Move from iCloud Photos to Aubora

1. On a Mac: download the full-resolution originals

If your Mac uses Optimize Mac Storage, the Photos app keeps only small versions locally, and an export would have to fetch every original first. Download them all beforehand:

1. Open Photos, then Photos → Settings → iCloud.
2. Select Download Originals to this Mac.
3. Wait until the download finishes. The status at the bottom of the Library view shows the progress; a large library can take a day or more.

2. On a Mac: export the unmodified originals

1. In Library, choose All Photos, then Edit → Select All (Command-A).
2. Choose File → Export → Export Unmodified Original.
3. For Subfolder Format, choose Moment Name to get one folder per day and place, or None for a single folder.
4. Click Export, choose an empty folder (for example iCloud Photos in your home folder), and click Export Originals.

An unmodified original is the file exactly as the camera made it: it keeps the location and date the iPhone recorded. Two cases need care:

• Photos you edited in Photos (cropped, filtered) come out without the edits. To keep the edited look, select them and use File → Export → Export [number] Photos instead, with the option to include location information ticked.
• Locations or dates you changed in Photos (Image → Adjust Location, Adjust Date and Time) aren't written into the original file. The option Export IPTC as XMP saves them in separate .xmp files, which Aubora doesn't read. For those photos, use Export [number] Photos with location information included as well, and check one exported file to confirm the location is there.

3. On Windows: download with iCloud for Windows

1. Install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store, sign in with your Apple Account, and turn on Photos.
2. Open File Explorer and click iCloud Photos in the navigation pane (or open Pictures, then iCloud Photos).
3. Select everything (Ctrl+A), right-click, and choose Always keep on this device. Wait until every file shows a green circle with a white check mark: it's then on your PC.
4. Copy the files (don't move them) to a new folder, for example iCloud export in your home folder. The iCloud Photos folder stays in sync with iCloud, so work on a copy.

Without the app, on iCloud.com, select up to 1,000 photos at a time, then use the download options and choose Unmodified Originals. It works in any browser, on any computer, but it's slow for a big library.

4. What the export contains

• HEIC photos from recent iPhones: Aubora reads them directly, on Mac and Windows; no conversion needed.
• Live Photos come out as a photo and a short .MOV video with the same name. Aubora indexes the photo; the video stays in your storage, ignored.
• Videos are exported too. Aubora doesn't index videos yet; they stay with your photos.
• Albums, favorites, captions, and the names you gave to people in Photos aren't carried over. Aubora groups faces again on your computer, and you name each person once.

5. Put the folder on your storage

• kDrive, pCloud, or Dropbox: upload the exported folder with the provider's desktop app or website. A large library takes a while.
• Your computer: keep the folder where it is, or move it to the disk you want; Aubora indexes a local folder too.

6. Point Aubora at it

In Aubora, open the library's Source & connection, connect your storage, click Choose folders, pick the exported folder with Browse…, and click Continue to indexing. The quick start guide covers each provider in detail.

7. Check the result, then decide about iCloud

1. When the first scan is done, open the Map: the photos taken with location services on should be there.
2. Spot-check a few dates in the Gallery, especially photos you received from other people.
3. Your photos are still in iCloud. If you later turn off iCloud Photos to save on iCloud+ storage, Apple deletes the library 30 days later, and you can still recover it during that time.

Troubleshooting

Still stuck? What to do if you're stuck