I'm upgrading from an older iPhone SE to an iPhone 17 Pro. I have more than 64 GB of photos, but I don't want those photos copied to the new phone. I do want to keep my apps, saved passwords, settings, and other important data.
I don't use iCloud storage and would prefer not to start using it. Is there a way to transfer only the apps, passwords, and essential data directly from one iPhone to the other while leaving the photos behind? I don't normally use a computer, but I'll consider that if it's the only practical option. Apple's transfer process seems less selective than what I'm used to on Android.
3 Answers
A computer backup is probably the best non-iCloud route. Make an encrypted backup of the old iPhone on a Mac or PC, then restore it to the new phone. However, a full restore usually includes the photo library too, so you’d need to remove the photos from the backup first or delete them from the new phone after restoring. An encrypted backup is important because it can preserve saved passwords and other sensitive data.
The simplest option is Quick Start, which transfers directly from the old iPhone to the new one, but it generally copies your photos as well. Afterward, you could delete the photos from the new phone, provided they’re still safely stored on the old phone or somewhere else. Be careful if iCloud Photos is enabled, since deleting a synced photo can remove it from other devices too.
If you want to avoid transferring the photo library, set up the new iPhone as new and download your apps manually from the App Store. Passwords are the difficult part: they’re normally restored through iCloud Keychain or an encrypted backup. You can export saved passwords to a CSV file from the old phone, but importing them again may require doing it manually and the CSV file should be deleted securely afterward.
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