User level: Level 1 (4 points)Hello!
Sorry, a stupid problem but maybe I can handle with it somehow. I lost about 10 000 photos from my Iphone as I canceled my Icloud subscription today and they were deleted from my Iphone as well. I thouth they were downloaded on it.
I've already checked: recently deleted, my Icloud account. I couldn't find them at all. May I connect to helpdesk and recover them?
Posted on Oct 15, 2026 5:30 AM
User level: Level 7 (25,466 points)Oct 15, 2026 7:37 AM in response to daria_bambi
Since Optimize saves storage space by keeping pictures at iCloud, you don't have the full Library on your phone. So when you turn off iCloud you should get this warning:
Just turning off iCloud doesn't remove the pictures from iCloud.com. They are only removed when payment stops. However, if you permanently delete the pictures at iCloud.com before disconnecting from iCloud, then the pictures would be removed from your phone, as well. I'm not sure exactly what you did.
You can contact Apple here:
They may not be able to help, but it's worth a try. I would suggest you cry a lot and claim you didn't understand.
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256376630