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Can Android users upload photos to a shared iCloud album?

I went on a group hike, and the group leader (not me!) created a shared iCloud album and invited us all to view and post photos. The iPhone users among us have no trouble viewing and posting, but the Android users can only view. Is there a way for them to post photos to the shared album? Some of them have an iCloud login and separate Apple device (both of which I understand might be needed), and some of them do not. Thanks for your help!

Posted on Sep 24, 2022 8:30 AM

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Posted on Sep 27, 2022 6:27 AM

Greetings RosiePiller,


Without having an Apple device, the Android user would only be able to create a web-only access to iCloud, and would not be able to upload photos to iCloud Photos.


Check out the information in the following article:


Web-only access to iCloud - Apple Support


What is web-only access to iCloud?
Web-only access to iCloud lets you share and collaborate with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, even if they don't have access to an Apple device. That means you can invite anyone to share a file. Then they can use their web-only account to access the file and make edits, without leaving iCloud. It includes access to iCloud Drive, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Notes for iCloud, and 1GB of free storage for any notes and documents that you create.


You're welcome to leave feedback to Apple with your thoughts and suggestions at the following website: Product Feedback - Apple


Kind regards.

4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Sep 27, 2022 6:27 AM in response to RosiePiller

Greetings RosiePiller,


Without having an Apple device, the Android user would only be able to create a web-only access to iCloud, and would not be able to upload photos to iCloud Photos.


Check out the information in the following article:


Web-only access to iCloud - Apple Support


What is web-only access to iCloud?
Web-only access to iCloud lets you share and collaborate with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, even if they don't have access to an Apple device. That means you can invite anyone to share a file. Then they can use their web-only account to access the file and make edits, without leaving iCloud. It includes access to iCloud Drive, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Notes for iCloud, and 1GB of free storage for any notes and documents that you create.


You're welcome to leave feedback to Apple with your thoughts and suggestions at the following website: Product Feedback - Apple


Kind regards.

Sep 26, 2022 4:01 PM in response to claire504

Thanks, Claire, for taking the time to reply to my question.

To clarify, I am an iPhone user and know how to create a shared album on iCloud, and I know how to post photos to my and other people's shared albums.

The problem is for Android users. They appear to be able to VIEW photos in the shared album but not POST THEIR OWN photos to someone else's shared album, to which they've been invited to subscribe. I'm trying to help them out. Note that in this particular case, I am not the one who created the shared album, but I've subscribed to that album and I want to help the Android users share their own photos to the shared album.

Note that step 6 under "Set up Shared Albums on your Windows computer" says "You can now create and view shared albums on your PC. [emphasis is mine] You can find your shared albums in the iCloud Shared Albums app."

It does not mention posting photos to other people's shared albums.

I tried to display the iCloud for Windows User Guide, but it timed out. :-(

I imagine that if iCloud for Windows allows Android users to create a shared album, it must let you populate it...? But I'm not sure because I can't test that out. But what about Android users posting albums to someone else's shared album? That's my focus here.

A group of us went on a hiking trip and I'd like everyone to be able to contribute, not just iPhone users....

Sep 26, 2022 1:31 PM in response to RosiePiller

Hi there, RosiePiller.


You can create and share photo (even video) albums with iCloud. You would have to use a Windows computer though. Check out the information below for more details:


"Share and collaborate on albums

You can share photo and video albums with friends and family who use iCloud, and they can view shared albums in the Photos app. You decide if the people you share with can add photos or videos to the album or just comment on and like them. When collaborators make changes to a shared album, everyone sees those changes in real time.


You can also create a public shared album. Anyone who has the link can view the album, even if they don’t use iCloud."


If you'd like, you can read more about that here: Share photo and video albums with iCloud - Apple Support


The steps below show how to set it up:


"Set up Shared Albums on your Windows computer

  1. If you don’t already have it, get iCloud for Windows. See the Apple Support article Download iCloud for Windows.
  2. Open iCloud for Windows, then select Photos.
  3. Select Shared Albums.
  4. If you aren’t prompted to turn on features, click the Options button next to Photos.
  5. Click Done, then click Apply.
  6. You can now create and view shared albums on your PC. You can find your shared albums in the iCloud Shared Albums app.


For more information on how to use Shared Albums on your Windows computer, see Share photo albums using iCloud for Windows in the iCloud for Windows User Guide."


That information is from this article: Set up Shared Albums in iCloud on all your devices - Apple Support


We hope that information helps.


Take care!

Sep 27, 2022 4:46 PM in response to Chris_D13

Thanks very much, Chris, for your reply.

Does your answer (regarding uploading photos to a shared iCloud album) change if the Android user also has an Apple device? I seem to recall reading that if the Android user had an iCloud login and a separate Apple device (for two-factor authentication), then it might be possible. But I could be misremembering....

Can Android users upload photos to a shared iCloud album?

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