Short answerSince iOS 27, iCloud Shared Albums keep full resolution and guests without an iPhone can join through iCloud.com. But an album holds at most 100 people including you, and every photo and video guests add counts against your iCloud storage. For a bigger wedding, a QR code gallery avoids both: no participant cap and storage included.
Side by side
| DearSnap | iCloud Shared Album (iOS 27+) | |
|---|---|---|
| Guests need | Their phone's camera | An invite and to join; non-Apple guests via iCloud.com |
| How many people | As many as you invite | 100, including you |
| Quality | Originals kept | Full resolution (older albums: 2048 px, 720p video) |
| Whose storage | Included | Yours: everything counts against your iCloud |
| You approve what appears | Optional review mode | No |
| When it usually starts | During the party (QR on the tables) | Often the day after, once invites go out |
| Cost | $79 once | Free, plus any iCloud+ upgrade you need |
What iOS 27 fixed
Older Shared Albums shrank photos to 2048 pixels and videos to 720p, capped albums at 5,000 items, and left Android guests unable to contribute. New, non-temporary albums created on iOS 27 or later keep originals and are limited by the owner's storage rather than a fixed item cap. Temporary albums still have a 5,000-item limit. Older albums need to be upgraded, and items already shared keep their previous quality.
Android guests can join and upload on the web without an Apple Account, provided the album owner allows them to add photos. Depending on the invitation settings, they may still need to enter an email address or request access. These extra steps can be less straightforward for older guests who are less comfortable with technology.
What still matters for a wedding
- The 100-person cap. A wedding with 150 guests can't put everyone in one album.
- Your storage pays. Full-resolution photos and 4K videos from 100 guests add up fast, and it all lands on the album owner's iCloud plan.
- The join step. Everyone has to be invited and join before they can add anything, so in practice the album tends to start the day after, when the moment has passed.
If your wedding is small, everyone's on Apple devices and you have iCloud storage to spare, a Shared Album is a fine free choice. If not, here's the simplest way to collect everyone's photos.
Sources: Apple: Shared Albums limits, photo and video formats, upgrading older albums, sharing and permissions, joining on the web.