Shared photo album in Google Photos or iCloud
Create the album, turn on adding for everyone you invite, and set a date to stop. Then save the photos to your own library before choosing which belong in a book.
A shared album gathers everyone's pictures from one event in one place. It is a collecting tool, and the settings decide who can add, who can see and what you keep.
Apple's limits depend on the iOS version an album was made in.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages.
| Question | Google Photos shared album | iCloud Shared Album, iOS 27 or later |
|---|---|---|
| How to start one | On a computer: select photos, Add to or create new, New shared album, add a title, then Share | Photos app, Collections, Shared Albums, the Add button, then name it and choose images |
| Who can add photos | Anyone with access, unless the owner turns off Collaborate | Participants, if the owner lets them add photos |
| How many photos | Up to 20,000 photos or videos in an album | No set limit beyond the owner's iCloud storage; 5,000 in a temporary album |
| Sharing by link | Link sharing can be on or off; anyone with the link can view | Sharing by link; Public Website is for albums made in iOS 26 or earlier |
| When someone leaves | Leaving removes the photos, videos, comments and likes you added | Photos saved to your own library stay even if the album is deleted |
| Storage | Photos you save from it count towards your quota, with some partner sharing exceptions | Counted against the owner's iCloud storage; temporary albums are not |
Google Photos settings to set first
Google's controls let the owner choose whether others can add photos, comments and likes, through the Collaborate setting, and turn Link sharing on or off.
Google warns that removing someone does not stop them viewing if link sharing is still on. Turn the link off before removing a person you no longer want in.
iCloud Shared Albums and the version they were made in
Apple lists up to 100 participants in an album, including the owner, from iOS 27. A temporary shared album is deleted after 30 days.
For albums made in iOS 26 or earlier, Apple says photos are reduced to 2,048 pixels on the long edge and videos are delivered at up to 720p.
That older size is enough for a screen but small for a large print. Ask for the original file of any photo you want to print big.
Save before you sort
Both services let you save shared photos into your own library. Do it when the album closes, since people leaving can take their photos with them.
Then make your selection from the saved copies. An album of three hundred pictures from twelve phones is a source, not a finished record.
When an album is not enough
An album holds pictures in order. A book puts a name, a date and a ticket beside the photo and leaves out the near-duplicates.
If the goal is a book, use the album to collect, then choose about one photo in ten and add the words nobody wrote at the time.
Steps
Choose the owner
One person creates the album and holds the settings. Pick whoever will also save the photos and make the selection afterwards.
Create it with adding on
Turn on Collaborate in Google Photos, or let participants add photos in iCloud, before sending the invitation. Put the closing date in the album title.
Close and save
On the closing date, save every photo to the owner's library. Turn off link sharing or the public website if the album no longer needs it.
Select for the book
Sort the saved copies by moment, keep the clearest of each set, and ask in the group for names of anyone nobody can identify.
Questions
What happens to my photos if I leave a shared album?
Google says leaving removes the photos, videos, comments and likes you added. Apple says photos people saved to their own library stay there.
Can people without an iPhone see an iCloud Shared Album?
For albums made in iOS 26 or earlier, Apple's Public Website option shows the photos on a page anyone can open. Newer albums can be shared by link.
Do shared albums use my storage?
In Google Photos, photos you save count towards your quota, with some exceptions. In iCloud, from iOS 27, the owner's albums count against the owner's storage.