Share iPhone photos with an iCloud link safely.

Quick answer: With iCloud Photos on, select photos in the Photos app, tap Share, then choose Share iCloud Link. Apple hosts the items temporarily and copies a URL to your clipboard. Treat that URL like a password: anyone with it may be able to view the photos until the link expires or you stop sharing. On newer Apple software, some files also offer Share a Link with audience choices such as people you choose versus anyone with the link. Review Options before you send so you do not attach location or extra metadata you did not intend to share.

Turn on iCloud Photos when you need iCloud links

1. Open Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud.
2. Tap Photos, then turn on Sync this iPhone (iCloud Photos).

Apple’s share photos and videos guide states that when iCloud Photos is turned on, you can share multiple full-quality photos with an iCloud link. The link remains available for 30 days, can be viewed by anyone who has it, and can be pasted into any app such as Messages or Mail.

Create and send an iCloud link from Photos

1. Open the Photos app and select the photos or videos you want to share.
2. Tap Share, then choose Share iCloud Link.
3. Wait while Photos uploads the selection and copies the link, then paste or send the link in Messages, Mail, or another app.

You can also start from a day or month in Library: tap Share, choose Share Photos, and pick a share option that includes an iCloud link when iCloud Photos is on. Apple notes that sharing includes associated metadata such as date, time, and location unless you change share options first.

Review what leaves your iPhone

1. Before you tap Share, open one photo, tap Share, then tap Options.
2. Turn off Location if you do not want coordinates in the shared copy.
3. Read Apple’s location guidance in how to remove or limit location on shared photos for the All Photos Data exception and library originals.

An iCloud link is not the same as handing someone a file attachment only inside Messages. The hosted link may open in a browser without an Apple Account, depending on how you shared it and which Apple instructions apply to your software version.

Stop sharing or copy the link again

1. In Photos, tap For You.
2. Under iCloud Links, open the collection you shared.
3. Tap Share, then choose Copy iCloud Link or Stop Sharing.

Stopping sharing ends access through that hosted link going forward. It does not delete photos someone already saved to their own library or device from the link or from a separate conversation.

Understand “anyone with the link” on newer software

Apple’s article sharing content that can be accessed by Anyone with the Link explains that when you share iCloud-stored content with Anyone with the link, the item is accessible to anyone who has the URL, including Apple for harmful-content checks on supported versions. Items shared that way are not end-to-end encrypted for that sharing mode, even if you use Advanced Data Protection for other data. Prefer People you choose or a named share method when you need a shorter invite list.

This is separate from a Shared Album subscriber list and from an iCloud Shared Photo Library, where participants see items you move into the shared library.

Before you link-share private photos

• An iCloud link publishes the selected items to Apple’s sharing infrastructure for the life of the link. It is not a hidden collection or encrypted vault.
• Nearby AirDrop transfers copy files directly to a chosen device; link sharing can reach anyone who obtains the URL in any app or forwarded thread.
• Hiding photos in your personal library or locking Photos does not revoke a link you already sent. See how Apple’s Hidden collection works.
• Importing into a separate encrypted vault does not remove copies in Photos or stop an active iCloud link for items still in the library. Read what happens to the original after import before you delete anything.

Ego is in development for iPhone; its public App Store release has not launched. When available, it is designed as separate device-encrypted vaults on your iPhone. Saving or exporting from an unlocked vault is intended to require explicit confirmation because the copy leaves Ego’s encryption and may sync or backup elsewhere. Ego does not replace or manage Apple’s iCloud photo links. Read current product and availability details; do not assume vault items stay private if you later share them with Apple’s link or album tools.