In an iCloud Shared Photo Library, every participant can see, edit and delete every photo in it. Your personal library stays private, but photos can move into the shared library without you choosing each one: from the Camera, when other participants are nearby, or when you are at home. Check those settings, and keep private photos out of reach before you join.
A shared library is a good idea for a family. Up to six people put their photos in one place, and everyone gets the holiday photos without asking for them. Apple designed it to be easy: it can suggest photos, add them from the Camera, and share the ones you take when the others are with you. But the same features that make it easy also make it easy to share a photo that you meant to keep. Relationships change too, and a shared library holds years of photos that the other people can save. So what can the other people see, and how do you keep control?
This guide first explains what the other participants can do. It then shows the settings that add photos without asking, and what happens when someone leaves. The last parts explain how to keep private photos out of it.
Every participant can see, edit and delete everything in the shared library
A shared library has one organizer and up to five other participants. You can belong to one shared library at a time. When you move a photo into it, it leaves your personal library, and these things apply:
- Everyone can see it. The photo appears in each participant's Photos app, and in their Memories, Featured Photos and Photos widget.
- Everyone can change it. Edits, captions, keywords and date changes show for all participants.
- Everyone can delete it. If someone deletes a photo that you added, you get a notification. You can move it back to your personal library from Recently Deleted within 30 days.
- The organizer pays for the space. All content counts against the organizer's iCloud storage.
A participant who leaves can copy everything in the shared library into their own personal library. After that, the copies are theirs.
Three settings can add photos without asking each time
When you set up or join a shared library, iOS offers ways to add photos automatically. Each one is useful, and each one can share a photo that you did not mean to share.
A photo that you take
From the CameraA Shared Library button in the Camera saves new photos straight to the shared library.
When others are nearbyPhotos that you take near other participants go to the shared library.
At homePhotos that you take at home go to the shared library.
You can turn each one on or off in Photos, under your account, then Shared Library.
By default, the Camera saves to your personal library. But if the Shared Library button in the Camera is on, every photo that you take goes to the shared library until you turn it off. Check the button before you take a private photo.
To check the automatic options, open Photos, tap Collections, then tap your account at the top right. Tap Shared Library, then Sharing from Camera. There you can turn off Share Automatically and Share When At Home. On the same Shared Library screen, Shared Library Suggestions controls the photos that iOS suggests that you add.
Leaving does not take your photos back
When you leave a shared library, you can copy everything in it into your own library, or only the photos that you added. When the organizer deletes the library, participants who were in it for more than 7 days can copy everything. Participants who joined less than 7 days before can copy only what they added.
So the photos that you shared are not only yours. Every participant could see them, and each one can take a copy of all of them when they leave. If you are not sure about a person, do not put a photo in a shared library that you would not give them directly.
Keep private photos out of the shared library
- Move a photo back. Open a photo that you added, tap the More button at the top of the screen, then tap Move to Personal Library. You can move back only the photos that you added. A person who already left with a copy keeps it.
- View one library at a time. In Photos, tap the library button and choose Personal Library or Shared Library. A badge marks the photos that are in the shared library.
- Check the Camera button before you take a photo that is only for you.
- Keep the most private photos elsewhere. A photo that is not in Photos cannot move to a shared library by mistake.
A shared library is end-to-end encrypted only if every participant has Advanced Data Protection on. Should you turn on Advanced Data Protection? explains what that changes.
How DotSafe keeps photos out of shared places
Photos in a DotSafe vault are not in your photo library, so no Photos setting can share them. A DotSafe vault is shared only if you share that vault, with Pro, and you choose each person. Your other vaults stay private, and the people in a shared vault cannot see that they exist. Sharing a vault explains how it works.
Questions
Can people in my shared library see my personal photos?
No. They see only the photos in the shared library. A photo can move there from the Camera or from automatic sharing, so check those settings.
How many people can be in an iCloud Shared Photo Library?
Up to six, including the organizer. You can belong to one shared library at a time.
What happens to my photos if I leave a shared library?
You can copy everything from the shared library, or only the photos that you added, into your personal library. Every participant could see the photos that you shared while you were in the library, and could copy them when they left.
How do I stop my iPhone from adding photos to the shared library?
In Photos, tap Collections, then your account, then Shared Library, then Sharing from Camera. Turn off Share Automatically and Share When At Home. Also check the Shared Library button in the Camera.
Sources
We checked these pages on 8 November 2026.
