Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! PhotoPiper offers free daily transfers—no credit card required. Transfer a set number of photos each day, and the counter resets at midnight UTC. Need unlimited transfers? A one-time purchase unlocks everything forever.

Image Capture often freezes on large libraries and doesn't remember what you've already transferred. AirDrop is slow for bulk transfers and can fail silently. PhotoPiper is built specifically for reliability—it handles thousands of photos without freezing, remembers duplicates, and shows you exactly what's happening.

No. PhotoPiper transfers photos directly from your iPhone to your Mac over USB. No iCloud account or internet connection required. Your photos stay on your devices.

PhotoPiper requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. It runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Apple Photos locks your images inside a library format that's hard to access directly. PhotoPiper copies original files to any folder you choose—your Pictures folder, an external drive, or a cloud-synced folder. You stay in control.

Yes. Enable the HEIC → JPEG option before transferring, and PhotoPiper will automatically convert Apple's HEIC format to universally compatible JPEG files. The conversion uses hardware acceleration for fast performance.

PhotoPiper maintains a local catalog of transferred files. When you scan your iPhone, it compares against this catalog and only shows photos that haven't been transferred yet. This means you can run transfers regularly without copying the same photos twice.

No. PhotoPiper requires a USB connection between your iPhone and Mac. This is by design—USB transfers are significantly faster and more reliable than wireless options, especially for large photo libraries. Connect your iPhone using a Lightning to USB or USB-C cable.

Yes. PhotoPiper transfers both photos and videos from your iPhone's camera roll, including Live Photos, slow-motion videos, and time-lapse recordings.

Yes. Enable the date folder option and PhotoPiper will automatically organize your photos into a YYYY/MM folder structure based on when each photo was taken.

PhotoPiper tracks progress as it goes. If a transfer is interrupted (cable disconnected, app closed, etc.), simply restart and PhotoPiper will skip already-transferred files and continue with the remaining ones.

iOS requires the device to be unlocked for apps to access photos over USB. For best performance, keep your iPhone unlocked during the transfer. Some iOS versions throttle connections when the device is locked.

No. PhotoPiper runs entirely on your Mac and doesn't send any data to external servers. There are no analytics, no tracking, and no telemetry. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Use the Clear button in the app to reset the transfer catalog and quota counter. This will make PhotoPiper treat all photos as new on the next scan. You can also delete the app container folder to completely reset all settings.

The free version includes all features: HEIC conversion, date folders, duplicate detection, and verified transfers. The only limit is the number of photos you can transfer per day. The daily quota resets at midnight UTC.

Nope—pay once, own it forever. No subscriptions, no recurring charges, no surprise renewals. One purchase unlocks unlimited transfers for life.

Purchases are handled by Apple through the App Store. To request a refund, visit reportaproblem.apple.com and follow Apple's refund process.