iCloud Shared Albums: who can see what
Apple changed this in version 27. Apple's pages describe two sets of steps: iOS, iPadOS and macOS 27 or later, and version 26 or earlier. This guide says which one it means.
Who can see an album
- Version 26 or earlier: Apple says you choose the people and can change that at any time. You add people from your contacts, by email address or by iMessage phone number.
- Public Website (version 26 or earlier): Apple says that if you turn it on, your photos are published to a website that anyone can see in an up-to-date web browser. Apple's Personal Safety guide adds that anyone with the web address can view and download the album's contents. Our advice: leave it off unless you want that.
- Version 27 or later: Apple says the owner chooses whether to invite and approve people, or share the album by link. With a link, the owner can require approval or let anyone with the link join. Apple says friends and family can join on the web without an Apple Account or Apple device.
- Child accounts: Apple says a child can join only if an adult in their Family Sharing group is also in the album.
What the people in it can do
- Add photos and videos. On version 26 or earlier, this depends on a setting the owner controls: "Participants Can Add Photos" on iPhone and iPad (iOS 26), and "Subscribers Can Post" on Mac (macOS 26 or earlier). On version 27 or later, the owner gives each person "Can Add Photos".
- Comment. Apple says people in an album can add comments, and that version 27 adds emoji reactions.
- Save their own copies. Apple says people can save photos and videos to their own library. Apple also says saved items stay in that library even if the album is deleted or the owner stops sharing.
- Delete. Apple says people can delete only what they added. The owner, and anyone given "Can Manage Album and Photos" on version 27 or later, can delete anyone's photos, videos or comments.
Taking things back
- Delete one photo. On version 27 or later, Apple's steps end with "Delete From All Devices". Apple's pages we read don't say more than that about other people's devices.
- Delete the album. Apple says this permanently deletes its photos and removes the album from everyone's devices. On version 27 or later you can instead make the album temporary, and it's deleted 30 days later. Apple's version 26 page says deleting the album also removes it from the web.
- Remove a person. Apple says the owner, or anyone with "Can Manage Album and Photos", can remove people at any time, and that removing someone removes their access to the album and its contents. The steps are in my ex still has access to my pictures.
- What you can't take back. A copy already saved in someone's library stays there, as above.
Limits Apple states
- Version 27 or later: for albums created on version 27 or later, up to 100 people including the owner. Apple says photos and videos are stored at full resolution and count toward iCloud storage. A temporary album doesn't count toward storage and holds up to 5,000 photos and videos in all.
- Albums created on version 26 or earlier: up to 100 subscribers and 5,000 photos and videos per album. Shared photos are reduced to 2,048 pixels on the long edge, and videos are delivered at up to 720p.
What Apple's pages don't say
Apple's Shared Albums pages that we read don't say whether a photo's location travels with it into an album. Apple does say that on version 26 or earlier, downloaded content may not contain the same information as the original. Our advice: if a photo shows where you live, cover or remove that before you add it. Apple also says the Shared Albums feature doesn't support Advanced Data Protection, even if you've turned it on for the rest of iCloud. See iCloud Photos encryption and can Apple see your photos.
Related: shared albums, Shared Library and shared accounts, Family Sharing and the family album, and Lockdown Mode.
How FirstHour helps
The Share feature makes a copy with solid boxes over the private details, and the copy has no location or camera details. Your original isn't changed. You start from FirstHour and pick where the copy goes from iPhone's share menu. The Vault keeps private pictures in a locked place. When you say yes to iPhone's question, the original leaves Photos, so it can't be added to an album from there by accident. It stays on your iPhone and is left out of iCloud and computer backups.
FirstHour can't see inside your Shared Albums. It doesn't show or change who is in them, and it can't take back a copy someone saved. Those steps happen in Photos.
Questions
Can people in the album see who else is in it?
The Apple pages we read don't say. Our advice: assume everyone in an album can see what you add.
If I delete the album, do people lose their saved copies?
No. Apple says saved items stay in their library even if the album is deleted.
Sources
- How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, Apple Support, read 5 November 2026
- How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your Mac, Apple Support, read 5 November 2026
- Shared Albums limits, Apple Support, read 5 November 2026
- Manage Photos sharing settings, Apple Personal Safety User Guide, read 5 November 2026
- iCloud data security overview, Apple Support, read 5 November 2026