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Photos app mysteriously vanishes from iCloud.com (Update: Back for some, Apple says fixed)

Update: Some users are once again reporting the availability of the beta Photos web app on iCloud.com (although not everyone just yet). Let us know if you’re still seeing issues.

Update 2: Apple has acknowledged the outage on its system status page and says the issue is resolved.

The Photos app has been mysteriously pulled from the iCloud.com site, in the last few days. The app, which shows pictures stored in iCloud Photo Library, is now no longer listed on the iCloud.com homepage when logged in … with no comment from Apple to explain the disappearance.

Going direct to the URL for the Photos app (iCloud.com/#photos) seems to try and load the app but fails with an error message: “Can’t Load Photos: There was a problem loading the application.”. Although this is only speculation, it seems like Apple’s servers experienced a problem in the last few days that caused the application to fail and has now removed the option to open the app completely until it is fixed. Readers have been reporting to 9to5Mac that they have been unable to reach Photos on the web for a few days now.

There is also the possibility that this signals the release of the native Photos app for Mac OS X is imminent, although there is no concrete evidence to support this aside from the (coincidental?) timing. Apple said Photos for Mac would be released in early 2015. Mac users are anxiously awaiting for the app to become available, as Apple already discontinued their existing photo management apps, Aperture and iPhoto, in June last year.

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Comments

  1. philboogie - 9 years ago

    Could that be a sign that the release of Photos is imminent?

  2. philboogie - 9 years ago

    Sorry, posted before reading through to the end, where the author also states this. Pity I cannot edit my comment, perhaps 9to5 can delete these 2(?)

  3. nu nu (@vainboxtech) - 9 years ago

    It’s back up now – at least for me.

  4. verizon2828 - 9 years ago

    Wouldn’t they release the Photos app to developers to test before going with a full public release?

    • Benjamin Mayo - 9 years ago

      From what they said, it sounded like it was getting released as a beta first. Whether that beta was for everyone or just developers was not made clear.

      • verizon2828 - 9 years ago

        Thanks, Ben. I’m on iCloud Photo Library on my iPhone and iPad and love. I’ve had a couple of hiccups with photos syncing but it’s been relatively smooth. Can’t wait for the Photos app for my Mac. I also hope they include the ability to make photo books, calendars, etc. like iPhoto. That’s where I create my calendars and photo books each year and they’re really high quality.

  5. tklyn - 9 years ago

    was just there a few hours ago

  6. bergmayer (@bergmayer) - 9 years ago

    The iCloud app is extremely buggy–it’s the only web app I’ve ever seen that would give me crash pop-ups. Even before recently (it hasn’t loaded in about a week) it would fail to launch about half the time. It’s still up on the beta site, incidentally, and it won’t launch there for me either. I get the impression that it runs into problems when people actually put photos into iCloud–I have about 11,000 uploaded.

  7. Matthew Dunn - 9 years ago

    Of course its buggy, its beta. Also mines online and working and never left. Not sure were 9to5 got their information from but it seems to be a problem for a selected few.

  8. AeronPeryton - 9 years ago

    In before they send out some cheeky invite that says something like “Picture a bright future with us”.

  9. carlmajeski - 9 years ago

    I am sure this is not related but I just bought a new iPhone 6 and cannot restore all of my photos from iCloud. I am missing about 800 photos from the backup of my old phone. When I call Apple the can see them all there but they won’t all restore to my phone. Only some. Has anyone ever experienced this?

  10. c1ce091b - 9 years ago

    I have not used Photos on the web, in a couple of days. Therefore, I cannot say when it stopped showing in iCloud but as of right now, I do not have Photos in the web. I do have it on my mobile devices and all seems fine there.

  11. Marklewood at Serenity Lodge - 9 years ago

    Not showing here.

  12. Izabela Garcez - 9 years ago

    This is exactly what is happening to me. I have an open ticket with apple since January 22th. I spent more the 12 hours with them on the phone and I am still unable to see my pictures on the iCloud, download it or do anything with it. I have about 15.000 pictures . I am almost loosing my hopes to see it back again.

  13. Jennifer Reynolds Gray - 9 years ago

    I just had my hard drive replaced and now the new operating system doesn’t have iPhoto, just photos.. my pictures are there.. but not there.. it shows albums, and all the pictures are white.. like they no longer exist. Im really worried about losing pics since I haven’t backed them up to my external hard drive in way too long.

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.