Photo sharing

How can I share photos easily for free?

Short answer

The easiest free way to share photos is a link from the app your phone already uses. On iPhone, select the photos, tap Share, and choose Copy iCloud Link; on Android or in Google Photos, select, tap Share, and choose Create link. Send the link by any messenger and the other person opens it in a browser at full quality, no account needed. If the sharing is ongoing, turn it into a shared album so both sides can add. If you are collecting from a group rather than sending to one person, print a QR code for a Gathmo album: anyone scans it and uploads from the browser with no app and no account, free for 60 items and 30 days. All three cost nothing inside the free tiers.

Easiest: a link, in 3 taps

Both phone platforms can turn a selection of photos into a link. iPhone calls it Copy iCloud Link and it appears in the Share sheet once you select more than a handful of photos; Google Photos calls it Create link. The link opens in any browser, the files are full resolution, and the person opening it needs no account.

A link beats attaching the photos in a messenger, because WhatsApp and most chat apps compress images by default. It beats email, because email caps attachments around 25 MB and 6 phone photos are already there.

The limit is your own storage quota: Google Photos 15 GB shared with Gmail and Drive, iCloud 5 GB. A link does not consume extra space, but the photos behind it do.

Ongoing: a shared album. Collecting: a QR code

A shared album is a link that keeps growing. Google Photos shared albums work across iPhone and Android and let anyone you invite add photos; iCloud Shared Albums do the same between iPhones and do not count against the 5 GB. The condition is that contributors sign in to that platform.

A QR album removes even that. The code opens a page, the page takes the upload, and the uploader is never asked to sign up. It is the free method that works when the people sharing are not all on one platform, or when there are 40 of them at a party.

Gathmo’s free plan covers 60 photos, videos, and voice messages from unlimited people for 30 days. Paid plans are one payment per event with unlimited items and 90, 183, or 365 days of retention.

Common follow-ups

Does the other person need the same phone as me?

Not for a link or a QR album — both open in any browser. iCloud Shared Albums are the exception: they work best between iPhones.

Will the photos lose quality?

Not through a link, a shared album, or a Gathmo album. They lose quality in a chat message unless you send as a document or in HD.

How long does a free Gathmo album stay online?

30 days on the free plan. Download the originals before then, or move to a paid plan for 90 to 365 days.

Where to go next

All 14 photo sharing questionsThe hub, grouped by what you are trying to decide: which app is free and where free ends, sharing with a group, and the platforms everyone already has.