iCloud Shared Photo Library is a fantastic feature for Apple users, allowing seamless photo and video sharing with up to five other people. It’s perfect for families, friends, or anyone wanting to collaborate on photo collections and ensure everyone enjoys complete memories. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about setting up and using iCloud Shared Libraries effectively.
Understanding iCloud Shared Photo Library
When you utilize iCloud Shared Photo Library, photos and videos you contribute are moved from your Personal Library into the Shared Library. You can participate in one Shared Library at a time. You have the flexibility to select specific items to share or set up automatic sharing directly from your camera.
A key aspect is that all members have equal permissions to add, edit, and even delete content within the Shared Library. Importantly, the person who initially sets up the Shared Library, known as the library creator, is responsible for the iCloud storage for all content. Other participants gain access to the Shared Library content without it impacting their personal iCloud storage limits.
Creating Your Own Shared Library
To create a Shared Library, ensure you have a device running iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura or later, with iCloud Photos enabled. For users under 13, creating or joining a Shared Library is restricted to members within their Family Sharing group.*
Creating a Shared Library on iPhone or iPad
- Open Settings and navigate to Photos.
- Tap on Shared Library.
- Choose up to five people to invite to your library. You can also skip this step and invite participants later.
- Select the existing photos and videos you wish to move to your Shared Library. Alternatively, you can choose to add photos later.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to preview your Shared Library setup, confirm your sharing preferences, and send invitations to participants.
Preview your Shared Library settings during the setup process on iPhone.
Creating a Shared Library on Mac
- Open the Photos app.
- In the menu bar, select Photos > Settings, and then click on iCloud.
- Ensure iCloud Photos is turned on. If it’s not, check the box to enable it.
- Click Shared Library, then click Get Started.
Locate the Shared Library tab in iCloud settings within the Photos app on Mac.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to invite participants and select photos and videos to add.
Joining an Existing Shared Library
To join a Shared Library, your device must also be running iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura or later with iCloud Photos enabled. Similar to creating a library, users under 13 can only join Shared Libraries with members of their Family Sharing group.*
Joining a Shared Library on iPhone or iPad
- Open the invitation directly from the library creator. Alternatively, go to Settings > Photos.
- You should see a Shared Library Invitation section. Tap on it.
Find your Shared Library invitation in the Photos settings on your iPhone.
- Tap Accept & Continue.
- Choose photos and videos to contribute to the Shared Library. You can also choose to contribute photos later.
- Preview the Shared Library content and confirm your participation.
Joining a Shared Library on Mac
- Open the invitation from the library creator or go to Photos > Settings, and click View Invitation.
Access your Shared Library invitation through the Settings in the Photos app on macOS.
- Click Get Started, then follow the steps to select photos and videos to move to the Shared Library, or choose to add them later.
- Preview the Shared Library content and confirm your choices to finalize joining.
Effectively Using Your Shared Library
Once you’ve set up or joined a Shared Library, understanding how to use it daily is key. You can share photos directly from your camera to the Shared Library and easily switch between viewing your Personal Library, the Shared Library, or both combined within the Photos app. Furthermore, you can discover how to find photos shared by others, manage sharing suggestions, and more on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Sharing Photos Directly from Camera on iPhone or iPad
- Go to Settings > Photos, then tap Shared Library.
- Tap Sharing from Camera and ensure it is turned on.
Enable 'Sharing from Camera' to directly add photos to your Shared Library from the Camera app.
- For automatic sharing when near other participants, select **Share Automatically**.
- To manually choose when photos are added to the Shared Library, choose **Share Manually**.
- To automatically share photos taken at home, select **Share When At Home**.- In the Camera app, ensure the Shared Library button is active to send photos directly to the Shared Library. Tap to deactivate it and save to your Personal Library instead.
The Shared Library button, located at the top of the Camera app, allows you to choose where to save your photos.
Switching Between Personal and Shared Libraries on iPhone or iPad
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap the profile button in the upper corner and scroll down to Library View Options.
- Select between Personal Library, Shared Library, or Both Libraries to change your view.
Choose between viewing 'Both Libraries', 'Personal Library', or 'Shared Library' in the Photos app.
In Both Libraries or Shared Library view, photos from the Shared Library are marked with an icon. You can disable this indicator by tapping Shared Library Indicator.
Switching Between Personal and Shared Libraries on Mac
- Open the Photos app.
- At the top of the window, choose between Personal Library, Shared Library, or Both Libraries.
Toggle between 'Both Libraries', 'Personal Library', and 'Shared Library' at the top of the Photos app window on macOS.
Similarly, in Both Libraries or Shared Library view on Mac, a badge indicates shared photos. To hide these badges, go to View > Metadata > In Shared Library.
Leaving a Shared Library
If you are the creator of an iCloud Shared Photo Library, you have the ability to remove participants or delete the entire Shared Library at any time. Deleting the Shared Library will notify all participants. Participants who have been in the library for more than seven days will automatically receive all content from the Shared Library in their Personal Library. Those who have been participants for less than seven days will only receive the photos and videos they personally contributed.
As a participant, you can choose to leave a Shared Library whenever you wish. When leaving, you can opt to receive a copy of everything from the Shared Library or only the content you contributed to your Personal Library.
Learn more about leaving an iCloud Shared Library
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* Age restrictions may vary by country or region.
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