What is iCloud Photo Sharing?
iCloud Photo Sharing allows users to store photos and videos uploaded from iOS devices like iPhones and iPads, and share them with other iCloud users. When you enable iCloud Photo Sharing on your device, any new photos and videos you take are automatically uploaded and stored in iCloud at their original quality (up to 16MP for photos and 1080p for videos).
The main benefit of using iCloud Photo Sharing is that it provides a seamless way to share photos and videos with friends and family who also use iCloud. You can create shared albums that others can view and contribute to, which makes it easy to collaborate on collections of photos from vacations, events, and more. Unlike compressing images to send via email or messaging, the photos remain in their original full resolution when shared via iCloud Photo Sharing.
Overall, iCloud Photo Sharing makes it simple to store your entire photo library safely in iCloud while also granting easy access for sharing special moments with others through shared albums. For iOS users deeply immersed in Apple’s ecosystem, it provides a convenient way to manage a photo collection across devices while also enabling seamless sharing capabilities.
Finding Shared iCloud Photos
To find photos that have been shared with you via iCloud Photo Sharing, open the Photos app on your iOS device and tap on the “Shared” tab at the bottom.
This will display a list of any shared iCloud photo albums that people have shared with you. The albums will display the name of the person who shared it, along with a preview of some of the photos in the album.
Tap on any album to open it and view all of the photos and videos shared with you. You can scroll through the album and view the content just like any other album in your Photos app.
The owner of the shared album can continue adding photos and videos to it, and you’ll see the new additions automatically appear in the shared album on your device.
You can also search for specific photos in shared albums. Just tap the search icon in the top right and enter keywords to find relevant photos you’re looking for.
So the Shared tab in the Photos app gives you quick access to any shared iCloud content that people have invited you to view. Check it regularly to see new photos and videos friends and family have shared with you via iCloud Photo Sharing.
Source: View shared photos and videos – Apple Support
Saving Photos from Shared iCloud Albums
Photos and videos shared in a shared iCloud album can easily be saved to your device’s camera roll for offline access or back up purposes. Here are the steps to save photos from a shared iCloud album:
First, open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad and go to the Albums tab. Scroll down to Shared Albums and tap on the shared album you want to save photos from.
Once you have opened the shared album, tap Select in the upper right corner. This will allow you to select individual photos and videos to save. Tap on each photo or video you want to save so they have a checkmark icon.
After selecting the desired photos, tap the Export button at the bottom. On the export screen choose Save to Camera Roll. The selected photos and videos will now be saved to your local device storage in the camera roll.
This provides you with a copy of the shared iCloud photos that you can access offline. You can also transfer the saved photos to a computer or other devices. Just remember that any changes to the saved versions will not sync back to the shared iCloud album.
Viewing iCloud Photos on the Web
One way to view your shared iCloud photos is by accessing them through the iCloud website. Here are the steps to view shared iCloud photos on the web:
1. Go to iCloud.com and login using your Apple ID credentials.
2. On the iCloud homepage, click on the “Photos” app icon.
3. This will open your iCloud Photos library. If you have any shared albums, they will be listed here.
4. Click on a shared album to view all the photos and videos within it. You can scroll through the album and view the content shared with you.
The iCloud website gives you easy access to photos and albums shared with you. While you can view and download the photos, editing or organizing them requires using the Photos app on your iPhone or other iOS device.
Downloading iCloud Photos to Your Computer
To download your iCloud photos to a Windows PC or Mac computer, you will need to install the iCloud app and sign in with your Apple ID:
On Windows:
- Go to Apple’s website and download iCloud for Windows.
- Open iCloud and sign in using your Apple ID and password.
- Click Options next to Photos and make sure iCloud Photos is enabled.
- Select which albums you want to download to your PC.
On Mac:
- Open System Preferences and go to Apple ID.
- Click iCloud Drive and enable Photos.
- Open Photos and select which albums to download.
The selected iCloud photos and albums will download to your Pictures folder. You can access them directly in File Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac.[1]
Sharing Your iCloud Photos
You can easily share photos and albums from your iCloud Photos library with others. Here’s how to share photos using the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad:
Open the Photos app and select the images you want to share. Tap the share button at the bottom left and choose “New Shared Album”. Give the shared album a name and add the people you want to share it with using their email addresses or phone numbers. You can also include a personal message.
Once you tap “Create”, a link is automatically sent to everyone you invited. They can join the shared album and view the photos. Anyone you share with can also comment on photos and add their own photos to the album. You can manage who has access to the album at any time.
Sharing albums through iCloud allows you to easily keep friends and family updated with photos. It avoids needing to send large attachments or share an entire iCloud library. The shared album also persists, versus sending a one-time batch of photos. As you add photos, recipients will see them appear in real-time in the shared album. For more details, see Apple’s iCloud photo sharing support.
Managing Storage for iCloud Photos
One of the most common issues with iCloud Photos is running out of storage space. Here are some tips for managing your iCloud storage:
Check your current iCloud storage usage by going to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage. This will show a breakdown of how much space is being used by photos versus other data like documents, backups, etc.
If your photos are taking up a lot of space, you can optimize your iPhone storage under Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. This will offload full resolution photos and videos to iCloud so they don’t take up space on your device, while keeping smaller thumbnails on your phone. According to Apple Support, optimizing your storage is a great way to free up space.
If you’re still running out of iCloud storage, consider upgrading to a higher storage plan. You can get 50GB for $0.99 per month, 200GB for $2.99 per month, or 2TB for $9.99 per month. Upgrading can give you more breathing room for photos and videos. See this Tom’s Guide article for more iCloud storage tips.
With these options, you should be able to better manage your iCloud photo storage and access those important pictures and videos you want to keep.
Backing Up iCloud Photos
iCloud automatically backs up photos from your iPhone, iPad, or other Apple device to the iCloud servers. This means your photos are safely stored in the cloud and you can access them from any device by signing into your iCloud account [1].
However, it’s a good idea to additionally back up your iCloud photos for extra redundancy. There are a couple ways to do this:
- Use iCloud for Windows or iCloud for Mac to download copies of your iCloud photos to your computer. This will store local backups of your iCloud photo library that you can access even without an internet connection [2].
- Export your iCloud photos to an external hard drive or other storage device. This gives you a physical backup you can store safely offline.
Backing up your iCloud photos locally provides an extra layer of protection in case you ever lose access to your iCloud account. It’s a smart idea for safeguarding your memories.
Alternative Ways to Share Photos
While iCloud Photos is a convenient way to share photos across Apple devices, there are other options you can use to share photos and albums with friends and family:
You can share photos directly via the Messages app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Simply open a message thread, tap the photo icon, and select the photos you want to send. This will share the full-resolution photo through Messages.
Another option is to post your photos on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. You can quickly upload and share photos from your camera roll to these services.
Third-party apps like Google Photos also make it easy to share albums and photos. Google Photos has built-in sharing options to generate a shareable link or create shared albums.
The key advantage of using iCloud is that it seamlessly shares your photos across Apple devices. But these alternative options can also allow you to quickly share photos while giving you more control over the size of images shared.
Troubleshooting iCloud Photo Issues
If you are having trouble with iCloud photo sharing not working properly, there are some steps you can try to resolve the issues:
First, check that you have a stable internet connection on the device(s) you are trying to access shared photos from. iCloud requires an internet connection to sync photos across devices, so make sure your Wi-Fi or cellular data is connected (source).
Also verify that your devices are updated and running the latest OS version. Apple sometimes releases updates to fix bugs with iCloud services, so keeping your iOS, iPadOS, or macOS up-to-date is recommended (source).
Double check that you are logged into iCloud with the proper Apple ID on all devices. Make sure it is the same Apple ID used to initially set up and share the photos (source).
If you still can’t resolve the issues, you may need to contact Apple Support for further troubleshooting. They can help diagnose problems specific to your account and devices that are preventing photo sharing from working properly.