How to download photos and videos from the Photos app

Download Photos from iCloud Photos Stream to iPhone. With the assistance offered by iCloud Photos Stream, you can quickly and easily transfer all the photos from your iCloud backup file to your iPhone. However, make sure that you are using the internet over Wi-Fi or cellular data. Also, remember that it is a time-consuming process.

If you want to save a copy of your photos and videos from the Photos app to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 10.3 or later or iPadOS, or your Mac with OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 or later, follow these steps.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

  1. Go to Settings > [your name].
  2. Tap iCloud, then tap Photos.
  3. Select Download and Keep Originals.

On your Mac

  1. Open the Photos app.
  2. Choose Photos > Preferences.
  3. Select iCloud, then click Download Originals to this Mac.

On your PC

If you're using a PC, you can set up iCloud for Windows and download a copy of your photos and videos from iCloud Photos.

Learn what happens when you delete a photo from iCloud Photos.

How to download photos and videos from iCloud.com

If you want to save copies of your photos and videos from iCloud.com to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or your Mac or PC, follow these steps.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

  1. Open the Photos app.
  2. Tap Select, then tap a photo or video. Tap more than one to select multiple photos or videos, or tap Select All to select your entire library.
  3. Tap More in the lower-right of your screen.
  4. Choose Download, then tap Download to confirm.

On your Mac or PC

  1. On iCloud.com, click Photos and select a photo or video. Hold the command key on your Mac or control key on your PC to select multiple photos or videos.
  2. Click and hold the download icon in the upper corner of the window. If you want to download your photo or video as it was originally captured or imported, choose Unmodified Original. For JPEG or H.264 format — including edits, and even if it was originally in HEIF or HEVC format — choose Most Compatible.*
  3. Click Download.

Learn what happens when you delete a photo from iCloud Photos.

How to download photos and videos from Shared Albums

You can download copies of photos and videos in Shared Albums to your own library. Learn more about how to use Shared Albums.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

  1. Open the Photos app, then go to the Albums tab.
  2. Scroll down to Shared Albums and select an album.
  3. Tap the photo or video, then tap .
  4. Choose Save Image or Save Video.

On your Mac

  1. Open Photos, then select a Shared Album from the left-hand menu.
  2. Select the photo or video.
  3. Control-click > Import.

What happens when you delete photos or videos

Remember, when you delete a photo from iCloud Photos, it also deletes from iCloud and any other device where you're signed in with the same Apple ID — even if you turned on Download and Keep Originals or Download Originals to this Mac. If you choose to download your originals, this also impacts your device storage. Learn more about how to manage your device storage. You can also learn how to AirDrop your photos and videos to another device.

Learn more

  • Discover the best ways to take and manage your photos.
  • See how to transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
  • Learn how to manage your iCloud storage.
  • See how to archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud.

How To Download Photos From Icloud To Mac Catalina

“I have a lot of photos on iCloud and I am looking for a way to download all of them to my Mac for safekeeping. Is there a way to download all of them at once?”

If you’re like our user above, you understand the importance of having more than one backup location for your pictures. This way if you ever lose some of the pictures, you will always have a safety net. But if you a lot of photos, downloading them from iCloud to your Mac can be quite difficult, unless you have a tool that allows for you to export them all at once. Lucky for you, we have just the tool for job although we will share with you other ways you can download your photos from iCloud.

Download iCloud Photos to Mac Using iCloud Data Downloader

The best and easiest way to download a lot of photos from iCloud to your Mac is to have a tool that is designed to extract the photos and export them to your computer. The best tool to help you do that is iMyFone iTransor Lite iCloud Data Downloader. This program is designed to make it very easy for you to access your iCloud photos and export them to the Mac in a matter of minutes regardless of how many photos you have.

iMyFone iTransor Lite is quick and simple as we shall see shortly. But before we get to how it works, here are some of the features that make it the ideal tool for the job.

Key Features:

  • It can be used to extract nearly all types of data from an iCloud backup file including photos, videos, messages and even third-party data.
  • It is simple, quick and highly effective. A simple 3 step-process is all you need to extract the photos.
  • It can also be used to export data from an iPhone or from an iTunes backup files
  • It has a preview function that allows for selective exportation of data.

How to use iMyFone iTransor Lite to Download Photos from iCloud to Mac

Begin by downloading and installing iTransor Lite on your Mac and then launch the program. Once it’s open, follow these simple steps to download your photos.

Step 1: from the main window select, “Export from iCloud Backup” and then click “Start.” This will open another window from which you can select the type of data to be exported. Select “Photo” and click “Next.”

Step 2: Sign in to iCloud to access your backup files. Then, select the backup with the photos you need to export and click “Next.”

Step 3: the program will analyze the backup file and find the photos. When the process is complete, select the photos you want to export from the results in the resultant window and click “Export.” Choose a folder location in the popup window that appears.

Download Photos through iCloud.com on Mac

Alternatively, you can also download the photos to your Mac from iCloud.com. Here’s a step by step guide.

Step 1: On any browser on your Mac, go to http://www.icloud.com/ and sign in your Apple ID.

Step 2: Choose the “All Photos” album and hold down the Ctrl Key and click on the photos which you want.

Step 4: Choose the “Download” button at the top bar and confirm that you want to download all these photos.

Download

How To Download Picture From Icloud To Macbook

Copy from iCloud Photo Sharing in OS X Mountain Lion or Later

If the photos you want to download are in your shared Photos library, follow these simple steps to manually import them to your Mac.

Step 1: Open Photos and click on the Shared tab.

Step 2: Double click on a shared Stream and then right click on a photo and choose import

To manually import shared streams in iPhoto library

How To Download Pictures From Icloud To Mac Pro

Step 1: Open iPhoto and choose Shared > iCloud list

Step 2: Select a shared stream and hold down Command to select all the photos you want to import. Click “Add to” and then click “Import.”

How To Download Photo From Icloud To Mac

While manually importing the photos, or downloading them from iCloud.com could work, both these methods are time-consuming especially for someone with hundreds of photos to download. Why not use a simple, yet effective solution like iMyFone iTransor Lite?