Clear up archive confusion

List the devices, drives and accounts holding photos. Note which contain originals, which are exports, and which have independent copies. Choose one small batch after that inventory. Do not merge every location into one folder before you understand overlaps. Start with the collection map.

Not by itself. A synchronized deletion can reach every connected location. Some services retain deleted items or versions for a limited period, but policies vary. Keep an independent recoverable copy and test how you would retrieve an earlier state. See the sync-versus-backup explanation.

It is a file with the same contents as another file, not simply a similar picture or matching filename. Full-file hashes and byte comparisons help establish exact matches. Metadata changes can make visually identical images differ at the file level. Review the exact-match guide before deleting.

They are different representations, not exact duplicates. A RAW file may retain more editing flexibility, while a camera JPEG or edited export may preserve a rendering you value. Consider the original, sidecars and finished appearance together. A smaller file is not necessarily the less useful version.

Not always. Some keywords can be embedded or exported, while albums, favorites, face labels and smart rules may remain application-specific. Test a representative sample in a second application. Keep export manifests and sidecars until you understand them. Follow the metadata export test.

Keep the scan date as a digitization record. Describe the original event date separately, including uncertainty. “Approximately summer 1994” is more honest than an invented exact timestamp. Document your convention so future searches and future readers interpret it correctly.

First verify that full-resolution originals exist elsewhere and that you have an independent backup. In a synchronized library, ordinary deletion may also remove the cloud copy. If your provider offers a device-space cleanup feature, read its current behavior carefully and test a small batch. Do not infer safety from a thumbnail.

Restore a sample to a separate folder. Open a photo and a video, check resolution and metadata, and include any essential sidecars or catalogs. Compare hashes when an identical file is expected. Record what you did and repeat after major changes. Use the restore checklist.

No. This static website does not accept photo uploads, connect to cloud accounts or inspect a library. The contact composer creates plain text in your browser. Copying or downloading that text is your choice, and no draft is automatically sent. See Privacy for the site's data practices.

Create a separate sharing export and remove sensitive GPS information, names or other details. Inspect the result rather than assuming a setting removed everything. Keep useful context in the protected master, and remember that visible landmarks can reveal a place even without metadata.