Sharing Albums
Making a sharing album from your circle, adding to it, publishing it, and inviting people to see it.
What is a sharing album?
A sharing album is a page of photos and stories made from your circle, with its own web address, to share with people outside the circle.
Create an album from your circle
Start a new album from your circle, add photos and stories while it's a private draft, and publish it when you're ready to share.
Make an album from a chapter in your circle
Turn a chapter in your circle into a private draft album you can arrange, publish, and share. Your circle needs Premium to make albums.
Welcome to your new album
Your new album is ready. A quick tour of the first things to do: add photos, choose a theme, and invite the people you want.
A tour of the album workspace
What each tab in your album workspace does, from themes and publishing to the Media organizer, sharing your link, and Settings.
Add photos and videos to an album
Upload photos, videos, voice notes, stories, and PDFs from your device or from Google Photos and Google Drive, then add captions and dates.
Group album photos into pages
Group related photos and videos into pages, drag them to reorder them, and add an optional title, description, or date range.
Write a story in your album
Write in your own words with headings, lists, and bold text. Stories save as drafts while you type, so nothing gets lost.
Recording a voice or video note
Add your voice (or your face) to an album with a short recorded note — we'll even write out what you said.
Decorate your photos with stickers
Add a playful touch to your photos and videos by placing stickers and emoji right on them.
Cropping and rotating a photo
Crop or rotate any photo in your album from the editor, with ready-made shapes. Your original photo is always kept, so you can undo it.
Picking your own colors for an album
Use the Custom theme to pick your own text, background, and accent colors for an album, and add a gentle background pattern if you like.
Choosing fonts for your album
With the Custom theme, pick a matched set of lettering for your album's title, stories, and small details like dates.
Get help writing your album description
Not sure how to describe your album? Our writing helper drafts a description for you in seconds, and you can change it however you like.
Preview your album before publishing
See exactly what visitors will see. Open a live, read-only preview of your album in a new tab while you keep editing.
Publishing your album
Publishing puts your album live at its own web address. It is included with your circle's Premium, with no time limit on edits.
Why we ask for a code before you publish
If we haven't verified both your email and your phone yet, we'll ask for a quick code before you can publish.
Publishing changes to a live album
When you edit a published album, your updates are held privately until you're ready to share them — here's how it works.
Who can see and comment on your album
Choose who can view your album and who can leave messages, from just the people you invite to anyone signed in.
Invite family and friends to an album
Add people to an album from People, by typing, pasting, or picking from your contacts, and save invitations until you publish.
Add people from Google or Outlook contacts
Connect your Google, Outlook, or Microsoft 365 account to pick people from your contacts and invite them to an album. We never save your contacts.
Write your own invitation message
Put your own words in the email invitation, preview the text-message version, and choose whether to show your email or phone number.
Let our writing helper draft your invitation
Stuck on what to say? Our writing helper drafts a warm invitation message for you in seconds, and you can change it however you like.
Save invitations before your album is ready
Gather the people you'll invite while you're still working on the album. Send them all at once when you publish.
Manage the people on your album
See who's on your album and whether invitations were opened, approve people who are waiting, make someone a co-editor, or remove them.
Invite a co-editor with a private link
Generate a private link you can share with someone you trust — they click, sign in, and help run your album.
Accepting an album invitation
Tap the link in your invitation to see the album right away, then sign in or sign up when you'd like to comment or add something of your own.
Requesting access to a private album
If the album is private and you're not on the invite list, you can ask the owner to let you in.
Why we ask you to sign in to comment
Anyone can read this album, but leaving a comment or reaction needs an account so we know who's saying what.
Share your album with a QR code
Every published, public album has its own QR code. Download or copy it to print on invitations, programs, or a sign at your event.
Share one photo or post from an album
Every photo, video, and message on a public album has its own link. Copy it or share it, and see who can view and download it.
The Guest Book: let guests add to your album
The Guest Book lets the people you invite add their own photos, videos, and messages to an album. It's free, and you switch it on for each album.
Add your own post to an album's Guest Book
When an album's Guest Book is open, you can leave a photo, video, voice note, or message for the album owner and everyone who visits.
Why can't I post to this album's Guest Book?
If the album's owner has turned the Guest Book off, new posts and reactions are paused until they turn it on again. Nothing already posted is lost.
The Activity tab: review posts and comments
See everything happening on your album, approve what is waiting, and hide or remove anything you do not want shown.
Why is my post waiting for approval?
Some albums check new posts before everyone sees them. Here's what the waiting note means and what happens next.
When a photo needs your attention
Sometimes a photo or note is held back for a quick safety check — here's how to find it, fix it, and share it.
Deleting a post from your album
Removing a post takes effect right away — here's exactly what happens, including any comments and reactions tied to it.
Tagging people and pets in an album
Tag who's in a photo, a person or a pet, so everyone knows who they're looking at and can find every photo of them in the album.
Managing tagged people on the People page
Tidy up the names in your album — rename someone, join two entries for the same person, or link a name to their account.
Asking "Who is this?" about a photo
Can't place a face in an old photo? Ask everyone in the album, and let them help you name it.
Save or print your album as a PDF book
Download a printable PDF book of an album, with its photos, stories, and comments, and choose whether visitors can save one.
Stop sharing an album
Share a sharing album with fewer people, take one person off, or archive it so visitors lose access. Nothing is deleted, and you can restore it.
What happens when an album is archived?
An archived album is hidden from visitors. Nothing in it is deleted, and the owner can bring it back anytime.
Delete a draft album you haven't published
Started an album and changed your mind? If you haven't published it yet, you can delete the whole draft and start over.
Keep your album's web address
If an unpublished album sits untouched for a while, we email you a reminder. One tap keeps its web address reserved for you.
Why was my invitation message blocked?
If your custom invitation message can't be sent, here's why — and how to get it on its way.