How to Use macOS Shared Albums in Photos

Sharing photos from a recent holiday or family event often involves creating massive WhatsApp groups or sending dozens of high-resolution images via iMessage, instantly filling up the storage on your friends’ devices. If you and your friends are embedded in the Apple ecosystem, there is a far more elegant solution built directly into macOS and iOS: Shared Albums.

Shared Albums allow you to create a dedicated photo gallery in the cloud. You invite specific contacts, and anyone in the group can view, download, like, and comment on the photos. Crucially, the photos do not count against your personal iCloud storage limit. In this guide, you will learn how to create and manage Shared Albums on your Mac.

Step 1: Enable Shared Albums

Before you can create a gallery, you must ensure the feature is enabled in your iCloud settings.

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. In the top menu bar, click Photos and select Settings (or Preferences).
3. Click the iCloud tab at the top of the window.
4. Ensure the checkbox next to Shared Albums is ticked. Close the settings window.

Step 2: Creating a New Shared Album

Now you can create your first collaborative gallery.

1. In the Photos app, look at the left-hand sidebar. Hover your mouse over the Shared Albums header until a small + (plus) button appears. Click it.
2. A dialog box will appear. Give the album a descriptive name (e.g., “London Trip 2026”).
3. In the “Invite People” field, type the names, email addresses, or phone numbers of the friends you want to invite. (They must have an Apple ID to join).
4. Click Create.

The new album will now appear in your sidebar. Your friends will receive a notification on their iPhones or Macs inviting them to subscribe to the album.

Step 3: Adding Photos to the Album

An empty album is useless. You must now populate it with images.

1. Navigate to your main Photo Library.
2. Select the photos you want to share. (Hold the Command key to select multiple photos).
3. Click the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up) in the top toolbar.
4. Select Shared Albums from the dropdown menu.
5. Choose the album you just created (e.g., “London Trip 2026”).
6. You can optionally type a comment that will appear alongside the batch of photos, then click Add.

Managing Album Permissions

By default, Shared Albums are read-only for your guests. If you want your friends to upload their own photos to the album, you must grant them permission.

1. Click on the Shared Album in your left sidebar to open it.
2. In the top toolbar, click the People button (it looks like a small silhouette inside a circle).
3. A popup window will appear showing all subscribers.
4. Check the box next to Subscribers Can Post. Now, anyone in the group can upload their own images to the gallery.

Creating a Public Link

If you need to share the album with someone who does not own an Apple device (like a Windows or Android user), you can use the same People menu to check the box for Public Website. Apple will generate a unique URL. Anyone with this link can view the photos in their web browser, regardless of what device they are using.

By utilizing macOS Shared Albums, you can distribute hundreds of photos effortlessly without degrading image quality via text messages or consuming expensive local storage.