How to Share Photos with Family Using Google Photos

Google Photos is a free app available for iPhone and Android phones that stores your photos online and makes it easy to share them with family. Once your photos are in Google Photos, you can share a single photo by text or email, create a shared album that your whole family can add to, or set up automatic sharing so a trusted person — like your adult child or grandchild — receives every photo you take.

This guide walks through everything from downloading the app to setting up automatic photo sharing, written for people who are new to Google Photos.

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What Google Photos is and why it is useful

When you take a photo on your phone, it is saved only on that phone. If your phone is lost, damaged, or replaced, those photos can be gone forever. Google Photos solves this by automatically copying your photos to Google's servers (called "the cloud") so they are safely backed up and accessible from any device — including your computer, a new phone, or your family member's phone.

In addition to backup, Google Photos makes sharing much simpler than texting individual photos one by one. You can share an entire collection with family members. And they can add their own photos to a shared album — so a family trip, a birthday party, or holiday gathering becomes a shared collection that everyone contributes to and can view.

How much does it cost?

Google Photos is free for up to 15 GB of storage. This is enough for thousands of photos for most people. If you take a very large number of photos and videos over many years, you might eventually need more storage, which Google sells as a paid plan called Google One. But the free 15 GB is enough for most users.

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Step 1 — Download and install Google Photos

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Step 2 — Sign in with your Google account

Open Google Photos. You will be asked to sign in with a Google account. A Google account is the same login you use for Gmail. If you have Gmail, use that email and password.

If you do not have a Google account, tap **"Create account"** and follow the on-screen steps. You will be asked for your name, a new Gmail address, and a password. This takes about three minutes.

After signing in, Google Photos will ask whether you want to turn on **Backup** — the feature that automatically copies every new photo you take to your Google account online. Tap **"Turn on"** to enable this. With backup on, your photos are protected even if your phone is lost or damaged.

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Step 3 — Share a single photo

To share one specific photo:

1. 1Open Google Photos and find the photo you want to share. Tap it to open it full screen.
2. 2At the bottom of the screen, tap the **Share** button (it looks like a box with an arrow pointing right on Android, or a box with an arrow pointing up on iPhone).
3. 3A menu will appear with several options:
4. 4 - **"Send in Google Photos"** — sends the photo through Google Photos to another person who also has Google Photos. Tap this option, then type your family member's email address or phone number.
5. 5 - **"Share via"** — lets you send the photo through a different app, such as Messages (text), Gmail, or WhatsApp.
6. 6Your family member will receive a notification or link. When they tap it, they see the photo.

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Step 4 — Create a shared album

A shared album is a collection of photos that multiple people can view and add to. This is ideal for a family trip, a grandchild's school year, or any ongoing collection you want to build together.

Creating the album:

1. 1In Google Photos, tap **Library** at the bottom of the screen.
2. 2Tap **Albums** at the top of the Library screen.
3. 3Tap **"Create album"** (a + button or a labeled button at the top of the screen).
4. 4Give the album a name — for example, "2026 Family Trip" or "Grandkids."
5. 5Tap **"Select photos"** to add photos from your phone to the album.
6. 6After adding photos, tap the share icon (or look for a "Share album" option inside the album).
7. 7Enter the email addresses or phone numbers of the family members you want to invite to the album.
8. 8Tap **"Send."**

What happens next:

Your family members receive an email or notification with a link to the album. They can: - View all the photos you added - Add their own photos to the album (if you give them that permission — Google Photos asks when you create the sharing link) - Comment on photos with a heart or a written comment

Everyone who is added to the album sees all the photos in it, from everyone who has contributed. This means if your son adds photos from the same family event, you will see his photos too — and he will see yours.

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Step 5 — Add photos from your camera roll to an existing album

Over time you may want to add older photos from your phone to a shared album:

1. 1Open Google Photos and find the photo you want to add.
2. 2Tap and hold the photo to select it. A blue checkmark will appear on it.
3. 3Tap additional photos to select multiple photos at once.
4. 4Tap the **three-dot menu** (⋮) in the upper-right corner, or tap the **+** button.
5. 5Tap **"Add to album."**
6. 6Choose the album you want to add the photos to.

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Step 6 — Set up automatic photo sharing with a trusted family member

Google Photos has a feature called **"Photo sharing"** that automatically sends every new photo you take to one trusted person. This is especially useful if a family member wants to receive your photos regularly without you having to remember to share them each time.

To set this up:

1. 1In Google Photos, tap your **profile photo** (a small circle with your initial or photo) in the upper-right corner of the screen.
2. 2Tap **"Photo sharing."**
3. 3Tap **"Get started."**
4. 4Enter the email address or phone number of the family member you want to share with.
5. 5You can choose to share your photos automatically (all new photos) or share only specific albums.
6. 6Tap **"Send invite."**

Your family member will receive an email invitation. Once they accept, they will see your new photos appear in their own Google Photos account automatically. They can also choose to share their photos with you in return.

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How your family member receives photos

When you share a photo or album with a family member, they receive:

• An email notification with a preview of the photo or album, and a link to view it
• If they have the Google Photos app installed and are signed in, a notification on their phone

They do not need to do anything other than tap the link or notification to see your photos. They do not need a paid subscription.

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Tips for using Google Photos effectively

• **Search by person, place, or thing:** Google Photos automatically recognizes faces, locations, and objects in your photos. Type "birthday" or "dogs" or a family member's name in the search bar and Google Photos will find matching photos automatically.
• **Keep backup turned on:** If backup is on (Settings → Back up & sync → Backup is on), your photos are safe even if your phone breaks or is lost.
• **Free up phone storage:** Once photos are backed up to Google Photos, you can use the "Free up device storage" feature (in the Google Photos menu) to remove photos from your phone's local storage without deleting them from Google Photos. This frees space on your phone while keeping your photos safely stored online.
• **Access photos on a computer:** Go to **photos.google.com** in any web browser and sign in with your Google account to see all your photos from a computer.