Does a factory reset erase iCloud photos?
What Apple says
When you tap Erase All Content and Settings, Apple says your device is completely erased. Photos, contacts, music, apps and Apple Pay cards come off the iPhone. Apple's page adds: "Your content won't delete from iCloud when you erase your device."
Apple also says the opposite: while you're signed in to iCloud, manually deleting an item removes it permanently, from iCloud and from all your connected devices. With iCloud Photos on, deleting a picture on one device deletes it on the others too. Erasing a device is different from deleting a picture, and that difference is what matters here.
What to do, by goal
- You want your photos back after the reset. First check that iCloud Photos is on (Settings, your name, iCloud, Photos) and has finished uploading. Anything not uploaded or backed up is erased with the iPhone. After the reset, sign in again with the same Apple Account and turn on iCloud Photos. A reset can't be undone, so make a backup first if you can.
- You're selling or giving the iPhone away. Apple says to sign out of your Apple Account first, then erase. On iOS 26 or later, tap your name in Settings, scroll down and tap Sign Out, then choose Erase this iPhone. If iCloud Photos was on and finished uploading, your photos stay in iCloud, ready for your next iPhone. If it was off, save your photos somewhere else first, because they were only on this iPhone.
- You want photos gone from iCloud too. Turn off iCloud Photos for your whole account. In Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then Storage, then iCloud Photos, then Turn Off and Delete Photos. Apple says photos in iCloud are deleted 30 days after that, and you can undo it within 30 days. Download anything you want to keep first. If you own a Shared Photo Library, Apple says to delete it before you continue. This is a big step, so be sure.
- The iPhone is lost or stolen. Erasing it remotely clears the phone, not iCloud, and anything only on the phone is lost with it. Here's when to erase it.
Photos aren't in your phone backup either
Apple says photos synced with iCloud Photos aren't included in your iCloud Backup. If iCloud Photos is off, the backup may include your photos and videos instead. So check which one applies to you before a reset. Here's what a backup holds.
If you no longer have the iPhone
Apple says to erase it remotely in Find Devices on iCloud.com, and to change your Apple Account password and turn on two-factor authentication. That won't remove data from the old iPhone, but it stops the next owner deleting your iCloud information. Photos that were in iCloud Photos are still in iCloud, so keep your Apple Account password private.
How FirstHour helps
FirstHour's Vault is different from iCloud Photos. It stays on this iPhone and is left out of iCloud and computer backups. A factory reset therefore erases it. Pictures you moved in are gone unless you saved an encrypted backup file somewhere else, and you'll need your recovery phrase to restore it. Read this before you delete or reset. FirstHour can't erase your iPhone, and it can't remove anything from iCloud for you.
Questions
Will my photos reappear on the iPhone after a reset?
If iCloud Photos was on, they stay in iCloud, so they can sync back once you sign in with the same Apple Account and turn iCloud Photos on.
Do I need to sign out before I erase?
For a phone you're keeping, no. For one you're selling or giving away, Apple says to sign out first. Erasing also turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
Sources
- What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad, Apple Support
- How to turn off iCloud Photos, Apple Support
- iCloud Backup and iCloud Photos, Apple Support