I am unable to delete a shared photo album on my iPhone

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Level 1

10 points

I am unable to delete a shared photo album on my iPhone

I created a shared photo album on my iPhone 5s in "Photos" and placed photos in it and shared the album through iCloud Photo Sharing. I then upgraded my iPhone 5s to an iPhone 6. I wiped the iPhone 5s and it is now at factory settings (like new). Now, I am unable to delete the album I shared (although I was able to delete all the photos in the album, so it is now empty). I tried to delete the shared album (named "Family") in my phone, but there is no option that will enable me to do so. I then went into my iCloud Photos folder on my Windows PC and tried to delete the shared album from there. In my PC's iCloud Photo folder, I can see the shared album folder. I "right-click" on the shared album and am presented with the option of deleting it. When I try to delete the folder I get a dialog box that says the folder was not deleted. The image below shows what I see.

Now, I'm stuck. The shared album "Family" does not show in iTunes or in my iPhone's internal storage folder when I connect it to my Windows PC, so I can't delete it by syncing. Any guidance on how to delete this shared album would be most welcome.

Thanks!

iPhone 6, iOS 8, Windows 8.0 PC

Posted on Oct 13, 2014 9:10 AM

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Answer 1

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gail from maine

Level 9

52,575 points

Oct 13, 2014 9:17 AM in response to piercesl721

When you click on Shared Photos on your device, and you see the "list" of Shared Photo Streams, you will see an Edit button on that screen. Click it and it will then display a ➖ next to each Shared Photo Stream. Click on the ➖ to delete the photo stream you want deleted.

I had a hard time with this too. I had, I think, three empty "Test" Shared Photo Steam folders that I couldn't figure out how to get rid of....then I saw "Edit", and voila!

Cheers,

GB

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Answer 2

piercesl721 Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 13, 2014 9:59 AM in response to gail from maine

Gail,

I tried this. When I'm in iCloud Photo Sharing (in the Photos app) and select "Edit," I should see the delete icon next to the shared "Family" folder, but there isn't one there. I'm not given the option of selecting it for editing or deletion in the iPhone's "Photos" app. This has been very frustrating for me. It's like the folder is protected or something.

Here is what I see when I try to delete the shared album "Family" from my iPhone:

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Answer 3

Oct 13, 2014 11:59 AM in response to piercesl721

Weird. The only other thing I would suggest is to go back to your Photos app on your computer, and click on your menu at the top to see if any of your menu dropdowns have the option to "Delete Photo Stream" (rather than just folder). In iPhoto on my Mac, under the Photos menu option there is a specific option to "Delete Photo Stream".

Sorry - just not sure if Windows Photo app would have a similar option.

Cheers,

GB

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Answer 4

piercesl721 Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 13, 2014 2:10 PM in response to gail from maine

Gail,

It is weird. It's like there's no path to this folder for deleting it, but at the same time I can add or delete photos to it. As far as I know, there is no Photos app for Windows, just a linked iCloud Photos folder in Windows Explorer. It has no subfolder for "Family" so I can't delete it there. Very strange indeed.

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Answer 5

Oct 13, 2014 8:52 PM in response to piercesl721

One last thing you can try is to reset your device (nothing will be lost): Hold down the Home and Power buttons at the same time and continue to hold them down until the Apple appears (up to 30 seconds). Once the "Slide to Unlock" screen redisplays, see if you can then go in and click on that Edit button under Shared to see if the ➖ will show up next to that album....

Cheers,

GB

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Answer 6

Rjslflk

Level 1

0 points

Nov 18, 2014 2:22 PM in response to piercesl721

I ve got exactly the same problem!! I even tried to delete the people I shared the album with but it doesn't allow me to do so... Have you had any answers ever since?

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Answer 7

prattson

Level 1

5 points

Nov 20, 2014 2:32 PM in response to piercesl721

Do you have 'Family Sharing' turned on in the iCloud settings on your phone? After I turned that off, I was able to delete the 'Family' folder in iCloud photo sharing. I haven't turned Family Sharing back on, so I don't know whether the Family folder is automatically created when you use that feature, but my guess is that it is - so if you want to use Family Sharing you may be stuck with the shared folder in your photo album.

Hope this helps...

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Answer 8

Rjslflk

Level 1

0 points

Nov 20, 2014 9:18 PM in response to prattson

As far as I am concerned you are totally right! Thanks a lot!

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Answer 9

Malcx

Level 1

0 points

May 4, 2015 6:16 AM in response to prattson

Delete photos from a shared album. Select the shared album, tap Select, select the photos or videos you want to delete, then tap . You must be the owner of the shared album, or the owner of the photo.

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Answer 10

diana222

Level 1

20 points

May 27, 2015 9:34 PM in response to prattson

I have been having this problem for months. Thanks to your suggestion of turning off Family Sharing, I was finally able to delete that empty album. Thanks for saving my sanity. I was about to wipe my phone and iPad.

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Answer 11

Sep 5, 2015 10:10 PM in response to prattson

Prattson - Thank you! That is the solution for me.

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Answer 12

digitool

Level 1

8 points

Feb 6, 2016 5:53 PM in response to piercesl721

Yep, the "family" shared album is made automatically when you start Family Sharing. Turn off Family Sharing and delete the album. Turn Family Sharing back on and it comes back with no way to delete it.

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Answer 13

Jun 1, 2016 6:00 PM in response to piercesl721

OMG!

It has happened the same and almost go crazy with the "Family" folder.

The incredible thing is that asked Apple for help and not knowing about this, they proposed me to restore the IOS system in my iPhone....

Thank you very much for this topic, it has been of great help !!

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