How to download all your photos from iCloud (Mac, Windows, and web)
Exporting a photo library should be one button. Apple’s version is three different buttons depending on which device you are standing on, and each has its own catch. If you are moving off iCloud, downsizing your storage plan, or just want a copy you control, here is how each route works and where they bite.
The good news up front: all three routes get you your originals, not compressed copies, as long as you pick the right settings.
On the web (works everywhere, but slowly)
Go to icloud.com, sign in, select photos, and download. The catch everyone hits: iCloud.com limits you to 1,000 photos per download. There is no setting to change this.
The practical approach is to scroll with Shift-click to select a big range, grab 1,000, download, repeat. A library of 20,000 photos means 20 rounds of this. It works and it needs nothing installed, but keep a note of where you left off, because the selection does not survive a page refresh.
For a full one-shot transfer there is privacy.apple.com, Apple’s data and privacy portal. Request a copy of your iCloud Photos data and Apple assembles the whole library into downloadable archives. This is the closest thing Apple has to Google Takeout. Expect it to take a day or more before the archives are ready, and note that this route hands you the media files without some of the album structure you see in the app.
If your goal is an external drive copy, download the archives straight onto the drive. If your goal is moving to another service, the web route with its original files is usually cleaner.
On Mac and Windows
Mac: open the Photos app, go to Settings, and first check that “Download Originals to this Mac” is selected under iCloud. If it says “Optimize Mac Storage”, your local library is full of low-res placeholders and copying it would not give you your real photos. Wait for the download to finish, which for large libraries can take overnight. Then either keep using Photos with the library file, or use File, Export, Unmodified Original to write the actual files to a folder or drive.
Windows: install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store, sign in, and enable iCloud Photos. It syncs your library into a normal folder, and from there it is regular files. This is the least fussy route for Windows users and handles the downloading for you.
Gotchas: HEIC, “most compatible”, and metadata
Three things that trip people up, all fixable if you know them in advance.
HEIC files. iPhones shoot HEIC, and some services and older computers cannot open it. There are two settings to know: under Settings, Camera, Formats, “Most Compatible” makes the camera shoot JPEG going forward, while Settings, Photos, Transfer to Mac or PC set to “Automatic” converts to JPEG at export time and “Keep Originals” hands over the HEIC. I would use “Automatic” for this export unless you are sure your destination handles HEIC. Our supported file formats page lists what Immich-based services, including PixelUnion, can take directly.
Dates and locations. If you export through Photos’ dialog, the metadata is embedded correctly, unlike Google Takeout. But if your destination service ignores some of it, check a few photos after import, especially screenshots and photos received via messaging apps, which often have odd timestamps. The metadata explainer covers what is stored where if you want the details.
Do not delete to free up space mid-export. Deleting from iCloud removes the photo everywhere, including on your phone. Finish the export first, verify the files open, and only then touch the iCloud library.
After the export, check three things before you call it done: total file count, a random sample of photos from different years, and a few videos with sound on. Once verified, the rest is just uploading to wherever you are headed. Our iCloud migration guide picks up from there.