iOS 16 Makes It Easier to Share Photos With Family Using New Shared iCloud Library

Apple in iOS 16 has introduced a new iCloud Shared Photo Library, which is designed to make it much easier for you to share your photos with close family members.

share icloud photo library
An ‌iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library can be shared with up to five other people, and each contributor has equal access to add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete shared photos.

To prevent accidentally shared photos, there are smart setup rules that can be implemented. You can opt to share all past photos or just photos from a specific start date. You can also choose to share photos that have only specific people, such as your family members.

Photos can be added to the Shared Library automatically, but there are also options to share based on Bluetooth proximity. Sharing suggestions will continue to pop up in For You as well.

There's a new toggle in the Camera app that lets all the photos you take upload to the Shared Library automatically, so if you're out on vacation with your family, everyone can see vacation photos as soon as they're snapped.

Shared photos will show up in Memories, Featured ‌Photos‌, and the ‌Photos‌ widget, similar to standard ‌iCloud‌ Library images.

The ‌iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library does not appear to be implemented in the first beta, so support will likely be added in a future beta.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

sonny iphone 16 pro colors

All Four iPhone 16 Pro Colors Revealed in New Image

Friday August 16, 2024 4:14 am PDT by
Leaker Sonny Dickson is back today with a new dummy unit image showing all four iPhone 16 Pro color variants, including the rose gold or "bronze" unit that replaces Blue Titanium in the existing iPhone 15 Pro models. The iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to come in black, white or silver, gray or "Natural Titanium," and a rose or rose gold color replacing Blue Titanium, according to Apple...
iPhone 16 Pro Right Side Feature

The iPhone 16 is Getting a New Button: Here's What It Can Do

Tuesday August 13, 2024 4:01 pm PDT by
Multiple rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 models are going to have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Apple calls the button the Capture Button internally, and it is going to be one of the most advanced buttons that's been introduced to date with support for multiple gestures and the ability to respond to ...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Launch Is Just One Month Out – Here's Everything We Know

Saturday August 10, 2024 5:00 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series in the fall, and a possible September 10 announcement date has been floated this year, which means we are just one month away from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

When Is the iPhone 16 Coming Out?

Wednesday August 14, 2024 6:20 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 16 series is expected to debut in September 2024. This release follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. While the exact date has yet to be officially confirmed, the day of Tuesday, September 10 has been rumored as a possible announcement date, and September has traditionally been the month when Apple unveils its latest smartphone innovations. ...
maxresdefault

Apple Aiming to Launch Tabletop Robotic Home Device as Soon as 2026 With Pricing Around $1,000

Wednesday August 14, 2024 11:30 am PDT by
Apple is moving forward with its project to develop a tabletop robotic device, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The device would feature a large iPad-like display mounted on a "thin robotic arm" that would allow the display to tilt and up and down and rotate a full 360º, and it would serve as a "smart home command center," a...
M4 Mac mini Silver Ortho Cooler

These New Macs Are Coming in 2024

Thursday August 15, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
It's almost September, but Apple still has multiple new product launches planned for 2024. New iPhone 16 models and Apple Watches are coming in September, and we're also going to get at least three Mac updates with M4 chips this year, according to rumors. Here's what's on the horizon. MacBook Pro Apple plans to refresh both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4 chips. The ...
T Mobile Generic Feature Pink 1

United States Fines T-Mobile $60 Million for Failing to Prevent Unauthorized Access to Sensitive Customer Data

Thursday August 15, 2024 1:32 pm PDT by
T-Mobile was fined $60 million by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) for negligence surrounding data breaches, reports Reuters. CFIUS penalized T-Mobile for failing to prevent or disclose unauthorized access to sensitive customer data. When T-Mobile merged with Sprint, it signed a national security agreement with CFIUS, which is what led to the fine earlier this year....

Top Rated Comments

I am Sampson Avatar
29 months ago
Best news of WWDC in my opinion.
Was literarily looking for a way to force all photos to be shared just a few days ago. My partner and I have no need for privacy and want to share everything just like devices under the same appleID do. Very happy about this!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WannaGoMac Avatar
29 months ago
how is this any different than existing shared albums?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eilavid Avatar
29 months ago
will this take up icloud storage? or is it free like the shared album feature
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Schtibbie Avatar
29 months ago

Lets also hope its not based on Apples “lets downscale to a crap resolution “ approach they have today with sharing…
Yeah.. It needs to (for me) have the following end result: We go on a vacation as a family. I take pics on my iphone. My wife takes pics on HER iphone. If either of us goes on our home macbook that contains ALL our family photos since the beginning of time, we'll find BOTH sets of pics all in the Photos application, ALL FULL RESOLUTION. We can let them live in icloud but we can ALSO fully back them up on time machine when the Macbook backs up to our external disk. And at no point do I have to plug my phone old-school-like into the macbook to upload (and then erase from my phone) my photos into the "family" Photos. I hate having to do that. It's clunky. And if i leave them on my phone after the upload we end up taking up 2x family shared cloud storage! HATE IT.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
29 months ago
God I hope my family don't share their pictures with me, they're honestly just terrible (BTW, this is coming from a guy that takes pictures of different coloured Henry vacuum cleaners)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrSimmo Avatar
29 months ago
Lets also hope its not based on Apples “lets downscale to a crap resolution “ approach they have today with sharing…
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)