The Resurrection Problem
Apple’s “Live Photos” feature records 1.5 seconds of video and audio before and after you press the shutter button. While this creates a fun, moving image in your gallery, Live Photos consume significantly more storage space than standard photos and often capture awkward, blurry movement or unwanted background audio. You can easily turn off Live Photos by tapping the circular icon in the Camera app. However, by default, iOS will aggressively turn Live Photos back on the very next time you open the camera. You must force the operating system to remember your preference permanently.
How to Permanently Turn Off Live Photos
You must sever the default camera reset behavior via the Preserve Settings menu.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down to the sixth block of options and tap on Camera.
- Tap on Preserve Settings.
- Scroll to the bottom of the list and locate the toggle switch labeled Live Photo.
- Toggle this switch to the On position (the background will turn green). Note: This tells iOS to “preserve” your choice, it does not turn Live Photos on.
- Exit the Settings app and open your Camera app.
- Tap the circular Live Photo icon at the top of the screen to turn it off (it will show a slash through the circle).
Standard Photography Restored
The change takes effect instantly. Because you enabled the “Preserve Settings” toggle, the iPhone will completely stop resetting the camera interface. You can now close the Camera app, lock your phone, reboot the device, and open the camera three days later, and the Live Photo icon will remain firmly crossed out. Every picture you take from this point forward will be a standard, static, high-resolution JPEG (or HEIC) file, saving massive amounts of storage space on your iCloud account.