Shared Albums on your iPhone offer a fantastic way to collaboratively collect and share photos and videos with friends and family. Instead of sending individual photos or creating group messages that get cluttered, Shared Albums provide a dedicated space where everyone you invite can contribute, comment, and enjoy memories together. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about using Shared Albums on your iPhone, and also cover how to manage them on your iPad and Mac.
Getting Started with Shared Albums
Before diving in, ensure Shared Albums are enabled on your devices. This feature, sometimes referred to as iCloud Photo Sharing in older systems, seamlessly integrates with your iCloud account.
Enabling Shared Albums
While typically enabled by default, it’s worth verifying:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on your Apple ID at the top.
- Select iCloud.
- Tap Photos.
- Ensure Shared Albums is toggled on (it should be green).
With this setting confirmed, you’re ready to start sharing your photo memories!
Creating and Managing Shared Albums on iPhone and iPad
The process for creating and managing Shared Albums is consistent across both iPhone and iPad, offering a seamless experience regardless of your device.
How to Create a New Shared Album
Creating a Shared Album is straightforward and takes just a few taps:
- Open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Scroll down to the Shared Albums section.
- Tap Shared Albums, then select Create.
- Name your album. Choose a descriptive name that reflects the album’s content or occasion (e.g., “Family Vacation 2024,” “Birthday Party”).
- Select photos and videos to initially add to the album. You can add more later.
- Invite people to the album. You can select contacts from your list or manually enter email addresses or phone numbers.
- Tap Done to finalize the creation.
In older iOS versions (iOS 17 or earlier), the process is slightly different. After tapping the “Albums” tab, tap the “+” button and select “New Shared Album.” The remaining steps for naming and inviting people are the same.
How to Delete a Shared Album
If you no longer need a Shared Album, or wish to remove it, deletion is simple:
- Open the Shared Album you wish to delete.
- Tap the More button (represented by three dots in a circle, or sometimes labeled “…” ).
- Select Delete Album.
- Confirm your decision when prompted.
In iOS 17 or earlier, you’ll tap the People button (an icon of two people) instead of the More button to access the Delete Album option.
Important Note: Deleting a Shared Album is permanent. It removes the album and all its contents from your devices and everyone you’ve shared it with. If you have enabled a Public Website for the album, it will also be removed from the web. Always save any photos or videos you want to keep before deleting a Shared Album.
How to Invite More People to a Shared Album
Need to add more collaborators to your album? Here’s how:
- Open the Shared Album you want to add people to.
- Tap the More button.
- Select Shared Album Details.
- Tap Invite People.
- Enter the names or contact information of the people you want to invite.
- Tap Done.
In iOS 17 or earlier, after opening the album, tap the People button, then Invite People.
You can also share an album publicly with those who don’t use iCloud. In the Shared Album Details (or People tab in older iOS), toggle on Public Website. This creates a web link to your album that anyone with the link can view in a browser.
How to Remove a Subscriber from a Shared Album
As the album creator, you have full control over who has access. To remove someone:
- Open the Shared Album.
- Tap the More button, then Shared Album Details.
- Scroll down to the list of subscribers.
- Tap on the name of the person you want to remove.
- Select Remove Subscriber at the bottom of the screen.
In iOS 17 or earlier, tap the People button to access the subscriber list.
Removing a subscriber prevents them from accessing the album and any future updates.
How to Add Photos and Videos to a Shared Album
Contributing to a Shared Album is easy, whether it’s one you created or one you’re invited to:
- Select the photos and videos you want to add from your Library or another album.
- Tap the Share button (the upward-pointing arrow icon).
- Tap Add to Shared Album.
- Choose the Shared Album you want to add to.
- Tap Post.
Alternatively, if you have a Shared Album open, you can tap the Add button (plus icon) within the album to directly select and add content.
To allow others to contribute photos and videos, ensure Subscribers Can Post is enabled in the Shared Album Details.
How to Delete Photos and Videos from a Shared Album
Need to remove a photo or video from a Shared Album?
- Open the Shared Album.
- Tap on the photo or video you want to delete.
- Tap the Trash button (delete icon).
- Confirm by tapping Delete Photo (or Delete Video).
As the album owner, you can delete anything from the album. Subscribers can only delete content they personally added. Deleting content removes it for everyone.
How to Save Photos and Videos from a Shared Album
To save content from a Shared Album to your personal Photos library:
- Tap the photo or video you want to save.
- Tap the Share button.
- Tap Save Image or Save Video.
Saving ensures you have a copy even if the Shared Album is deleted or sharing is stopped.
Using Shared Albums on Your Mac
Shared Albums are also accessible and manageable on your Mac, providing flexibility across your Apple ecosystem.
Creating, Deleting, and Managing Subscribers on Mac
The processes for creating, deleting, inviting, and removing subscribers are similar to iPhone and iPad, but utilize the Photos app interface on macOS.
- Create: In the Photos app sidebar, click the “+” button next to Shared Albums, name the album, invite people, and click Create.
- Delete: Open the album, click the People button (two-person icon) in the toolbar, and select Delete Shared Album.
- Invite: Select your album, click the People button, and use the “Invite People” field.
- Remove Subscriber: Open the album, click the People button, select the subscriber, click the arrow next to their name, and choose Remove Subscriber.
Adding and Deleting Photos and Videos on Mac
Managing content on Mac is also intuitive:
- Add: Select photos/videos, click the Share button in the toolbar, choose Shared Albums, and select your album. You can also drag photos directly into the album in the sidebar.
- Delete: Open the album, select a photo/video, Control-click, and choose “Delete from Shared Album.” Or, select and press the Delete key.
Saving Photos and Videos on Mac
To save content from a Shared Album to your Mac library:
- Select the photo or video.
- Control-click and choose Import.
File Types and Storage Limits
Shared Albums are versatile, supporting various image and video formats:
Image Formats:
- HEIF
- JPEG
- RAW*
- PNG
- GIF
- TIFF
They also support special iPhone formats like slo-mo, time-lapse, Live Photos, and Memory videos. Photos are resized to 2048 pixels on the long edge when shared (panoramic photos up to 5400 pixels wide), and GIFs are limited to 100MB.
Video File Types:
- HEVC
- MP4
- QuickTime
- H.264
- MPEG-4
Videos can be up to 15 minutes long and are shared at up to 720p resolution.
* RAW photos cannot be uploaded to Shared Albums from Windows PCs.
Storage Limits:
A single Shared Album can hold up to 5,000 photos and videos. While Shared Albums use iCloud, the content within them does not count against your iCloud storage limit. You only need to manage the number of items within each album.
Conclusion
Shared Albums are a powerful and convenient feature for iPhone users to share and collaborate around photos and videos. Whether you’re sharing vacation memories, family events, or creative projects, Shared Albums offer a simple and organized way to keep everyone connected and engaged with your visual stories. By following these steps, you can easily master Shared Albums and enhance your photo sharing experience on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
