Open the shared album in Photos and remove your ex. Then check the two other places where Apple shares photos with people: Shared Library and Family Sharing. It takes a few minutes.
First, think about your safety. A person you remove can get a notice. If you worry about how your ex will react, read the Safety Check section below before you change anything.
Shared Album
Menu names depend on your iOS version.
iOS 27 or later, album you created:
- Open Photos and tap the shared album.
- Tap the Manage Shared Album button.
- Tap your ex.
- Tap Remove Participant.
iOS 26, album you created:
- Open the shared album.
- Tap the More button, then tap the album name.
- Tap your ex, then tap Remove Subscriber.
If your ex made the album and you are a subscriber, tap the More button and the album name, then tap Unsubscribe.
Photos that your ex already saved from the album stay in their library. Apple says so, and removing them does not change it.
Shared Library
A Shared Library holds photos from up to 6 people. To find it, go to Settings, Apps, Photos, Shared Library.
- The creator can tap your ex and choose Remove from Shared Library.
- If you are a participant, you can tap Leave Shared Library at any time. You choose to copy everything, or only what you added.
- Only the creator can tap Delete Shared Library.
Apple sends a notice to a person you remove, and that person gets a copy of the shared items. When the creator deletes the library, Apple sends a notice to everyone.
Family Sharing
Open Settings and tap Family. If you do not see it, tap your name first.
To leave, tap your name, then Stop Using Family Sharing. The organizer taps your ex and chooses Remove from Sharing Group. When you leave, you lose access to the purchases and services that the group shares.
Safety Check reviews everything at once
Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Safety Check. With Manage Sharing & Access, you stop sharing with one person or app at a time. Emergency Reset stops sharing with all people and apps. It also lets you review the devices on your Apple Account and change your Apple Account password.
Safety Check cannot change social media sharing or devices that use a different Apple Account. For photos on your own phone, see how to stop sharing photos with family.
Keep the next private photos out of shared spaces
A photo in Photos can slip into a shared space by mistake. A photo in Vault9 is not in the Photos app, so no shared album or Shared Library holds it. Vault9 has no sharing feature and no account.
To move a photo, import it from Photos, check that it opens in the vault, and delete the original in Photos yourself. Copies that are already in Photos, Messages or other places stay there.
Sources
- Apple Support: Use Shared Albums in Photos (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Platform Security: Manage photos sharing settings (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Leave iCloud Shared Photo Library (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Support: Leave or remove a member from a Family Sharing group (checked 2026-11-06)
- Apple Personal Safety guide: Safety Check (checked 2026-11-06)
