How to create a shared iphone album

Here is the easiest way to share your photos with family and friends using iCloud.

If there is one thing that Apple users will be familiar with it’s iCloud, the cloud storage and cloud-computing service developed by the company that allows users to save and store photos, notes, passwords and other data in a secure location.

And one of the other benefits of iCloud is that users can utilise it to send photos and data to each other, making it easy for Apple users to communicate. It’s worth noting that for this to work users will need to make sure that Shared Albums is turned on. To access Shared Albums, simply go into Settings, click on your User ID and then select Photos from within the iCloud section.

If you’re interested in learning how you can share photos with friends and family over iCloud, make sure you keep reading.

What you’ll need: 

  • We used an iPhone 12 Mini running iOS 15

The Short Version 

  • Open up the Photos app
  • Click on the Plus symbol
  • Tap New Shared Album
  • Name the album
  • Press Next
  • Add in the contacts you want to send it to
  • Click Create
  • Press on the album you just created
  • Tap on the large Plus symbol
  • Select the photos you want to share
  • Type in a message
  • Press Post

  1. Step
    1

    Open up the Photos app

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Unlock your iPhone and click on your Photos app to start the process.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  2. Step
    2

    Click on the Plus symbol

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Click on the blue Plus symbol, it’s housed in the top left-hand corner of the screen.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  3. Step
    3

    How to create a shared iphone album

    From the three options presented in the drop-down menu, click on New Shared Album.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  4. Step
    4

    Name the album

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Name the album that you are creating as this will help you keep your photos organised, and it shows friends and family what the album will ential.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  5. Step
    5

    Press Next

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Once you have named the album, click on the blue Next button.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  6. Step
    6

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Type in the name of the contacts you want to add to this album. You can add as many people as you want, though for the message to send you will need to make sure that you are adding people who are Apple users, as it won’t work for Android users.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  7. Step
    7

    Click Create

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Click on the blue Create button to continue.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  8. Step
    8

    Press on the album you just created

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Click back on the album that you just created to add photos to it.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  9. Step
    9

    Tap on the large Plus symbol

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Click on the large blue Plus symbol on screen.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  10. Step
    10

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Select all of the photos you want to share in your new album.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  11. Step
    11

    Type in a message

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Type in a message to accompany your photos if you want. You can leave this space blank if you don’t want to write anything.

    How to create a shared iphone album

  12. Step
    12

    Press Post

    How to create a shared iphone album

    Press the blue Post button to post and share your album with the people in the contact list.

    How to create a shared iphone album

Troubleshooting

Can I share my iCloud with people on an Android device?

You can share iCloud photos with people not using an Apple device, though the method will look different to what is shown here, since iCloud was built with the idea of sharing via Apple devices and not Android.

You might like…

How do I create a photo album from a shared album?

Create a shared album.
On your mobile device, open the Google Photos app ..
Sign in to your Google Account..
At the bottom, tap Photos..
Select photos or videos for the album..
At the top, tap Add ..
Tap Shared album..
Enter an album title..
When the album is complete, tap Share..

Why can't I create a shared photo album on iPhone?

Please make sure you've turned on iCloud Shared Albums on iPhone: Go to the Settings app > [your name] > iCloud > Photos, then toggle on Shared Albums. You also need to make sure that iCloud Photos is enabled. Before getting photos and videos from shared albums on iPhone, you'll need to accept the Shared Album invite.