Introduced over a decade ago, the “My Photo Stream” feature significantly revolutionized howApple users managed their photos across various Apple devices.
The convenience of automatic synchronization of your recent 1,000 photos across iPhone, iPad, or macOS computers was an innovation that firmly placed Apple at the forefront of seamless digital photo management.
However, as technology evolves, so do the features and offerings from Apple. Last month, Apple announced that it is going to shutdown the My Photo Stream on July 26, 2023, forever.
I bet many of you didn’t even know before Apple’s this announcement.So, let me show you what My Photo Stream is and what you should do if you are using it.
What Is My Photo Stream?
The brilliance of My Photo Stream lies in its simplicity. This feature was designed as a bridge for instant photo accessibility across Apple’s ecosystem, regardless of the source of the image – an iPhone or a macOS device.
It enabled users to access their photos on their iPhones, even if the photos were stored on their Macs, and vice versa.
Importantly, My Photo Stream operated independently of WiFi connectivity, further enhancing the feature’s practicality and usability.
This was a vital tool in photo organization, ensuring photo safety and efficient device-to-device transportability.
My Photo Stream Shutdown and the Dawn of iCloud Photos
In a significant shift, Apple announced its intention to discontinue My Photo Stream effective July 26, 2023.
As an alternative, Apple advocates the use of iCloud Photos, an advanced service available for iPhones and iPads running iOS 8.3 or later and Macs with OS X Yosemite or later.iCloud Photos emerges as an ideal replacement due to its extensive capabilities.
Unlike My Photo Stream, iCloud Photos stores your entire photo library in the cloud and supports video backups along with photos.
This feature, though, uses iCloud storage space, and you may have to buy more iCloud space if you have a large photo library.
How to Use My Photo Stream
To make the most of My Photo Stream while it lasts, navigate to the ‘Albums’ in the ‘Photos’ application on your iPhone or iPad and tap on ‘My Photo Stream.’
For Mac users, the process involves opening the Photos app and locating ‘My Photo Stream’ under ‘Photos’ or ‘Albums’ in the sidebar.
For Windows users, the feature is available through iCloud. When the photos feature is enabled, the ‘iCloud Photos’ folder appears in File Explorer. All newly captured photos on the iPhone will automatically populate on the Windows PC.
How to Save Your Photos from My Photo Stream Before Shutdown
For users who still use My Photo Stream, saving your photos before the service gets shut down is critical.
Apple has specified that the auto-upload functionality ceased as of June 26, 2023, with the feature scheduled to vanish from Apple devices by July 26.
Users can back up their photos by migrating them to a preferred third-party storage site or opting for iCloud Photos.
Other users might prefer to change to an alternate photo-sharing service instead of iCloud.
Final Words
The My Photo Stream service has an importantrole in the field of photo synchronization across various Apple devices.
However, in light of the introduction of iCloud Photos, the former became outdated. The curtain is set to close on My Photo Stream come July 26, 2023, as Apple encourages users to embrace the superior features of iCloud Photos.
For those who have yet to move from, safeguarding photos before the discontinuation of My Photo Stream is an essential task.