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I'm getting an M1 MacBook Pro from my employer which only has 512 GB of flash storage (my 2018 MBP has 1 TB), so I'll need to move my 350 GB Photos library to an external drive. I know that I could have Photos optimize for storage (I do have iCloud Library), but I think it's best to have the full-size Photos library stored somewhere.

Would it be okay to store the Photos library on an external thumb-type flash drive from a reputable manufacturer such as SanDisk, or should I stick to a more conventional external USB flash drive, such as the SanDisk Extreme series?

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  • You can keep your photo library on an external drive, that's not a problem. I've done that a few times when I was running low on storage. An external ssd is your best option. Do you have any constraints that would impact the answer (cost, size, etc)?
    – fsb
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 20:25
  • I've had clients who've lost very important files (not just photos) when the only copies have been on thumb drives. Personally, I use a combo of external SSD drives (rugged LaCie to be precise) as well as redundant cloud storage (DropBox, Google Drive) for the most important stuff I just can't lose. Disclaimer: satisfied customer of LaCie (Seagate) products for over 20 years - no financial or other ties to the company.
    – IconDaemon
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 21:43
  • Note that I do have my entire photos library as an iCloud Photo Library, but I understand that it's important to have at least one copy of it on a drive somewhere.
    – odysseus
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 0:17
  • @fsb: I bought a SanDisk Extreme 1TB SSD. It's pretty small. A good solution?
    – odysseus
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 0:29

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There is Apple support document Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac where among other things are stated:

To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.

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  • Yes, but "USB flash drives" isn't terribly clear: an external SSD drive is a USB flash drive, isn't it?
    – odysseus
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 0:16

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