{"id":200052,"date":"2026-07-07T12:43:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midatlanticconsulting.com\/blog\/?p=200052"},"modified":"2026-07-07T12:43:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:43:02","slug":"how-to-give-1-to-5-stars-to-your-photos-on-iphone-ipad-mac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midatlanticconsulting.com\/blog\/2026\/07\/how-to-give-1-to-5-stars-to-your-photos-on-iphone-ipad-mac\/","title":{"rendered":"How to give 1 to 5 stars to your photos on iPhone, iPad, Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learn how to enable star ratings in the Photos app on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, so you can rate your photos and videos from 1 to 5 stars (\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605) for better organization and easier searching.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you need to find an image or video in your photo library quickly, you can use the search bar to type what you’re looking for. For instance, typing ‘food<\/em>‘ should show all food and food-related pictures. If you have set up Apple Intelligence<\/a>, you can even search using longer descriptions, such as ‘Sebastien wearing a red shirt on the beach<\/em>,’ to find pictures that match this description.<\/p>\n

Another option for quickly finding something is to use sorting and filtering, as shown in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 27 add a new star rating feature, similar to the one in the Music app<\/a>. It lets you rate your photos on a scale of 1 to 5 stars (\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605). And then you can filter all photos by these star ratings to quickly find what you’re looking for<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, I have decided to mark the best family photos with 5 stars, so I can view them all quickly. Similarly, I will mark all screenshots that I want to keep for a while with 1 star (so I don’t select them when cleaning my library). You can obviously see what rating scale works best for you.<\/p>\n

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Table of Contents<\/b> hide<\/a> <\/span> <\/div>\n
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1)<\/span> Enable star ratings in the Apple Photos app<\/span> <\/a> <\/p>\n
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1.1)<\/span> iPhone or iPad<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
1.2)<\/span> Mac<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
2)<\/span> Rate photos and videos 1 to 5 stars in the Apple Photos app<\/span> <\/a> <\/p>\n
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2.1)<\/span> iPhone or iPad<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
2.2)<\/span> Mac<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
3)<\/span> Filter photos by star rating<\/span> <\/a> <\/p>\n
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3.1)<\/span> iPhone or iPad<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n
3.2)<\/span> Mac<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
4)<\/span> Show star ratings in your photo library<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Enable star ratings in the Apple Photos app<\/span><\/h2>\n

This feature is not switched on by default, so you need to do that first.<\/p>\n

iPhone or iPad<\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 27 or iPadOS 27<\/a> (currently they are in beta).<\/li>\n
  2. Open the Photos app<\/strong> and go to the Collections<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n
  3. Tap your Apple Account profile photo<\/strong> in the top right corner, as shown in the screenshot below.<\/li>\n
  4. Turn on Show Ratings Controls<\/strong> and close this screen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mac<\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Update your Mac desktop or MacBook to macOS 27 Golden Gate. You can also install macOS 27 on a second partition<\/a> of the same computer.<\/li>\n
    2. Open the Photos app<\/strong> and click Photos<\/strong> > Settings<\/strong> from the top menu bar. Or, press the Command<\/kbd> + ,<\/kbd> (comma) keys.<\/li>\n
    3. Check Show Rating Controls<\/strong> and close the settings pane.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Rate photos and videos 1 to 5 stars in the Apple Photos app<\/span><\/h2>\n

      After enabling ratings controls, you can start assigning stars to your media.<\/p>\n

      iPhone or iPad<\/span><\/h3>\n
        \n
      1. Open the Photos app<\/strong> and tap to view a picture or video in your library or album (but don’t select one from a shared iCloud album).<\/li>\n
      2. Tap the little star icon<\/strong> (\u2605) at the top and set the rating to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 stars.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Mac<\/span><\/h3>\n

        Open the Photos app, view a photo or video, and click the star icon<\/strong> (\u2605) to select from 1 to 5 stars.<\/p>\n

        You can also Control<\/kbd>-click on a photo and select between one and five stars.<\/p>\n

        Or, select a photo and click Image<\/strong> from the top menu bar to set a star rating (\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605).<\/p>\n

        Filter photos by star rating<\/span><\/h2>\n

        Once you have rated some photos and videos, you can use the filter option to see those \u2013 and just those \u2013 photos and videos.<\/p>\n

        iPhone or iPad<\/span><\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. Open the iOS 27 Photos app<\/strong> and make sure you’re in the Library<\/em> tab. Going to an album, category, and the like works too.<\/li>\n
        2. Tap the three-line filter menu icon<\/strong> at the top and select Rating<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        3. Select one or more ratings (\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605) to view all photos and videos that are marked that way.<\/li>\n
        4. To view all photos without a ratings filter, follow the above steps and unselect all star ratings. Or, tap the three-line menu icon and select All Items<\/strong> or Remove Filters<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Mac<\/span><\/h3>\n

          Go to the Photos app, click the three-line filter menu icon<\/strong>, and select one or more star ratings.<\/p>\n

          You can also click View<\/strong> in the top menu bar and select Filter By<\/strong> > Show Rating<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          Show star ratings in your photo library<\/span><\/h2>\n

          Once you assign star ratings to your photos, Mac displays them as a tiny label in the left corner of each photo, as shown in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n

          And you have the option to enable the same for your photo library on iPhone and iPad by following these steps:<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Open the iOS 27 Photos app and make sure you are in the Library tab.<\/li>\n
          2. Tap the three-line filter menu icon<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
          3. Tap View Options<\/strong> and tap to enable Star Rating<\/strong>. You should now see your star labels for such photos in your library. This is similar to how a little heart icon is shown for photos you have marked as favorites.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            What do you think of this feature? Will you be using it? I sure will.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Also, new in iOS 27:<\/strong><\/p>\n