Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Guides

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

How to access your iCloud Photo Stream from your Mac

Andrew Couts
By

One of Apple’s greatest services is iCloud, the company’s cloud-based storage. It offers an assortment of advantages, like the ability to automatically sync calendars, reminders, notes, contacts, and other important content across devices. Photo Stream is one of two photo-related services baked into iCloud.

Here’s how to access your iCloud Photo Stream from your Mac.

Recommended Videos

What is Photo Stream?

Introduced in 2011 alongside iOS 5, Photo Stream is part of Apple’s basic, free plan. It’s different from iCloud Photos in that it doesn’t store your photos in the cloud indefinitely. Instead, up to 1,000 recent photos are uploaded and stored on Apple’s servers for 30 days. That gives you time to download and store your photos on a Mac. Photo Stream storage does not count against your free iCloud Photos 5GB cap.

Related

Here are the highlights:

  • Does not support Live Photos
  • Does not support video
  • Stores up to 1,000 most recent photos.
  • Deletes photos stored in the cloud after 30 days.
  • Supports JPEG, PNG, RAW, and TIFF formats.
  • Photos download in full resolution on Mac, device-optimized resolution on iOS devices and Apple TV.
  • Does not count against iCloud storage.

According to Apple, you can use both iCloud Photos and Photo Stream. However, if you opt for a paid subscription, Photo Stream is not available. Moreover, if you created an Apple ID in 2018 or later, the feature is not available. This guide essentially addresses everyone who doesn’t fall into those two groups.

With Photo Stream turned on, your iOS device will automatically upload a copy of every photo you capture via any available Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, essentially allowing you to share communal albums with whoever you choose and ditch manual uploads altogether.

Turn on My Photo Stream in iOS

Upload to My Photo Stream iPhone

Before you can access Photo Stream on your Mac, you’ll need to turn it on through your iOS device. Once you do, each photo automatically uploads to your Photo Stream and remains there for 30 days — or until you reach the 1,000-picture limit, at which point the oldest ones are replaced with newer photos.

Step 1: Tap the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Tap your name on the following screen.

Step 3: Tap iCloud.

Step 4: Tap Photos.

Step 5: Toggle on the Upload to My Photo Stream setting.

Access My Photo Stream using Photos for Mac

MacOS Photos App

The absolute simplest way to access your Photo Stream is through the Photos app. The exact process may vary depending on which version of Photos you’re currently running, but the directions below should still work with most incarnations of the native software.

Step 1: Click on the Photos app listed on the Dock.

Step 2: With the app open, select Preferences on the drop-down menu.

Step 3: A pop-up window appears on your screen with the General tab open by default. Select iCloud instead.

Step 4: Click the box next to My Photo Stream.

Step 5: With the Photos app still open, select My Albums listed on the left.

Step 6: Select My Photo Stream to access your photos.

Access My Photo Stream using a saved Smart Folder

There is another, slightly more complicated (but still totally fun) way to access your Photo Stream on your Mac. It involves manually accessing a folder created by the Photo Stream service. As BenWard describes:

Step 1: Open Finder.

Step 2: Press the Command + Shift + G keys simultaneously (⌘+⇧G). This opens the Go to Folder option in Finder.

Step 3: Paste the following text into the Go to Folder field and then press Enter:

~/Library/Application Support/iLifeAssetManagement/assets/sub

Step 4: With the Sub folder open, press the Command + F keys simultaneously (⌘+F) to open a new search interface.

Step 5: Click to highlight Sub listed on the same line as Search and This Mac.

Step 6: The Kind drop-down menu appears under that line — leave it alone. You want to change the second drop-down menu from Any to Image.

Step 7: A third drop-down menu appears. Change it from All to JPEG.

All synchronized Photo Stream images appear in this window. You may see other pictures as well, though Photo Stream images are designated with a green checkmark on their thumbnails.

Step 8: Click the small Save button located on the right and name the Smart Folder as “Photo Stream” or something similar you’ll easily remember. Leave the Add to Sidebar box checked for easy access in the Finder window.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Andrew Couts
Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
WWDC 2022 announcements: iOS 16, iPadOS 16, WatchOS 9, MacOS Ventura, MacBook Air M2, and more
Apple CEO Tim Cook looks at a display of brand new redesigned MacBook Air laptop during the WWDC22

Apple has finally kicked off the 2022 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference. The main keynote of the conference, known as WWDC for short, will be streaming online, along with various breakout sessions, throughout the week.

The focus of the event was on the latest versions of Apple's operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and WatchOS, and tvOS. A new MacBook Air powered by an M2 processor also made an appearance.
Watch a replay of the WWDC keynote
WWDC 2022 - June 6 | Apple

Read more
Can your computer run MacOS Monterey?
Widgets in the MacOS Monterey Notification Center.

If you’ve been planning an upgrade to MacOS Monterey, perhaps waiting until Apple added Universal Control, now is an excellent time. From Focus modes to the new iCloud+ features, Monterey has brought some of the most useful new MacOS features we’ve seen in some time.

However, new features have new requirements, and like all big MacOS updates, Monterey needs a certain level of system capabilities to properly run it. Let’s dive into the models that you’ll need before you start your upgrade.
Compatible MacBook Pros
You will need MacBook Pros released in early 2015 to mid-2015 or later to use MacOS Monterey. All later MacBook Pros, up through the 16-inch and 14-inch models released in 2021, will support Monterey. It doesn’t matter what size your MacBook Pro is or how many Thunderbolt ports it has as long as it falls within this time range.

Read more
Apple’s 2002 iMac G4 comes back from the dead with M1 chip
Modded Apple iMac G4.

Do you remember the 2002 iMac G4? We don't blame you if you don't -- it's been 20 years since Apple released that iconic all-in-one desktop.

However, nostalgia is a powerful force, and when you combine it with a "why not?" attitude, anything is possible, as proven by the modder who decided to bring the iMac G4 back from the dead and equip it with an Apple M1 chip.

Read more