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Find out how to create a temporary shared iCloud album in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27 Golden Gate and set it to auto-delete after 30 days.

You can create a shared iCloud album and add family and friends to it to conveniently and wirelessly share photos and videos.

Until the new OS 27 update, all you could do was create a permanent album. And if you no longer wanted to keep the album or share the photos, you could remove one or all participants or delete the album altogether.

iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate have made some major fundamental changes to how shared iCloud albums work.

For starters, you can now share photos and videos in full resolution, and these count towards your iCloud storage. You also need to have iCloud Photos turned on. I have talked more about these new changes here: iOS 27: Shared iCloud photo albums will now take up your iCloud space

Another new feature is to create temporary iCloud shared albums. And just like before, these don’t seem to count towards your iCloud space. Plus, you can create them even if iCloud Photos is turned off.

Temporary iCloud shared albums are a terrific way to share photos and videos from a trip with everyone. Concerned participants can then save them to their photo library. After 30 days, the entire thing is automatically deleted; you no longer need to worry about deleting it manually.

Important: After 30 days, the photo & video will only be deleted from the shared iCloud album; they will remain in your photo library (unless you delete them manually from there).

Create a temporary shared iCloud photo album

1) Open the Photos app on your iPhone running iOS 27.

2) Go to the Collections tab and tap Shared Albums.

3) Tap the plus button (+) at the top of the Shared tab to create a new album.

4) Give your album a name, add photos (or do it later), and choose your sharing options. Then, ensure “Make Album Temporary” is switched on (if iCloud Photos is off, this is enabled by default, and you can’t turn it off unless you enable iCloud Photos). Finally, tap the checkmark icon to create a shared iCloud photo album.

Shared iCloud album will display a date when it will expire automatically. The expiration date is also shown when you go inside a temporary iCloud album.

5) Tap the people icon to manage the album. You can:

• Change the album name.
• Add, remove, or edit permissions for the participants.
• Copy the album link to share it again with others.
• Choose how you want to share this album.
• Make the temporary album permanent by turning off “Make Album Temporary.”
• Receive notifications when changes are made to this album (e.g., if a participant adds new photos).
• Delete the album before it’s deleted automatically.

If you prefer to use a Mac, update it to macOS 27, click the tiny plus button (+) next to Shared Albums in the left sidebar, and then turn on “Make Album Temporary.”

How participants can save photos and videos from the temporary iCloud album

Participants in your temporary iCloud album will also see when it expires. But it’d be best if you reminded them from your end to save the photos and videos so they can do it. And the good thing is that Apple makes it super easy to save them, as outlined below.

Save all shared photos and videos

1. Open the Photos app, go to the Collections tab, tap Shared Album, and then go inside one.
2. Tap the three dots menu icon, then select Save All Shared Items to import all photos and videos from this shared temporary album into the photo library, keeping them safe from auto-deletion.

Save selected photos and videos

1. Open the shared iCloud album, tap Select, then mark one or more photos and videos you want to save.
2. Tap Save to Library (n).

Save one photo or video

Touch and hold a shared photo or video and tap Save to Library. Or tap to open a shared media item, then tap the save button (downward-facing arrow).

Also, check out:

• How to change the Liquid Glass level in iOS 27 & macOS 27
• How to get the new Siri AI on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/06/25/temporary-shared-icloud-album/

In this step-by-step tutorial, we guide you through downloading and installing watchOS 27 quickly on your Apple Watch to try out the new features before the general public.

Before you get to the steps, please keep these important points in mind.

Compatibility: watchOS 27 is only supported on Series 9, 10, and 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and 3, and Apple Watch SE 3. Unlike watchOS 26, the latest version drops support for the Series 8, 7, 6, Apple Watch SE 2, and even the $800 Apple Watch Ultra 1, which is just 3 years old!

No easy going back: watchOS 27 is currently in developer beta, and I’m sure you know that early beta versions can be buggy, glitchy, and, in rare cases, even brick your device. Now, if your iPhone is bricked due to software, you can easily put it into recovery mode and reinstall the software. You even have the option to downgrade from iOS 27 to iOS 26 if you don’t like it. However, you cannot easily restore or downgrade your Apple Watch software; you’ll have to take it to an Apple Store, and they may charge you for the service, especially if your wearable isn’t under warranty.

Install watchOS 27 on your Apple Watch

1) The first step is to update your iPhone to iOS 27. You can’t update your watch to watchOS 27 if your iPhone is still on iOS 26.

2) Open the Watch app on your iPhone that’s connected to Wi-Fi and go to General > Software Update.

3) Wait a few seconds on the Software Update screen and tap Beta Updates when you see it.

4) Select watchOS 27 Developer beta, then tap the back button (<).

5) Your iPhone will check for a new beta update, and soon you’ll see watchOS 27 Beta as an option on the screen. Tap Download and Install, and follow along.

If you want to dramatically speed up the entire watchOS 27 update process, make sure you follow the steps above and start the download. Then turn off Bluetooth in the Settings app (not Control Center) on your iPhone or Apple Watch to force your iPhone to communicate with your Watch over Wi-Fi, which is much faster than transferring data over Bluetooth.

Alternatively, turn off Bluetooth from Apple Watch Settings, and then restart it. The ongoing watchOS 27 update will stop. Now, turn off Wi-Fi on your iPhone in Settings so your phone has no way to talk to your watch. Then, make sure your Apple Watch is directly connected to Wi-Fi (you’ll see its icon in watchOS Control Center), and go to Settings > General > Software Update to download the new watchOS 27 quickly over the watch’s own Wi-Fi. This will cut down the process time by several minutes or even hours!

Once the update is downloaded, place your Apple Watch on its charger, and it will install when the battery is over 50%.

Important: Don’t remove from charger until the update is complete. If you experience frequent power outages, charge your Apple Watch using a computer UPS (I use one from APC for my Mac) or power bank.

In case the update doesn’t start installing automatically, go to Apple Watch Settings > General > Software Update and tap Install.

Also, check out:

• How to install tvOS 27 on your Apple TV
• How to install macOS 27 Golden Gate on another partition

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/06/25/install-watchos27/