The Photos app lets you view the photos and videos:

  • Taken with Camera on iPhone

  • Stored in iCloud 

  • Shared from others 

  • Synced from your computer 

  • Saved from an email, text message, webpage, or screenshot



Moments view of Photos. The Collections button appears in the upper left, the Select button in the upper right. The Photos, Shared, and Albums tabs appear along the bottom



The Photos app includes tabs for Photos, Shared, and Albums.

  • Tap Photos to see all your still photos, Live Photos, and videos, organized by Years, Collections, and Moments. To quickly browse the photos in a collection or year, touch and hold a thumbnail, then drag.

  • Tap Shared to see photos and videos you shared with others or that others shared with you. 

  • Tap Albums to see how photos and videos are organized by albums. 

View all your photos and videos. By default, Photos displays a representative subset of your photos when you view by year or by collection. To see all your photos and videos, go to Settings > Photos & Camera, then turn off Summarize Photos.


Browse through your photos and videos. While viewing a photo, swipe the thumbnails to browse through your other photos. Tap a thumbnail to view a photo. Drag the photo down to continue browsing Moments or Albums.



Full-screen view of a photo with thumbnails below it. The Edit button appears in the upper right. The Share, Favorite, and Trash Can icons appear at the bottom


Press to peek at a photo or video. On iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, press the thumbnail in a collection or album to peek at a photo or video. Swipe up to see a list of quick actions, or press a little deeper to pop open the photo or video to full screen. 


Play a Live Photo. On iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, press the Live Photo in full screen. On other iOS 9 or later devices, touch and hold the Live Photo in full screen.


Note: You can also use a Live Photo as the wallpaper on the Lock screen (iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus). 


Make a still photo from a Live Photo. View the Live Photo, tap the share button, tap the duplicate button, then tap Duplicate as Still Photo.


Open the most recent photo from the Home screen. On iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, press Photos, then choose the Most Recent Photo quick action. 


View by location. While viewing by year or by collection, tap the arrow button. Photos and videos that include location information appear on a map, showing where they were taken.


While viewing a photo or video, tap to show and hide the controls. Swipe left or right to go forward or backward.


Search photos. From Albums or Photos, tap the search button to search by date (month and year), or place (city and state). Search also keeps your Recent Searches on hand and gives you a list of suggested searches.


Ask Siri. Say something like:

  • “Show me photos from July”

  • “Show me photos of California”

  • “Show me photos from my Vacation album”


Zoom in or out. Double-tap, or pinch a photo. When you zoom in, you can drag to see other parts of the photo.


Play a video. Tap the play button. To toggle between full screen and fit-to-screen, double-tap the screen.


Play a slideshow. While viewing a photo, tap the share button, then tap Slideshow. Select options, then tap Start Slideshow. To stop the slideshow, tap the screen. To set other slideshow options, go to Settings > Photos & Camera.