If you are a long-time iOS user, you might confuse the newly introduced iCloud Shared Photo Library with the Shared Albums feature. While the primary goal of both these features is to allow you to share photos and videos with your friends and family, the former offers more control to all users participating in the iCloud Shared Photo Library by allowing everyone to view, edit and contribute photos to the album. Here’s an exhaustive guide on how to use iCloud Shared Photo Library on your iPhone, including how to join or share your photo library. 

Apple was set to launch iCloud Shared Photo Library with iOS 16, but due to unknown reasons, it was delayed until iOS 16.1.

What is iCloud Shared Photo Library?

iCloud Shared Photo Library allows you to share photos and videos with up to five other members. All six members have equal rights to add, edit or delete images from the library. Also, you can choose what images you would like to share or enable a setting to share pictures directly from your camera. 

All the members have equal permission to make changes to the media stored in the Shared Library. However, the media is not stored in the participants’ (members) iPhone or iCloud storage. Instead, they are saved in the iCloud storage of the individual who creates the Shared Library.

So, if you create a Shared Library, all the media shared by you and the others will be stored in your iCloud storage. Everyone else gets access to the library without keeping any content in their device or iCloud. And suppose the creator of the iCloud Shared Photo Library happens to run out of iCloud storage. None of the members can add any media to the Shared Library unless you delete the existing files or upgrade the iCloud storage. Here are 5 tips to help you free up iCloud Storage Space.

Also, you can create or join only one Shared Library using one Apple ID. Please note that whenever you join or create an iCloud Shared Photo Library, iCloud will record a one-time snapshot of your photo library database and its metadata and store it for up to six months. It helps transition your media smoothly to the Shared Library. Also, any photos in the snapshot, which are later deleted, are stored in the iCloud for up to six months.

Which Devices Support iCloud Shared Photo Library?

Since the iCloud Shared Photo Library feature is a software feature, it is available on iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, and macOS Ventura and above. Also, iCloud Photos should be enabled, so you should sync your photos to iCloud to access this feature. 

How To Create an iCloud Shared Photo Library 

As mentioned earlier, the iCloud Shared Photo Library feature is available not only on iOS 16.1 and above but also on iPadOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura and above. Moreover, the steps to access the iCloud Shared Photo Library are similar on iPadOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura. 

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone. 

Step 2: Navigate to Photos.

Step 3: Under the Library option, select Shared Library to enable the feature and begin with the setup process. 

Step 4: Tap Get Started.

Step 5: Now, since you own the Shared Library, you can invite up to five other people. To do so, tap + Add Participants. Once you’re done adding participants, tap Next. You can also add or remove participants after completing the setup process.

Step 6: On the next page, choose which of the existing photos and videos you want to move out of your Personal Library and onto the Shared Library. You can select from All My Photos and Videos, Choose by People or Date or Choose Manually options.

If you choose an option from the former two, Hidden and Recently Deleted items alongside the screenshots will not be added to the Shared Library. Also, you can preview the Shared Library before sharing.

Step 7: Tap Next once you’re done selecting one of the three available options. If you’re unsure which option you would like to choose, tap Move Photos Later and select an option after completing the setup. 

Step 8: Select the photos and videos you want to share and tap Add at the top right corner.

Step 9: Tap Preview Shared Library to preview the selected images and make any corrections. 

Step 10: Once you’re done viewing the photos and videos, tap Continue at the top right corner. 

Step 11: You can invite the participants through Messages or share a link via any other platform. Tap Invite via Messages or Share Link as to what suits you best. 

How To Join an iCloud Shared Photo Library

If the Shared Library creator has shared the invitation via Messages, you can join directly from there or follow the below steps. 

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone. 

Step 2: Head to Photos. 

Step 3: Tap the “xxx wants you to join a Shared Library” invitation.

Step 4: Select Get Started on the next screen. 

Step 5: Select from one of the available options and tap Next, or if you can’t decide, tap Move Photos Later to do so once you’ve joined the shared library.

Step 6: Tap Join Shared Library to complete the process.

How To Share to the iCloud Shared Photo Library Directly From the Camera 

One of the best features of iCloud Shared Photo Library is that you can directly add images to it when you click them. However, this option is only available once you’ve created or joined an iCloud Shared Photo Library.

Follow the steps below to add photos and videos to the Shared Library from the camera.

Step 1: Open the Camera app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Now tap the Shared Library icon at the top left corner. 

Step 3: When enabled, it’ll have a yellow background, and all images and videos will be directly uploaded to the Shared Library. When disabled, the media is saved to your Personal Library. 

How To Switch between Personal and Shared Libraries Through the Photos app

As mentioned earlier, every member added to the Shared Library has equal permissions to add, edit or delete images from the library. Since everyone has equal access, they can view the pictures and videos on their devices right from the Photos app. Follow the steps below to learn how to switch between your Personal and Shared Library directly from the Photos app.

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone. 

Step 2: Tap on the Three dots (…) at the top right corner.

Step 3: Tap Shared Library to view the contents of the Shared Library. 

Note that all the photos and videos from the shared library will be displayed in your Photos app by default, even without following the steps. These photos and videos can be easily identified as they have a Shared Library icon at the corner. 

How To Leave an iCloud Shared Photo Library

Participants can leave the iCloud Shared Photo Library at any time. If you want to do so, please enable iCloud and iCloud Photos and stay signed in until the process is complete. Once you have decided to leave a Shared Library, follow the below steps.

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone. 

Step 2: Navigate to Photos. 

Step 3: Under Library, select the Shared Library option. 

Step 4: Tap Leave Shared Library. 

Step 5: If you want to keep all the photos and videos from the Shared Library, select Keep Everything. If you wish to keep the images and videos you contributed, select Keep Only What I Contributed. 

Step 6: Tap Leave Shared Library. 

Step 7: Confirm your selection by tapping Leave Shared Library. 

How To Remove a Member From iCloud Shared Photo Library

As a creator of the iCloud Shared Photo Library, you can add or remove participants as you deem fit. User’s who have been a part of the Shared Library for less than seven days will only receive a copy of the photos and videos they shared with the library. However, users who have been a part of the Shared Library for more than seven days will receive a copy of the entire Shared Album in their Personal Library. 

Here’s how to remove a member from iCloud Shared Photo Library. 

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone.  

Step 2: Navigate to Photos.

Step 3: Under Library, select the Shared Library option. 

Step 4: Now, tap on the participant’s name you want to remove. 

Step 5: Tap Remove from Shared Library. 

Step 6: Confirm your selection by tapping Remove from Shared Library. 

Once you remove the participant, they’ll receive a notification about the change. 

How To Delete an iCloud Shared Photo Library

Again, as the creator of an iCloud Shared Photo Library, only you reserve the right to delete the Shared Library. Once you delete it, all the participants receive photos and videos uploaded to the Shared Library. Users who have been a part of the Shared Library for less than seven days will only receive a copy of the photos and videos they shared with the library. However, users who have been a part of the Shared Library for more than seven days will receive a copy of the entire Shared Album in their Personal Library. 

Follow the below steps to learn how to delete an iCloud Shared Photo Library.  

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone.  

Step 2: Navigate to Photos.

Step 3: Under Library, select the Shared Library option. 

Step 4: Tap Delete Shared Library. 

Step 5: On the next page, you can select Keep Everything if you want to keep a copy of all the photos and videos added to the Shared Library, or you can choose Keep Only What I Contributed to add pictures and videos added by you to the Shared Library. 

Step 6: Once you’ve selected one of the two options, tap Delete Shared Library. 

Step 7: Confirm your selection by tapping Delete Shared Library. 

A notification will be sent to all the participants notifying them of the change. 

Easy Access to All

I’m glad that the iCloud Shared Photo Library feature grants equal permissions to all the participants. However, the creator of the Shared Library does have some extra powers, like adding or removing the participants or completely deleting the Shared Library. Moreover, the ability to add photos and videos to the library right from your camera application is convenient. 

Undoubtedly, iOS 16 has brought changes that cater to practicality rather than just being gimmicks. Also, if you haven’t yet, check out this list of top iOS 16 settings you should change immediately.