How To Create A Shared Photo Stream in iOS 6

Posted by

You are here: How To's » How To Create A Shared Photo Stream in iOS 6

iOS users can now post and share their photos to a shared Photo Stream album thanks to iOS 6. The shared Photo Stream album is hosted by iCloud, but any photos you store there will not count against your iCloud storage allowance and will work over Wi-Fi or your cellular data. The new feature allows you to share photos with fellow iOS users and also provides an option for the non-iOS users in your life. iOS users will be able to access the shared Photo Stream album directly from their iOS device, while non-iOS users will have to access the iCloud.com site to view the shared Photo Stream. Here’s how you get started.

1. To create a Shared Photo Stream, launch the Photos app on your iOS device, and select the Photo Stream option at the bottom of the screen. In the upper-left corner is a + sign; tap on it.

2. Enter the iCloud e-mail address of the person (or people) you’d like to share your album with into the To section. Create a name for the album and title your album. Select if you want the shared album to have a public website URL by swiping ON or OFF. If you select ON, anyone will be able to view the shared Photo Stream on iCloud.com. If you wish to have non-iOS users to have the ability to view the album via the iCloud Web site, toggle the Public Website switch to On. Tap the blue Create button on the top right hand corner once completed.
Note* Either way the album is shared (with iOS users or via the iCloud site, you will be the only person with the ability to upload photos to the album. Everyone else will only be able to view, “Like”, and comment on the photos in the shared album.
3. Once the album is created you will now see the shared Photo Stream album appear when you access the Photos App.
4. Now it’s time to add photos to your shared Photo Stream album. You can send photos to the shared album by viewing photos in the Photo app and tapping on the share button. Select Photo Stream from the list of options. Top right hand icon titled “Photo Stream”
5. Tap on the Album you want to add the selected photo to
6. Leave a comment on the photo that will act as a caption for your photo and then tap the blue “Post” button once completed
7. As you add photos to your shared album anyone you invite can now comment or “Like” the photo through their iOS device or by visiting the iCloud site. Each time you get a new comment or ‘Like” you will receive an alert notification.

Additional Tips & Tricks

To delete a shared album
Go to the photo streams on your device, look to the right of each one and you will see a little blue circle with a white arrow in it. This icon will give you access to more settings. Tap on the icon and here you will find the red “Delete Photo Stream” button at the bottom of the screen.

How to access the public URL that links to your public photo stream

Once you have created a new shared photo stream and made it public you can share the URL address with anyone. To access the URL address go to the photo streams on your device, look to the right of each one and you will see a little blue circle with a white arrow
in it. This icon will give you access to more settings. Tap on the icon. Make sure the Public Website option is switched to ON and underneath  that you will see an option to Share Link and the URL address is listed below this.

How to invite new users to an existing shared album

Go to your photos then to photo streams. Once there click the Edit button (in the upper right corner), next touch the album you want to add subscribers to (not the X that deletes the album but the actual album picture), a window will pop up that has Name of Album and under that Subscribers. Just click the Add People button under Subscribers and you can add new subscribers from there.

 

What a Shared Photo Stream Invite Looks Like to Your Invitees 

Once you invite a person to join your shared Photo Stream they will receive a notification of the invite that will look like this

Once the invitee opens the notification they will have the option to Accept or Deny the invitation

Once you have accepted an invitation to a shared Photo Stream Album you can control the notifications you receive through your Settings option. Tap on the Settings Icon and tap on the Notifications option.

Once you are within the Notifications select the Photos option

Now you will have the option to show Photo Stream notifications from Everyone or just your Contacts only. You will also be able to include a preview of notification in your alerts and banners and have the option of showing the notification in your lock screen.

Can you upload a Shared Photo Stream to third party social media sites like FaceBook or Instagram?

Currently this is not an option for the Shared Photo Stream feature. If you do wish to upload any of your iOS photos to sites like FaceBook or Instagram you would have to do that separately from the shared Photo Stream album.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.