Google Photos shared albums
Google Photos does not offer end-to-end encryption for shared albums or partner sharing. Photos are stored in a form Google can process, which is how features such as face groups work: Google builds face models from your library on its servers.
Shared albums are shared by link. Google’s help pages say anyone with the link can view the album, and anyone with the link can view the photos and add to it. A link forwarded once is a link to the album.
Free storage is 15 GB per Google Account, shared with Gmail and Google Drive.
iCloud Shared Albums and Shared Photo Library
Apple has two features. Shared Albums do not support Advanced Data Protection, so they are not end-to-end encrypted even if you turn it on. Shared Albums created before iOS 27 also reduce photos to 2048 pixels on the long edge and videos to 720p; albums created on iOS 27 or later keep originals, which count against your iCloud storage.
iCloud Shared Photo Library is end-to-end encrypted only when every participant has Advanced Data Protection turned on. It is off by default, it is an Apple-only feature, and since February 2025 people in the UK who had not already enabled it can no longer turn it on.
In practice, a family album in iCloud is end-to-end encrypted only if everyone uses Apple devices, everyone turns on Advanced Data Protection, and nobody lives in the UK.
Side by side
| Google Photos | iCloud | IronCircles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encrypted | No | Shared Albums: no. Shared Library: only if every member enables Advanced Data Protection | Yes, always |
| How people get in | Link; anyone with it can view and add | Apple Account invitation | Invitation; members vote newcomers in |
| Works on | iPhone, Android, web | Apple devices (Shared Albums also via a web link) | iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS |
| Account needed | Google Account | Apple Account | Username and password only |
| Beyond photos | Albums | Albums | Chat, events with RSVPs, lists, recipes, credentials, games |
Facts about Google Photos and iCloud are as of October 2026.
A family album in IronCircles
In IronCircles, the album lives inside your family’s circle. Photos and videos are encrypted on the phone before upload, at full resolution, and only members of the circle hold the keys. Our servers store ciphertext they cannot open.
There is no link to forward. People are invited, existing members vote them in, and anyone who leaves the circle stops getting new photos. It works the same on iPhone, Android, Windows and macOS, so the Android-using uncle is not left out.
Signup is a username and a password, with no Google or Apple account, phone number or email address. That matters for grandparents who do not want another account tied to their identity, and for children who should not have one.
- Photo vaults lock an album behind its own key, invisible on an unlocked phone.
- One-time view sends a photo that opens exactly once.
- The same circle holds the family calendar, shopping lists and recipes.
Keep your backup, change where you share
You do not have to leave Google Photos or iCloud to fix this. Many families keep their phone’s backup where it is and move only the sharing: the album the whole family sees, comments on and adds to goes in the circle, end-to-end encrypted.
Questions
Are Google Photos shared albums end-to-end encrypted?
No. As of October 2026, Google Photos offers no end-to-end encryption, and anyone with a shared album’s link can view it and add to it.
Are iCloud Shared Albums end-to-end encrypted?
No. As of October 2026, Shared Albums do not support Advanced Data Protection. iCloud Shared Photo Library is end-to-end encrypted only when every participant has Advanced Data Protection turned on.
What is the most private way to share a family photo album?
Use an album that is end-to-end encrypted for everyone in it, joined by invitation rather than a link. In IronCircles, the album sits in your family’s circle, photos are encrypted on the phone at full resolution, and members vote on who joins.