If you create a shared album in iOS 27, its photos and videos count toward your iCloud storage, and so does everything your participants add. Temporary albums, which expire after 30 days, are the exception.
Apple set out the rules in a Shared Albums limits document published September 14, the day iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 and visionOS 27 were released. They cover albums created on those versions or on the web. Albums created on version 26 or earlier still don’t count toward anyone’s storage.
Who pays for the storage
Apple’s limits page is direct: “Photos and videos in shared albums that you own are stored in iCloud in their original formats at full resolution, and they count towards your iCloud storage. The photos and videos that participants add to your shared album also count towards your iCloud storage.”
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The person who creates the album pays for all of it. Start a family album, invite relatives who upload whole camera rolls, and their uploads come out of your plan. Apple’s iPhone User Guide puts it in one line: “The organizer of a shared album provides the iCloud storage space for its content.”
What owners get back is quality and scale. Older shared albums shrink photos and cap video, while new ones keep originals. Apple says there are “no limits to the number of albums, or photos and videos in a shared album, beyond the owner’s available iCloud storage.” An album holds up to 100 participants, including the owner, and takes any file type iCloud Photos supports.
Old albums and new albums compared
| Created on version 26 or earlier | Created on version 27 or later | |
|---|---|---|
| Counts toward iCloud storage | No | Yes, the owner’s, including participants’ uploads (temporary albums excepted) |
| Photos | Reduced to 2048 pixels on the long edge (panoramas up to 5400 pixels wide) | Original format, full resolution |
| Videos | Up to 15 minutes, delivered at up to 720p | Original format, full resolution |
| Photos and videos per album | 5,000 | No limit beyond the owner’s storage (5,000 in a temporary album) |
| Albums an owner can share | 200 | No limit beyond the owner’s storage |
| Participants | 100 subscribers per album | 100, including the owner |
Joining a new album takes current software or a browser. Apple says participants whose devices “aren’t on the latest software will have to update their devices or view the album on iCloud.com,” and that friends and family can join and contribute on the web without an Apple Account or Apple device.
Temporary albums don’t count toward storage
For a trip, a party or a wedding weekend, a temporary album sidesteps the storage question. Apple’s limits page says “Temporary shared albums don’t count towards your iCloud Storage,” and the album expires after 30 days. It can hold up to 5,000 photos and videos combined from all contributors, and Apple doesn’t limit the file size of each item.
- Open Photos, tap Collections, then tap Shared Albums.
- Tap the Add button, add photos and videos, and name the album.
- Tap Sharing Options and choose People You Choose or Anyone with the Link.
- Turn on Make Album Temporary, then tap Done.
Shared Albums has to be on first: Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. On iOS 27, Apple’s setup steps also tell you to make sure iCloud Photos is turned on.
What album owners should check
- Your remaining space. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud, then tap Storage or Manage Account Storage.
- Who can upload. By default, every participant can contribute photos and videos. Open the album, tap the Manage Shared Album button, tap a person, and choose Can Manage Album and Photos, Can Add Photos, or Can View and Comment. Can View and Comment stops that person adding to your storage.
- Who can get in. With People You Choose, anyone you didn’t invite who gets the link has to request access, and you grant or deny it.
- Items Not Shared warnings. If participants see Items Not Shared after adding content, Apple tells them to ask the organizer to make sure there’s enough iCloud storage.
Before you delete a shared album
For albums created in version 27 or later, Apple’s iCloud storage page warns that if you delete a shared album, “participants lose access to all items not saved to their personal library.” Photos deleted from a shared album are removed immediately.
Give people a chance to save first. Participants can tap the More button in the album, then tap Save All Shared Items or Save Remaining Items. Or skip the deletion: Apple says you can make the album temporary instead, so it is deleted in 30 days and everyone has until then to save what they want.
