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iCloud Share Photo Library: A Complete Guide

Effortlessly share memories with Apple Shared Photo Library! Collaborate with loved ones by creating shared albums, easily adding and viewing photos, and reliving moments together, all in one place. In this article, we will show you all the thing you should know about iCloud Share Photo Library.

August 19, 2024

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What Is iCloud Share Photo Library?

Can I share my iCloud photos with others? With iOS 16, Apple made it simpler than ever to share pictures with friends and family by the iCloud Shared Photo Library feature. Your personal library gives way to the Shared Library when you upload images and videos to the iCloud Shared Photo Library.

You can select what to share or have content shared automatically right from the camera when you join a single shared library. Any friends who use an Apple device can be invited to see, contribute, and edit photos in the shared library you've created. Meanwhile, all of the content is stored on iCloud by the person who created the shared library. So, others don’t need to worry about the limited space issue.

How to Set Up iCloud Share Photo Library

To create a Shared Photo Library, you should first update your device to iOS 16.1 or later. Then, follow the steps below:

😍For iPhone/iPad users:

Step 1: Head to Settings > Photos > Shared Library.

Step 2: Tap Start Setup to invite your friends or family members (up to 5 people). You can invite them via messages or a sharing link. Then, hit the Continue button.

Setup iCloud Share Photo Library

Note: Wondering Shared Library vs Shared Album? Shared Albums can have up to 100 invitees and up to 200 Shared Albums compared to a single Shared Library at a time.

Step 3: Choose the images you want to share and add them to the Shared Photo Library. Next, you can choose to preview the Shared Library or continue to select photos/videos to add to the Shared Photo Library.

Preview

😊For Mac users:

Step 1: Head to Photos > Settings > iCloud. And make sure iCloud Photos is enabled.

Step 2: Hit Shared Library, then click Get Started.

Shared Library

Step 3: Refer to the on-screen tips to add participants.

How to Join iCloud Share Photo Library

If your friends or family members ask you to participate in a shared library, you will receive a notice. Then, follow the steps below to join in successfully:

Note: A device running iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, macOS Ventura, or a later version that supports iCloud Photos is required. You may only establish or join a Shared Library with other members of your Family Sharing group if you are under 13 years old.

😋For iPhone:

Step 1: Head to Settings > Photos.

Step 2: Tap Accept & Continue. Then follow the onscreen tips to move your photos to share or just view.

😘For Mac:

Step 1: Head to Photos > Settings > View Invitation.

Step 2: Tap Get Started, then refer to the onscreen steps to choose photos to move to your Shared Library.

View Invitation

How to Leave iCloud Share Photo Library

If you are the creator, you have permission to remove a participant or simply delete the Shared Library. When you delete it, those who have been members for more than 7 days will immediately receive everything from the Shared Library in their Personal Library. Those who have been members for fewer than 7 days will only receive the images that they have provided.

If you're a participant, you can leave anytime you want. Also, you have the option to obtain a copy of the entire Shared Library or just the items you have added to your Personal Library.

Pro Tip: How to Backup iCloud Share Photo Library

If you want to keep a copy after leaving a shared photo library, but find your storage space is limited, what should you do? In this case, you can backup those copies to another cloud that offers more storage space, such as MEGA, or Google Drive. So, after saving your personal library to iCloud, you can migrate it to another cloud directly via MultCloud.

MultCloud

MultCloud is a powerful cloud management platform designed to help users seamlessly manage, transfer, sync, and back up their data across multiple cloud storage services. It allows you to connect and manage multiple cloud storage accounts from a single interface, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Box, or other cloud services.

There are many conveniences you can enjoy if you choose MultCloud to backup iCloud Photos to another cloud, for instance:

  • Direct Cloud-to-Cloud Backup: With MultCloud, you may backup data instantly between cloud services, eliminating the need to first download them to your local device. Time is saved, and the storage capacity of your device is maintained.
  • High-Speed Backup: MultCloud is optimized for fast data transfers between cloud services, ensuring that even large files or extensive data sets can be backed up quickly and efficiently. For example, you can backup Google Photos to Synology NAS at a competitive speed.
  • Customizable Backup Options: By picking particular files or directories, creating filters to include or exclude particular file types, and deciding how to treat already-existing items in the target cloud (such as overwrite, skip, or rename), you may personalize your backup tasks.
  • Automatic and Scheduled Backup: Set up automated backup tasks to run at specific times, whether daily, weekly, or monthly. This feature ensures that your data is regularly updated across clouds without requiring manual initiation.
  • Task Management: MultCloud provides a task management feature that lets you monitor, pause, resume, or cancel ongoing backup tasks. You can also view the history of your backup tasks for better tracking and organization.

Now, let’s figure out how to backup iCloud Photos to Google Drive via MultCloud:

Step 1: Sign up for an account on MultCloud by your email address.

Step 2: Proceed to Add Cloud to add iCloud Photos and Google Drive respectively. Simply tap the icon and follow the onscreen notes. Next, give MultCloud permission with confidence. MultCloud promises that it won’t record any of your data.

Add iCloud Photos and Google Drive

Step 3: Tap Cloud Backup located on the left taskbar. Then choose iCloud Photos as the source cloud and Google Drive as the target cloud. You can also select specific albums/photos from iCloud Photos. Later, tap Backup Now.

Backup iCloud Photos to Google Drive

In the End

After reading the post, you now know what is iCloud share photo library and what's the difference between shared album and shared library. Now, you can use it on your devices to share moments with your loved ones. Meanwhile, when quitting a share library, you can save images to your personal photo library.

When you want to back up those memories from iCloud Photos to another cloud, remember to use MultCloud to complete the task effortlessly without downloading and uploading. Apart from backing up, you can also transfer and sync data across clouds too. For example, you can sync SharePoint with Google Drive easily.

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