Apple announces closure of My Photo Stream, service to end on July 26
The tech giant has recommended its iCloud Photos feature as the ‘best way’ to save photos and videos on Apple devices, moving forward.
Apple has announced the closure of My Photo Stream, a free in-house feature that syncs up to 1,000 images from the previous 30 days between Apple devices.
Making an announcement on its support page, the Tim Cook-helmed organisation noted that moving forward, its iCloud Photos is the ‘best way to keep the photos and videos you take up to date across all your devices and safely stored in iCloud.’
When will Apple close My Photo Stream?
According to the tech giant, starting June 26, users will not be able to upload pictures to My Photo Stream, and the service itself will be closed on July 26.
Photos uploaded to the service before June 26 will be stored in iCloud for 30 days from the day of upload, and people can access these on any of their phone where My Photo Stream is currently enabled. By July 26, however, no picture will be there.
How to set up iCloud Photos?
This can be done on any phone with iOS 8.3 or later, iPad with iOS 8.3 or later, or Mac with OS X Yosemite or later. Click here on how to set up the feature.
What is My Photo Stream?
Launched in 2011, My Photo Stream allows users to access images from the previous 30 days on more than one Apple device. Images taken during this 30-day period on an iPhone will be shared with an iPad or MacBook before disappearing. The original picture, however, will remain in the iPhone even after the expiry of this period.
Why is Apple closing My Photo Stream?
In 2014, meanwhile, the company launched iCloud Photos, described by The Sun, as ‘slightly superior’ to My Photo Stream. With it, people can also upload videos, the quality of images is higher, and pictures and videos are stored permanently.
Apple has, however, not given a reason behind its decision to close My Photo Stream.