After shooting high-quality photos and videos on your iPhone 15 Pro Max, you may resort to iCloud to back them up. After all, this cloud storage service is baked into iOS 17 and works automatically in the background. However, some users may eventually move on to a new cloud service. In this case, they would first need to download all their photos and videos from iCloud and then upload them to the alternative. If you're not sure how to download your media from iCloud, you can follow the steps in this guide.

What you need to download photos from the iCloud web client

It may be possible to download photos from iCloud through the Photos app on an Apple device, but that's not always feasible. In this case, you could download photos and videos from the iCloud web client using a browser. Any device that can connect to the internet and load up the iCloud web client, such as a new laptop, can download photos and videos stored there.

How to download your photos from the iCloud web client

Since iCloud won't let you download more than 1,000 photos or videos at a time, you'll have to select about a thousand at a time. Though you can manually select them, downloading more than 1,000 photos or videos is a more efficient way. And if you have less than 1,000 photos on iCloud, we've highlighted an even simpler method below.

1. Open iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple ID and password.

2. Click the Photos app.

3. Hold and drag your cursor to select multiple photos and videos at once. Keep an eye on the total count in the screen's top right corner to ensure you're not selecting more than 1,000 photos. If you have less than 1,000 photos, you could use the keyboard shortcut Command + A on Mac and Control + A on Windows to select all the images and save time.

4. Click the download button in the top right corner of the window.

5. Follow the on-screen prompts to authorize the download.

6. Look for a folder or zipped file in your download folder titled iCloud Photos.

7. Repeat the above steps until you have downloaded all the photos and videos from your library.

How to export all iCloud photos to a computer

If you're bothered by the 1,000 photo limitation, you could alternatively import your entire iCloud photo library from an iPhone or iPad to your computer.

1. Go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Scroll down and enter the Photos section.

3. Tap on Download and Keep Originals. This will then download the full-quality photos and videos from iCloud to your iDevice, assuming you have sufficient local storage.

4. You will then need to export your photo library to your Mac or Windows computer using the steps in the respective guide.

Why you may want to download photos from iCloud

Many people load photos and videos to the cloud since they won't have to worry about using up on-device storage, so why would you want to download them again? You might want to download media from iCloud for a few reasons, but it generally comes down to sharing and security. Downloading from iCloud is essential if you want to share a photo or video without having to deal with a sharing link or download link, and it can also help you get better quality out of your media. Plus, saving photos and videos on a physical storage device in addition to iCloud can be a good idea so that you're protected if you can't get into your iCloud account in the future.

What's next for your download

Apple lets you download your photos immediately — albeit only 1,000 at a time — so you don't have to wait for a download link. However, downloading a lot of photos and videos or ones with large file sizes may take a while. If the 1,000 photo limitation is a deal-breaker for you, then you could use the other method we've highlighted and export them to your computer. After the download or import process concludes, you can share these photos and videos as needed.