View an iCloud Shared Photo Library on Mac

You can switch between viewing your personal library and the shared library, or view both together.

On your Mac, the shared library is only available when Photos is using the System Photo Library.

The top-left area of the Photos window, showing the sidebar and Library pop-up menu in the toolbar.

Open Photos for me

Switch the library view

  1. Go to the Photos app on your Mac.

  2. Choose View, then choose the library you want to view, or choose Both Libraries to view your personal library and the shared library together.

When you’re viewing both libraries, the shared library badge appears on items that are in the Shared Library. Choose View > Metadata > In Shared Library to turn Shared Library badges on or off.

See who shared an item

You can see who contributed items to the shared library.

  1. Go to the Photos app on your Mac.

  2. Choose View > Shared Library.

  3. Select the item you want to check, then click the Info button in the toolbar.

Use the sidebar to view photos, videos and sharing suggestions in the shared library

When you switch to the shared library, the sidebar albums and folders display only items in the shared library. For example, when you click Favourites in the sidebar, only the favourite photos found in the shared library appear. To see sharing suggestions, click For Your Shared Library in the sidebar.

The Photos window showing For Your Shared Library selected in the sidebar and suggested photos to add to the shared library on the right.

Important: When you have a shared library, you must choose Both Libraries from the Library pop-up menu to see everything in the sidebar — for example, people and pets you’ve named and projects you’ve created.

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