Find out how to create a temporary shared iCloud album in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27 Golden Gate and set it to auto-delete after 30 days.

You can create a shared iCloud album and add family and friends to it to conveniently and wirelessly share photos and videos.

Until the new OS 27 update, all you could do was create a permanent album. And if you no longer wanted to keep the album or share the photos, you could remove one or all participants or delete the album altogether.

iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate have made some major fundamental changes to how shared iCloud albums work.

For starters, you can now share photos and videos in full resolution, and these count towards your iCloud storage. You also need to have iCloud Photos turned on. I have talked more about these new changes here: iOS 27: Shared iCloud photo albums will now take up your iCloud space

Another new feature is to create temporary iCloud shared albums. And just like before, these don’t seem to count towards your iCloud space. Plus, you can create them even if iCloud Photos is turned off.

Temporary iCloud shared albums are a terrific way to share photos and videos from a trip with everyone. Concerned participants can then save them to their photo library. After 30 days, the entire thing is automatically deleted; you no longer need to worry about deleting it manually.

Important: After 30 days, the photo & video will only be deleted from the shared iCloud album; they will remain in your photo library (unless you delete them manually from there).

1) Open the Photos app on your iPhone running iOS 27.

2) Go to the Collections tab and tap Shared Albums.

3) Tap the plus button (+) at the top of the Shared tab to create a new album.

4) Give your album a name, add photos (or do it later), and choose your sharing options. Then, ensure “Make Album Temporary” is switched on (if iCloud Photos is off, this is enabled by default, and you can’t turn it off unless you enable iCloud Photos). Finally, tap the checkmark icon to create a shared iCloud photo album.

Shared iCloud album will display a date when it will expire automatically. The expiration date is also shown when you go inside a temporary iCloud album.

5) Tap the people icon to manage the album. You can:

• Change the album name.
• Add, remove, or edit permissions for the participants.
• Copy the album link to share it again with others.
• Choose how you want to share this album.
• Make the temporary album permanent by turning off “Make Album Temporary.”
• Receive notifications when changes are made to this album (e.g., if a participant adds new photos).
• Delete the album before it’s deleted automatically.

If you prefer to use a Mac, update it to macOS 27, click the tiny plus button (+) next to Shared Albums in the left sidebar, and then turn on “Make Album Temporary.”

Participants in your temporary iCloud album will also see when it expires. But it’d be best if you reminded them from your end to save the photos and videos so they can do it. And the good thing is that Apple makes it super easy to save them, as outlined below.

1. Open the Photos app, go to the Collections tab, tap Shared Album, and then go inside one.
2. Tap the three dots menu icon, then select Save All Shared Items to import all photos and videos from this shared temporary album into the photo library, keeping them safe from auto-deletion.

1. Open the shared iCloud album, tap Select, then mark one or more photos and videos you want to save.
2. Tap Save to Library (n).

Touch and hold a shared photo or video and tap Save to Library. Or tap to open a shared media item, then tap the save button (downward-facing arrow).

Also, check out:

• How to change the Liquid Glass level in iOS 27 & macOS 27
• How to get the new Siri AI on iPhone, iPad, and Mac