How to use iCloud Shared Photo Library

iCloud Shared Photo Library lets you share photos and videos seamlessly with up to five other people, so everyone can collaborate on the collection and enjoy more complete memories. Learn how to set up and use a Shared Library.

How iCloud Shared Photo Library works

When you contribute photos and videos to iCloud Shared Photo Library, they move out of your Personal Library and into the Shared Library. You can join one Shared Library, and you can choose what to share, or automatically share content straight from the camera.

All participants have equal permissions to add, edit, and delete content in the Shared Library, while the person who set up the Shared Library, the library creator, provides iCloud storage for all of the content. Everyone else gets access to the Shared Library content without it counting towards their iCloud storage.

Create a Shared Library

To set up a Shared Library, you need a device with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura or later with Family Sharing group.*

On your iPhone or iPad

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Photos, then tap Shared Library. In iOS 17 or earlier, go to Settings > Photos, then tap Shared Library.

  2. Choose up to five people to invite, or you can invite participants later.

  3. Choose past photos and videos that you want to move to your Shared Library, or choose to move photos later.

  4. Follow the onscreen steps to preview your Shared Library, confirm the content that you want to share, and invite additional participants.

    You can preview your Shared Library during setup.

On your Mac

  1. In the Photos app, choose Photos > Settings, then click iCloud.

  2. Make sure that iCloud Photos is turned on. If not, select iCloud Photos.

  3. Click Shared Library, then click Get Started.

    The Shared Library tab is next to the iCloud tab.

  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to invite participants and add photos and videos.

Join a Shared Library

To join a Shared Library, you need a device with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura or later with Family Sharing group.*

On your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the invitation from the library creator or go to Settings > Apps > Photos. In iOS 17 or earlier, go Settings > Photos.

    If you have a Shared Library invitation, you can find it in the Photos section of your device Settings.

  2. Tap Accept & Continue.

  3. Follow the onscreen steps to choose photos and videos you want to move to your Shared Library, or choose to move photos later.

  4. Follow the onscreen steps to preview your Shared Library content and confirm the content that you want to share.

On your Mac

  1. Open the invitation from the library creator or go to Photos > Settings, and click View Invitation.

    If you have a Shared Library invitation, you can find it in Settings in the Photos app.

  2. Click Get Started, then follow the onscreen steps to choose photos and videos you want to move to your Shared Library, or choose to move photos later.

  3. Follow the onscreen steps to preview your Shared Library content and confirm the content that you want to share.

Use Shared Library

Learn how to share photos straight from your camera to your Shared Library and how to switch views between your Personal Library, the Shared Library, or display both at the same time in the Photos app. You can also learn how to find photos shared by other participants, manage sharing suggestions, and more on your Mac.

Share photos straight from the camera on your iPhone or iPad

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Photos, then tap Shared Library. In iOS 17 or earlier, go to Settings > Photos, then tap Shared Library.

  2. Tap Sharing from Camera and make sure that it's turned on.

    To add a button in the Camera app to share photos and videos to your Shared Library, turn on Sharing from Camera.

Switch between your Personal Library and Shared Library on your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Photos app.

  2. Tap the profile button in the upper corner and scroll down to Library View Options. In iOS 17 or earlier, at the top of the Albums or Library tabs, tap the button next to Select in the upper right.

  3. Choose Personal Library, Shared Library, or Both Libraries.

    An iPhone screen showing Both Libraries, Personal Library, and Shared Library under Library View Options.

In Both Libraries or Shared Library view, photos that are in the Shared Library are badged with an icon. To turn this off, tap Shared Library Indicator.

Switch between your Personal Library and Shared Library on your Mac

  1. Open the Photos app.

  2. At the top, choose Personal Library, Shared Library, or Both Libraries.

    A Mac screen showing that you can toggle between Both Libraries, Personal Library, and Shared Library.

In Both Libraries or Shared Library view, photos that are in the Shared Library are badged with an icon. To turn this off, choose View > Metadata > In Shared Library.

Leave a Shared Library

If you created an iCloud Shared Photo Library, you can remove a participant or delete the Shared Library at any time. After you delete the Shared Library, all participants receive a notification. If a participant has been in the Shared Library for more than seven days, they automatically receive everything from the Shared Library in their Personal Library. If they've been in the Shared Library for less than seven days, they receive only the photos and videos that they contributed.

If you're a participant, you can leave a Shared Library at any time. You can choose to receive a copy of everything from the Shared Library in your Personal Library, or just what you contributed.

Learn how to leave a Shared Library

Get help with Shared Library

  • If you use a device with an earlier version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or iCloud for Windows, you can't see content moved to the Shared Library. You can on your Mac.

* Age varies by country or region.

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