Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

How to share your photos with iCloud

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: 

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

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

  2. Step
    2

    Click on the Plus symbol

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

  3. Step
    3

    Tap New Shared Album

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

  4. Step
    4

    Name the 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. Name the new Album

  5. Step
    5

    Press Next

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

  6. Step
    6

    Add in the contacts you want to send it to

    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. Adding in contacts to send photos to

  7. Step
    7

    Click Create

    Click on the blue Create button to continue. The Create album button

  8. Step
    8

    Press on the album you just created

    Click back on the album that you just created to add photos to it. Large plus button in new album

  9. Step
    9

    Tap on the large Plus symbol

    Click on the large blue Plus symbol on screen. Large plus button in new album

  10. Step
    10

    Select the photos you want to share

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

  11. Step
    11

    Type in a message

    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. Type in a message if you want

  12. Step
    12

    Press Post

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

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Trusted Reviews Logo

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

This is a test error message with some extra words