloud Photo Library is only checked on my Mac).
How it works: Any photo taken on an iDevice appears on all of them AND my iMac. If I delete a photo from My Photo Stream on any
iDevice, it removes the same photo from all
iDevices, but NOT my
iMac (where I store all my photos).
If I delete a photo from my iMac, same is deleted from all iDevices.
So, like you, my iMac is my store and my iDevices feed into it. Once on my iMac, deleting photos from these iDevices still retains those on my iMac.
However when going settings>icloud>storage>manage storage - photos shows "iCloud photo library 46.5 gb. when selecting that I am than taken to the info pane which gives me the option to disable and delete iCloud photo library.
so ...is iCloud photo library enabled on my phone or not?
. This is what it says under Disable and Delete: If you want to stop using iCloud Photo Library and recover your iCloud Storage, you can disable it on all your devices. You will then have 30 days to download your photos and videos.
As you have iCloud Photo Library ALREADY disabled on ALL your devices, and your photos safely on your Mac (and no doubt backed up along with everything else on your Mac - Time Machine or other method), I see no reason for not going ahead and clicking on Disable and Delete on your iPhone.
Does all this make any sense??
Ian