Create or join shared albums in Photos on Mac
After you turn on Shared Albums, you can create a shared album to share your photos and videos. People you invite can join the shared album and like or comment on items.
Create a shared album
Go to the Photos app
on your Mac.
Click
next to Shared Albums, then choose settings for the shared album:
Shared Album Name: Type a name for the shared album.
Who Can Access: Choose whether anyone with the link can access the album or only people you choose.
Access Requests: Choose whether additional people with the link can request access.
Make Album Temporary: Choose whether to allow the album to expire. After 30 days, any photos or videos not saved to your library will be deleted.
Click Create.
The people you invite receive an email asking them to join your shared album.
View a shared album
Go to the Photos app
Click Shared Albums in the sidebar.
If you don’t see Shared Albums in the sidebar, hold the pointer over Sharing in the sidebar, then click
.
Double-click a shared album to view it.
Click
to see all your shared albums again.
Join a shared album
When someone invites you to join their shared album, you receive an email or text message with the invitation. In the invitation email, click Subscribe, then click Join.
If you don’t join the shared album that way, you can also do the following:
Go to the Photos app
Click Activity below Sharing in the sidebar.
If you don’t see Activity in the sidebar, hold the pointer over Sharing in the sidebar, then click
Click Accept.
Note: The person who created the album receives a notification when someone accepts the invitation to join a shared album.
Delete or remove yourself from a shared album
Go to the Photos app
Click Shared Albums in the sidebar.
If you don’t see Shared Albums in the sidebar, hold the pointer over Sharing in the sidebar, then click
Control-click an album, then choose Delete Shared Album or Leave Shared Album.
WARNING: Before you leave or delete a shared album, make sure you’ve downloaded any photos and videos that others have added to the album and that you want to keep. If you think participants might want to keep any photos or videos from the album, you should alert them to save the items before you delete the shared album. The photos you shared aren’t deleted from your photo library.
View activity, like, and comment on a photo in a shared album
You can see the latest activity in your shared albums, including photos that have been recently added and who added them.
Go to the Photos app
Click Activity below Sharing in the sidebar.
If you don’t see Activity in the sidebar, hold the pointer over Sharing in the sidebar, then click
Scroll to view changes, then do any of the following:
React to a group of recently uploaded photos and videos: Click
in the Activity feed, then choose a reaction.
React to a photo or video: Double-click a photo, click
, click
Comment on a photo or video: Double-click a photo, click
When you like or comment on an item, a notification is sent to the shared album’s creator and all participants. To delete a comment you added to an item, hold the pointer over the comment and click the Delete button.