--- title: "iCloud Photos of another Apple ID" url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/icloud-photos-of-another-apple-id category: "Cloud accounts" tags: ["cloud accounts", "icloud", "photos", "data transfers"] summary: "When you connect another Apple ID's iCloud Drive, its iCloud Photos library comes with it, read-only. You can browse it in Finder and copy photos out with Data Transfers, but not change or delete them." updated: 2026-10-01T05:32:04.000Z --- # iCloud Photos of another Apple ID When you connect another Apple ID's iCloud Drive, its iCloud Photos library comes with it, read-only. You can browse it in Finder and copy photos out with Data Transfers, but not change or delete them. When you connect [another Apple ID's iCloud Drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/icloud-drive-for-another-apple-id), Storage Studio also gives you that Apple ID's iCloud Photos library. There's nothing extra to add: it uses the same sign-in. The library is **read-only** — you can look at it and copy photos out of it, but Storage Studio can't add, edit or delete anything in it. ## Where it appears The photos show up under the account's nickname followed by **Photos**. If your iCloud account is called *icloud-family*, its library is *icloud-family Photos*. - **In Finder** — in [the Storage Studio location](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-storage-studio-location-in-finder), as its own folder next to the iCloud Drive one. You can show or hide it like any other source in the **Mounting** tab of **Remotes & Accounts**. The **Hidden** and **Recently Deleted** albums are left out. - **In Data Transfers** — click the cloud button beside **Source** and choose **Browse *nickname* Photos** to pick a folder, or **Use all of *nickname* Photos** to start from the whole library. It's offered as a source only. It never appears as a destination, because the library can't be written to. ```mermaid %% caption: One iCloud sign-in gives you two places, and what each one allows flowchart TD A[Another Apple ID, signed in once] --> B[iCloud Drive] A --> C[iCloud Photos] B --> D[Read and write: copy to it, sync, browse in Finder] C --> E[Read-only: browse in Finder, copy out with Data Transfers] E --> F[Your Mac] E --> G[Your external drive] E --> H[Another connected account] ``` *Flowchart — One iCloud sign-in gives you two places, and what each one allows. Outline:* - Another Apple ID, signed in once - leads to iCloud Drive - leads to iCloud Photos - iCloud Drive - leads to Read and write: copy to it, sync, browse in Finder - iCloud Photos - leads to Read-only: browse in Finder, copy out with Data Transfers - Read-only: browse in Finder, copy out with Data Transfers - leads to Your Mac - leads to Your external drive - leads to Another connected account ## Copying photos out You might use this to keep a copy of a family member's photo library somewhere you control, or to bring photos from an old Apple ID across before you stop using it. 1. Open [Data Transfers](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-transfers) and click **New Transfer**. 2. Choose **Copy** — it leaves the library untouched. 3. For **Source**, click the cloud button and choose **Use all of *nickname* Photos**, or browse to a smaller part of the library. 4. For **Destination**, choose a folder on your Mac, your external drive, or another connected account. 5. Start the transfer. Turn on **Dry run (preview only)** first if you want to see what would be copied without copying anything — see [trying a transfer first with Dry run](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/dry-run). **Move** won't work here, because nothing can be removed from the library. **Sync (one-way)** also works if you want a folder that keeps matching the library — but remember it removes files from the destination that aren't in the library. See [Copy, Move, Sync or Two-way sync](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/copy-move-sync-or-two-way-sync) for the differences. ## Things to know - It stays signed in for as long as the iCloud Drive account does. When Apple asks for a new code — about once a month — use **Sign in again** on the iCloud account and the photos come back too. See [when an account needs signing in again](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-an-account-needs-signing-in-again). - Large libraries take a while to list the first time you open them in Finder. - Your own Mac's Photos library isn't part of this; this is only for the extra Apple IDs you add. - **Can I see all my cloud accounts in Finder on a Mac?** Yes. Storage Studio adds a "Storage Studio" location to Finder's sidebar, with each connected cloud account and paired device as a folder inside, and a Finder button in the app's main window opens it. Files stay in the cloud until you open them. Folders you have visited open straight away and… (https://storagestudio.us/faq) See also: [iCloud Drive for another Apple ID](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/icloud-drive-for-another-apple-id) · [Google Photos: what's possible and the Takeout route](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/google-photos) · [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts) ## What links here - [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts) - [Copying between two cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/copying-between-two-cloud-accounts) - [Google Photos: what's possible and the Takeout route](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/google-photos) - [Signing in to another Apple ID's iCloud fails](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/icloud-sign-in-problems) - [The Storage Studio location in Finder](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-storage-studio-location-in-finder) - [The cloud folder browser](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-cloud-folder-browser) - [When an account needs signing in again](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-an-account-needs-signing-in-again) - [iCloud Drive for another Apple ID](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/icloud-drive-for-another-apple-id)