DB Labs
Updated September 6, 2026
By Jack Smith, iOS Developer at DB Labs
How to Share a Photo Album on iPhone
Shared albums let you publish a whole collection once and keep adding to it, instead of sending photos over and over. Here is how to set one up, share it with people who do not use Apple devices, and let everyone add their own shots.
How to Share a Photo Album on iPhone (5 Steps)
Sharing an album creates a live, collaborative collection that other people can view — and optionally add to — without you sending individual photos. The whole process takes about a minute.
Turn on Shared Albums
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and switch on Shared Albums. This is off by default on some devices, and the sharing options will not appear in the Photos app until it is enabled. You only have to do this once.
Open Photos and create the album
Open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab. Tap the + button in the top-left corner and choose New Shared Album. Give it a name that will make sense to the people you invite — "Italy 2026" beats "Album 3".
Invite people
Type the names, email addresses, or phone numbers of the people you want to invite, then tap Create. Contacts with an Apple Account get the album directly in their Photos app. Anyone else can still view it through a public link (see below).
Add your photos
Open the new shared album and tap the + tile to pick photos and videos from your library. You can also go the other way: select photos in your library, tap the Share button, choose Add to Shared Album, and pick the destination.
Post and confirm
Add an optional comment and tap Post. Your invitees get a notification, and anything you add later appears for them automatically. There is no need to re-send or re-share.
Share an Album with People Who Do Not Use Apple Devices
Shared Albums normally require an Apple Account, but there is a public link option that works in any web browser — Android, Windows, anything.
- Open the shared album and tap the people icon (or the album name, then Shared Album Details)
- Switch on Public Website
- Tap Share Link and send the resulting
icloud.comaddress however you like
Anyone with that link can view and download the album in a browser. They cannot add photos or leave comments — the public website is view-only. Turn the toggle off at any time and the link stops working immediately.
Let Other People Add Their Own Photos
The most useful thing about a shared album is that it does not have to be one-directional. In Shared Album Details you get two switches:
- Subscribers Can Post — lets everyone you invited add their own photos and videos to the album. This is what makes shared albums genuinely good for weddings, group trips, and birthdays, where the best shots are spread across a dozen phones.
- Notifications — controls whether you get alerted each time someone posts. On a busy album this is worth turning off.
Subscribers can delete only the photos they added themselves. As the album owner, you can delete anything, and you can remove a subscriber entirely from the same screen.
Shared Albums vs. Shared Photo Library: Which One Do You Want?
iOS has two features with confusingly similar names. They solve different problems.
| Shared Album | iCloud Shared Photo Library | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | One event or trip | An entire household's photos |
| People | Up to 100 subscribers | Up to 6 participants |
| Image quality | Downscaled for sharing | Full original resolution |
| iCloud storage used | None | Counts against the owner's plan |
| Non-Apple viewers | Yes, via public link | No |
The short version: if you want to show people some photos, use a shared album. If you want your partner's camera roll and yours to be one pool, use the Shared Photo Library.
Limits You Should Know About Before You Rely on It
Shared albums are free and do not touch your iCloud storage, and those two facts come with trade-offs:
- Photos are downscaled. Images are reduced to roughly 2048 pixels on the long edge, and videos are capped at 15 minutes. A shared album is a viewing copy, not an archive — do not delete your originals because "they are in the shared album."
- 5,000 items per album. Generous for an event, tight for a whole year.
- 200 shared albums per account, counting both the ones you own and the ones you subscribe to.
- Live Photos become stills and most edits are baked in rather than remaining reversible.
If someone needs the full-quality original, send it directly with AirDrop or another full-resolution method instead.
Fixing the Common Problems
The New Shared Album option is missing
Shared Albums is switched off in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. This is the cause the overwhelming majority of the time.
Your invitation never arrived
Invitations go to a specific Apple Account. If you invited a phone number or address the person does not actually use for iCloud, nothing arrives. Ask which address their Apple Account uses, remove the old invite, and re-invite. Pending invitations also appear in the recipient's Photos app under the For You tab.
Photos are not appearing for other people
Confirm you tapped Post after selecting photos — selecting alone does not publish them. Then check the connection on both ends; shared albums will not sync on a device in Low Power Mode with a poor signal.
You are out of shared albums
You have hit the 200-album ceiling. Delete old event albums you no longer need — deleting a shared album does not delete the originals from your own library.
Share Your Best Shots, Not All 4,000
A shared album is a lot more enjoyable when it is not padded with near-identical takes. Swype Photo Cleaner lets you swipe through your camera roll fast — left to delete, right to keep — so you share the good ones.
Download Swype FreeFrequently Asked Questions
How do I share a photo album on my iPhone?
Enable Shared Albums in Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. Then open the Photos app, go to the Albums tab, tap the + button, and choose New Shared Album. Name it, enter the people you want to invite, and tap Create. Open the album, tap the + tile to add photos and videos, then tap Post. Anything you add later appears for your invitees automatically.
Can I share an iPhone album with someone who has an Android phone?
Yes. Open the shared album, tap the people icon, and switch on Public Website. Tap Share Link and send the icloud.com address to anyone. They can view and download the album in any web browser on Android, Windows, or any other platform. They cannot add photos or comment, because the public website is view-only. Turning the toggle back off disables the link immediately.
Do shared albums use my iCloud storage?
No. Shared albums do not count against your iCloud storage quota at all, which is why Apple downscales the images to roughly 2048 pixels on the long edge and caps videos at 15 minutes. This makes shared albums free to use no matter how small your iCloud plan is, but it also means a shared album is a viewing copy rather than a backup. Keep your originals.
What is the difference between a shared album and a shared photo library?
A shared album is one collection you publish to up to 100 people at reduced resolution, using none of your iCloud storage. An iCloud Shared Photo Library merges entire camera rolls between up to 6 people at full original resolution, and everything in it counts against the library owner's iCloud plan. Use a shared album for an event or trip; use a Shared Photo Library for a household.
How many photos can a shared album hold?
A single shared album holds up to 5,000 photos and videos, and one Apple Account can have up to 200 shared albums, counting both albums you created and albums you subscribe to. If you hit the album limit, delete old event albums — removing a shared album never deletes the original photos from your own library.
Can other people add photos to my shared album?
Yes, if you allow it. Open the album, tap the people icon to reach Shared Album Details, and switch on Subscribers Can Post. Everyone you invited can then add their own photos and videos, which is what makes shared albums useful for weddings and group trips. Subscribers can only delete photos they added themselves; as the owner you can remove anything, and any subscriber.