How to create and manage shared Photo Streams on iPhone and iPad

Photo Stream, which is part of iCloud, not only backs up your your photos to the cloud, but gives you an easy way to share your photos with friends and family who also use iPhones and iPads. Shared Photo Streams let you share as many photos as you want at once, which is a lot more convenient than emailing or texting tons of pictures. Not only that, your friends and family can also add their own photos and comment on yours. If you aren't sure how to start using shared Photo Streams, follow along and we'll get you started!

• How to enable Photo Stream


• How to create a new shared Photo Stream


• How to delete a Photo Stream


• How to add or remove people from a shared Photo Stream


• How to delete photos in an existing Photo Stream


• How to like or comment on a Photo Stream image

How to enable Photo Stream

Before creating, sharing, and editing Photo Streams, you'll need to make sure you have Photo Stream enabled in your iCloud settings.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on iCloud.


3. Tap on Photos.


4. Turn on My Photo Stream if it isn't already.

How to create a new shared Photo Stream

1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on Shared in the bottom navigation.


3. Tap on the plus sign in the upper left hand corner to create a new stream.


4. Give your stream a name and then tap Next.


5. Add the people you'd like to initially share the stream with and tap Create — don't worry you can add or remove people later if you'd like.


6. Tap on your new stream.


7. Tap on the plus sign to start adding photos.


8. Tap on all the photos you'd like to add and then tap Done at the top.


9. Type a short description of the photos you're adding if you'd like and then tap Post.


10. To add photos later, just tap into the Photo Stream again and tap the plus sign after the last photo to add more.

How to delete a Photo Stream

1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on Shared in the bottom navigation.


3. Tap on Edit in the top right.


4. Tap on the Delete icon to the left of the Photo Stream you'd like to delete.


5. Tap on Delete that appears to the right of the stream.


6. Tap on Delete one more time to confirm you'd like to delete the stream.

How to add or remove subscribers from a shared Photo Stream

1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on Shared in the bottom navigation.


3. Tap on the stream you'd like to add or remove someone from.


4. Tap on People at the bottom.


5. Tap on Invite People in order to add more.


6. Tap on a person's name, scroll to the bottom of their contact card, and tap on Remove Subscriber in order to remove them.

How to delete photos in an existing Photo Stream

1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on Shared in the bottom navigation.


3. Tap on the stream you'd like to remove photos from.


4. Tap on Select in the upper right hand corner.


5. Tap on the photos you'd like to delete in order to select them.


6. Tap on the Trash icon in the lower right hand corner.


7. Tap on the Delete confirmation that pops up.

Be aware that the photos you delete will be removed from all shared Photo Streams on everyone's devices. However, deleting photos from a shared Photo Stream does not delete them from your Camera Roll.

How to like or comment on a Photo Stream image

1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on Shared in the bottom navigation.


3. Tap on the stream that contains the photo you'd like to comment on or like.


4. Tap on the photo you'd like to interact with.


5. Either leave a comment and tap Send when you're done, or tap on the smiley icon in order to like the photo.

Do you use shared Photo Streams with your friends or family? Why or why not? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Note: Originally published November 2012. Updated May 2014.