Turn off Photo cloud sync and metadata on Apple iOS 17
Cloud backup
Sensitivity 5/5
Default: On
Phones / Apple iOS 17 / Photo cloud sync and metadata
Images and videos captured with the camera are uploaded automatically to cloud storage along with embedded location metadata. Server algorithms can index these libraries for objects, locations and human faces.
- Goes to
- Google, Apple, Samsung
- Default
- On
- Control
- Can be switched off
- Effort
- a few seconds
- Needs
- account
How to do it
Open Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, select Photos, and switch off Sync this iPhone.
Usually found under: Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Photos
Menu names may differ by device and version.
What you lose
Photos and videos taken on this device will not upload to iCloud automatically.
What is collected
Image files, video files, exif location metadata, facial recognition data, timestamps.
The service preserves your camera roll against hardware loss and makes photos available across all your screens.
Retention is not stated here. The sensitivity rating is this site's own estimate.