When I “store locally” an album, do the images I add to it also get uploaded to the cloud?

[defaultuyciz18otv16]

I am on the road with an iPad Pro.  Each night I import my photos from the day using an SD card adapter.  I import them to an album named for this particular trip.  The album is set to "store locally" so I can readily edit them in real time while traveling.  I then format the SD card and re-use it the next day.

It is not clear to me whether the images are also being uploaded to the cloud.  I want to make sure they are, in case my iPad is lost or stolen. Does "store locally" mean ONLY store locally, or does it mean BOTH upload to cloud and also store locally?

I would prefer not to have to toggle the "store locally" switch each day, because then I will have to re-download the entire album. I have researched this issue online with care, and was unable to find an answer.

[Charlie.D]

Hi @defaultuyciz18otv16 

Store Locally doesn't affect what the app uploads, but rather it only tells the LR app what files to keep cached locally after sync is complete.

Lightroom tries to save device storage space by purging images from the app cache, after they are fully uploaded (for paid users).  When you set Store Locally for any given album, the app will keep editable copies of all images in that album so you can continue to edit them even when the device is offline.  And clearing the app cache will not remove the images from the app, which would hinder editing if you're offline.  (Further, in app Settings > Cloud Storage & Sync, disabling "only download smart previews" will make Store Locally keep original images in your specified album -- fyi, in case you need to edit using originals and not the "Smart Preview" copies of your images that take less disk space.)

Before you empty the SD card, please look around your album, or the "Imports" album, and make sure all your images successfully imported.  Tap the cloud button in the Lightroom tab, and ensure that all your imported images are fully synced -- if so, cloud status will be "Synced and backed up."  The cloud icon is how you can tell if your images are fully synced or not.  For safety, you can independently verify the images are uploaded by opening a web browser, and signing into your same account at https://lightroom.adobe.com -- if the LR Web app shows your images, you know they did successfully upload.  

I hope this helps a bit

[defaultuyciz18otv16]

That answers the question! Thank you!