Separate two different jobs
Start with your next task: seeing the same files on two devices, or retrieving a file after something goes wrong. For the first task, find out how changes propagate. For the second, identify which copy remains available and the procedure needed to open it.
Do not assign the same status to a library visible on two screens and a copy for which you have prepared a recovery procedure. Our workflow is to record each service and its specific role. “Cloud” describes a location or service; by itself, it does not describe your recovery plan.
Consider how changes propagate
Apple explains that iCloud Photos keeps your library up to date across devices and that changes on one appear on the others. Before deleting anything, consult the documentation for the particular service managing your photos.
To prepare a cleanup, make two lists: items you want out of everyday browsing and items you want to retain. If a file appears on both lists, decide where its retained copy will live first. Deletion should follow that decision and a check that you can read the copy you intend to keep.
Record the requirements of each backup method
An encrypted computer backup made with Finder or Apple Devices has its own workflow and password. Apple documents the encryption option for local backups. This workflow should not be confused with an archive exported by an individual app.
Create a record for each method: tool, expected contents, destination, completion date and required secret. Do not write the secret on this record if it stays beside your device. Instead, note how to locate its safe storage place. An unknown field means the method remains a work in progress.
Check coverage before relying on a copy
Read the documentation for the app holding your files. Ask explicitly: “Does this method include these particular files?” Do not infer coverage of an app from a general phone-backup message. Record any documented exclusion and prepare another copy for anything outside that scope.
iCloud protection settings are a separate question. Apple describes standard protection and Advanced Data Protection. The name of a setting does not establish that a particular archive exists, that a transfer has finished or that restoration has succeeded. Check each of those claims separately.
Prepare a low-stakes recovery exercise
Pick two disposable files with recognizable names. Prepare the copy using the tool’s instructions, wait for its completion state and check the intended recovery path. If the procedure requires a second device you do not have, record the limitation rather than declaring the test successful.
Your final record should answer four questions: which copy, from which date, with which secret and through which procedure? Retain the originals while any answer remains uncertain. The point of this small exercise is to avoid an irreversible decision based on a misunderstood indicator, without pretending that a test eliminates every risk.