Find out how to quickly react to a shared photo with your favorite emoji in the new and improved iCloud Shared Albums in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and iCloud beta.
iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 made changes to iCloud shared albums, such as counting the space used by shared albums against your shared iCloud space, the option to create temporary albums that automatically delete after 30 days, the removal of links to iCloud shared photos, sorting photos by members, and the ability to share photos in full resolution. You can read more here: iOS 27: iCloud shared photo albums will now take up your iCloud space
Another useful feature added to the iCloud shared album is the option to use a specific emoji to react to a photo. This ensures that you are not only limited to the chat button or sharing your thoughts in the comments. Now you can use smiley face, heart, thumbs down, fire, and any of hundreds of emojis.
Before the latest update, if you wanted to share your opinion about a photo in an iCloud shared album, your options were to leave a comment or click the like button, as shown in the screenshot below of my wife’s iPhone running iOS 26.
Important: The emoji reaction is only visible on the member’s device when updated to iOS/iPadOS/macOS 27.
Share a shared iCloud photo with an emoji
1) Update your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate (all three are currently in beta).
2) Open the A photo app and go to the shared album, as shown in the screenshot below.
3) Tap or double-click to open a single photo or video in full screen.
4) hit the emoji iconas shown in the screenshot, and select the suggested emoji. Or, press the plus (+) button to choose from hundreds of emojis.
Here’s what it looks like in the macOS 27 Photos app.
See reactions to your shared photos
Open a photo in a shared album and tap the same emoji button to see who all replied to that photo.
Change or remove emoji reactions
Tap the selected emoji to open the reaction pane, then tap the selected emoji now to remove it.
You can also choose another emoji to replace (other members of the shared album get a new notification if you respond with a different emoji).
Share on a shared phone with emoji on the iCloud web
You can also use emoji reactions on open shared albums iCloud.com.
Also, if you’ve shared the new/improved shared album with people whose devices haven’t been updated to OS 27, they’ll have to view your shared album in iCloud (instead of their device’s Photos app), and can react with an emoji there.
1) Visit beta.icloud.com/photos (not just iCloud.com) and sign in with the same Apple Account you normally use.
2) Expand the ‘Share Albums’ section.
3) Look at the picture and click the button emoji icon reaction, as shown in the screenshot below.
If you don’t see the emoji reaction button…
You can’t react to a shared iCloud photo with custom emojis if:
- Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac has not been updated to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27 Golden Gate.
- The shared album was created before iOS, iPadOS, or macOS 27, and you haven’t upgraded it. To upgrade, just go to this shared album, start editing it, and tap Promote a shared album. But note that upgraded iCloud albums count against your iCloud space.
Can people with non-OS 27 devices view your emoji reactions or add their own?
Not in the Photos app, but in iCloud Web.
You can create a new shared album in iOS 27 and add participants to it. However, this new album will not appear in the participant’s Photos app if their device is running iOS 26 or earlier. When they click your invitation to join an album, it will take them to beta.icloud.com in their browser, where they can sign in with their Apple Account to view the album and share their photo reactions.
Also, check out: How to save a slideshow as a video on iPhone, iPad, and Mac