Free Up Space! Does iCloud Store Shared Albums?

Understanding iCloud Storage

Imagine iCloud storage as your digital locker in the sky. It securely stores your photos, videos, documents, and even app data. That means you can access all your important stuff from any device connected to your Apple ID, keeping your digital life organized and within easy reach. Here's the thing, to make the most of it, there are two key things to think about:

📌What is iCloud Storage?

It is a secure online vault where you can store your digital treasures. It offers functionalities like automatic device backups, which free up space on your phone or computer.

✨How Much iCloud Storage Do I Get?

Apple gives you a free 5GB iCloud storage to start with, which is great. But if you take a lot of pictures or store a bunch of files, that space can fill up fast. Luckily, Apple has paid plans with more storage if you need them. We'll take a closer look at these options in the 'Shared Albums' section, where we'll show you how to share photos without eating into your storage.

Shared Albums: Sharing Memories Without Filling Up Space

Now, let's address the big question: "Does a shared album use my iCloud storage?" Here's the exciting part: No, photos and videos added to Shared Albums do not eat into your iCloud storage! This is because Shared Albums have their own dedicated storage space separate from your iCloud allotment. So, feel free to share those vacation pictures or birthday party snaps without worrying about them impacting your storage.

Here's a breakdown of how it works:

How to Create Shared Albums on iPhone

To create a Shared Album, you can follow the steps below:

Step 1: Launch the Photos app. Head to Albums > + > New Shared Album.

Step 2: Name your album and tap Next.

Step 3: Add friends and family with whom you want to share the album, then click on Create.

Shared Albums: A Boon for Storage Management

Since "Does shared album use iCloud storage" is a resounding no, Shared Albums can be a powerful tool for managing your storage effectively. Here's how:

While "Does shared album use iCloud storage" is answered, it's important to consider storage limitations for Shared Albums themselves. Each shared album can hold a maximum of 5,000 photos and videos, and you can create up to 200 Shared Albums per account.

Managing Your iCloud Storage for Shared Albums

Although "Does shared album use iCloud storage" is a positive answer, it doesn't hurt to be proactive with your storage management. Here are some tips:

👍Tip 1: Optimize Photos for Shared Albums

Before adding photos to a shared album, consider optimizing them. This reduces their file size without sacrificing significant quality, making them easier to share and store.

✌Tip 2: Free Up Space for Shared Albums

If you're nearing your iCloud storage limit, even with Shared Albums, consider these strategies: 

Shared Albums and iCloud Storage Plans: A Cost Breakdown

Forget about Shared Albums using up your iCloud storage! Photos and videos in Shared Albums are stored separately and don't count against your free 5GB or paid iCloud storage plan. This is a great way to share tons of memories with friends and family without worrying about running out of space:

Remember: While "Does iPhone shared album use iCloud storage" is negative (meaning it doesn't affect your storage), keep in mind that the people you invite to your Shared Albums can contribute photos and videos. These contributions will count towards the shared album's storage limit, not your individual iCloud storage.

FAQs

Q: How much storage does a shared album use in iCloud?

A: The cool thing about shared albums is that they have their own storage space, completely separate from your personal iCloud stash. The best part? Sharing tons of memories in these albums won't gobble up your personal storage space. There's no limit on the total storage for all your shared albums combined, but each one can hold up to 5,000 photos and videos.

Q: Does shared album count towards storage on iPhone?

A: The good news is that photos and videos in shared albums you just browse don't take up space on your iPhone. But if you download something to keep on your phone, then it gets stored there and uses up your device's storage.

Q: Does iCloud storage affect shared albums?

A: Not directly. Even though shared albums don't count towards your iCloud storage, if your storage is almost full with other stuff like backups and app data, you might run into a snag. In that case, you'd need to free up some space before adding more photos or videos to shared albums.

Q: Can I see how much storage a shared album is using?

A: Unfortunately, there's no built-in way to directly view the storage usage of a specific shared album. However, you can estimate the storage usage based on the number of photos and videos in the album and their average file size.

Bonus Tip: Transfer or sync files between iCloud and Other Cloud Services

This article addresses the question “Does shared album use iCloud storage” If you’re considering migrating files from your current cloud service to iCloud Drive, or vice versa, MultCloud can be extremely useful. Trusted by over 3 million users, MultCloud is a multi-cloud management tool that facilitates transferring or synchronizing files between various cloud services. 

For instance, it allows for seamless file transfers from cloud drives like Google Drive to iCloud without the need to download and then re-upload files. MultCloud also enables you to access and manage all your cloud accounts via a single application. Currently, it supports more than 30 different cloud services, including Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Google Photos, iCloud Photos, FTP, WebDAV, and more.

• Cloud Transfer: MultCloud can transfer files from one cloud service to another directly without downloading and re-uploading.
• Cloud Sync: With MultCloud, you can easily sync two folders between different cloud services in real-time.
• Cloud Backup: You can backup and restore data between different cloud services automatically.
• Instagram Downloader: MultCloud can help you download Instagram videos, photos, reels and stories to local device or remotely upload them to your clouds.
• Email Migration: You can directly back up and save Gmail emails as PDFs to your computer or cloud drive in bulk. 
• Manage all cloud accounts in one place: Connect all your clouds to MultCloud and you'll find it so easy to access and manage multiple cloud storage files with a single login.

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