Do Live Photos Take Up More Space on iPhone?

Yes, Live Photos take up more space than regular photos. With Live Photos on, Apple says your iPhone records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take a picture. That clip is stored with the still image, so each Live Photo uses more space than the same shot taken as a still.

The extra space stays as long as the clip does. Turning Live Photos off stops new clips from being recorded. Space already used by existing Live Photos comes back only when their clips are removed. Some actions that look as if they remove the clip do not.

Why Live Photos Take Up More Space

Why do Live Photos take up more space?

Live Photos take up more space because each one stores a short video clip as well as the still image. The clip covers the moments either side of the shutter. It is kept with the photo, which is what lets a Live Photo play back as motion.

The Photos app also needs the clip for the Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure effects. Choosing a different key photo from the frames uses it too. Apple's Live Photos guide covers each of these.

Apple's Live Photos guide gives no file size. The widely repeated figure of about twice the space dates from early reports at the 2015 launch. Other figures online come from app makers, based on a single sample or no stated method, so treat any single multiplier as an estimate.

File format is a second setting that affects photo file size on iPhone. In Settings > Camera > Formats, High Efficiency saves new photos and videos as HEIF and HEVC. Apple says those formats use less storage space than the JPEG and H.264 that Most Compatible uses.

Where the Extra Space Counts

Live Photos count in the Photos line of Settings > General > iPhone Storage, the screen used to check iPhone storage. Their clips count there too, because they are part of photos stored in the Photos app.

With iCloud Photos on, a Live Photo takes space in two places. Apple's iCloud Photos page says photos and videos are stored in iCloud in their original formats at full resolution. It names Live Photos among them. They use your iCloud storage and your device storage.

Optimize Storage changes what stays on the phone. With it on, Apple says the device keeps space-saving versions of photos and videos while iCloud keeps the full-resolution originals. In both places, the space comes back only once the clip is gone.

Does Turning Off Live Photos Save Space?

Does turning off Live Photos save space?

Turning off Live Photos saves space only on photos you take afterwards. New shots are saved as stills with no clip. Live Photos already in your library keep their clips, so the camera setting frees no space on its own.

Apple says the Camera app turns Live Photo on again automatically. Turning off Live Photos for good takes a second switch: Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings > Live Photo.

Turning Live off in an edit does not remove the clip. Apple describes the LIVE button in an edit as a way to turn Live Photo off or back on. Because the motion can be switched back on, the clip stays with the photo and its space stays used.

Duplicate as Still Photo is the route that leaves a photo with no clip. It makes a still copy and keeps the original Live Photo, so storage goes up first. The space comes back only after you delete the Live original.

Deleted photos then sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days, according to Apple's photo deletion page. Emptying Recently Deleted removes them for good, clips included.

What Each Live Photo Action Does to Storage

Space comes back only from actions that stop new clips or remove existing ones. Every other action leaves the clip where it is.

A library that stays large once its clips are gone holds its space in the photos themselves.

When Live Photos Are Not the Main Problem

A Photos line that stays large once Live Photos are handled points to the number of photos, not the clips. Screenshots, burst frames, and near-identical shots can build up over years, and the steps to free up space on iPhone cover each of them.

Photo cleaner apps show one photo at a time and delete only what you confirm. Apps such as Swipe Quick do this on the device, month by month: swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep. Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted for 30 days.