How to delete photos from iPhone but not from iCloud

Free iPhone space but keep photos in iCloud

1. Open Photos settings. Open Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos.
2. Check iCloud Photos. Make sure “Sync this iPhone” (iCloud Photos) is on and your library has finished uploading.
3. Check Optimize. Tap iPhone Storage and make sure “Optimize iPhone Storage” is selected (it is the default). Full-size originals stay in iCloud.
4. Wait. iOS replaces originals with smaller versions over time, fastest when the phone is short on space.

Why deleting on the iPhone also deletes from iCloud

iCloud Photos is not a backup but one library that is the same on all your devices. Delete a photo on the iPhone and it goes to Recently Deleted everywhere, and after 30 days it is gone from iCloud too. There is no setting to delete “only on this iPhone” while syncing is on.

1. Optimize iPhone Storage (the usual answer)

Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos → iPhone Storage → Optimize iPhone Storage. It is on by default, but many people switched to “Download and Keep Originals” at some point – check it. The full-resolution photos and videos stay in iCloud; the iPhone keeps smaller versions and downloads the original when you open or share a photo. This frees a lot of space without deleting anything. It needs enough iCloud storage for your whole library and an internet connection to load originals.

2. Turn off iCloud Photos on this iPhone

Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos → turn off Sync this iPhone. iOS asks whether to download the originals or remove the iCloud photos from the iPhone. Your library stays in iCloud (visible on iCloud.com and your other devices), and from now on deleting on this iPhone no longer affects iCloud.

The catch: new photos from this iPhone are no longer uploaded, so they are not in iCloud unless you turn syncing back on – and if you do, the iPhone and iCloud libraries are merged again.

3. Copy first, then delete

If you want photos off the iPhone and out of iCloud but not lost, copy them first: to a Mac or PC (Photos app import or Image Capture), an external drive, or another cloud service. Check that the copy is complete and opens, then delete on the iPhone.

4. Shared albums keep a copy

Photos you add to a Shared Album stay in that album even if you delete them from your library. Since iOS 27, new shared albums keep your photos in full resolution, but they count towards your iCloud storage. Albums created with iOS 26 or earlier store reduced versions (2048 pixels on the long edge, videos up to 720p) that don’t count towards your storage – fine for memories, not as an archive of originals.

Where Gallery Guru fits

Gallery Guru deletes through the iPhone’s photo library, so with iCloud Photos on, its deletions sync to iCloud like any other – it doesn’t offer an “iPhone only” delete either. What it helps with is deciding what to delete: swipe month by month, review, then delete only the photos you really don’t need, everywhere at once.