iOS 27 Shared Albums turn read-only on iPhones running iOS 26 or earlier. Users on older software can still look through the photos, but they cannot add their own, like a photo or leave a comment until they update or open the album on iCloud.com.
This applies to every album you create in iOS 27 and to older albums whose owner upgrades them to the new format. Albums you already share stay as they are until the owner upgrades them, and the owner can recover the earlier version from Shared Albums settings for six months after an upgrade.
iOS 27 Shared Albums stay read-only on iOS 26 and earlier
Apple treats an album as new when you create it in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 or visionOS 27, or when its owner upgrades it. Participants on earlier versions of those systems see the album as read-only.
Updating every device you use to version 27 gives you back uploading, liking and commenting, and so does viewing the album on iCloud.com. A relative on iOS 26 can look through your holiday album, but they cannot add their own pictures until they update or open the album on iCloud.com.
The upgrade is optional. New albums add emoji reactions, filters, sorting and new ways to invite people, and the photos and videos you share afterward go up in their original resolution. You can also let participants manage the album or invite others with a link.
Temporary albums need version 27 to create or view
Temporary shared albums are new in iOS 27, and you need version 27 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS or visionOS to create or view one. They expire after 30 days, and any photo or video that nobody saved to a library is deleted by then.
Each temporary album holds up to 5,000 photos and videos, does not use your iCloud storage and does not need iCloud Photos turned on. If you want to keep an album, you can turn off Make Album Temporary, after which it counts toward your iCloud storage.
Temporary albums are not available in all countries or regions. A child account can join a shared album only when an adult in its Family Sharing group is also in the album.
iCloud.com opens an iOS 27 album on any device
If someone shares an iOS 27 album with you and your iPhone is still on iOS 26 or earlier, copy the album link and open it in a web browser on iCloud.com. People who do not have an Apple Account verify their email address to view, comment and add photos.
If you only need the pictures, the sender can pick them and use Send a Copy, which passes along the photos themselves instead of a link to the album.
A separate iCloud sharing change comes with iOS 27.3. Photos and files shared with Anyone with the link will get a harmful content check from Apple, and items shared that way are not end-to-end encrypted even when Advanced Data Protection is turned on.
