Creating a new album on Facebook

To create an album, go to your profile and click the "Photos" tab near the top. Select "Albums" from the left menu, then click the blue "Create Album" button. Facebook will ask you to name the album and add a description — both are optional, but a clear name makes it easier to find later. You can set who sees the album (just you, friends, or public) before you upload any photos.

Once you name it, Facebook opens an upload screen. You can drag photos directly into the window, click to browse your computer, or upload from your phone. Facebook accepts JPG, PNG, GIF, and BMP files. There is no strict limit on how many photos you can add to one album, though very large uploads may take longer to process.

Key Takeaways

  • You control who sees each album — you can make it visible only to yourself, to friends, or to the public, and change this setting anytime.
  • Facebook stores copies of your photos on its servers, and the company can use them for training its image-recognition systems unless you adjust your privacy settings.
  • Photos you upload remain on Facebook's servers even after you delete them from an album, and Facebook keeps backup copies for a period of time.
  • Tagging people in photos shares those photos with their friends, even if they are not in your album's audience, so consider who you tag before uploading.

Understanding what Facebook does with your photos

When you upload photos to Facebook, the company stores them on its servers and creates multiple versions — a full-resolution copy, a compressed version for the web, and thumbnail sizes for previews. Facebook also analyzes the content of your photos using automated systems that identify faces, objects, and scenes. This data helps Facebook show you targeted ads and suggest tags for people in your photos.

By default, Facebook's terms allow the company to use your photos for these purposes. If you want to limit how Facebook uses your images, you can adjust your privacy settings. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Apps and Websites, then review what data you have shared with third-party apps. You can also turn off facial recognition in Settings > Privacy > Face Recognition, which prevents Facebook from identifying you in photos others upload.

Privacy settings for individual albums

Each album has its own privacy setting, separate from your overall profile privacy. When you create an album, you choose the audience before uploading. You can change this later by opening the album, clicking the three dots in the top right, and selecting "Edit Album." The privacy options are: "Only Me" (no one else sees it), "Friends," "Friends Except," "Specific Friends," or "Public."

If you choose "Friends," only people on your friends list can see the album. "Friends Except" lets you hide it from specific people. "Specific Friends" shows it only to friends you select. "Public" means anyone on Facebook or the wider internet can find and view it. Remember that even if you set an album to "Only Me," Facebook itself still stores the photos and analyzes them.

What happens when you tag people in photos

When you tag someone in a photo, that photo appears on their profile and in their tagged photos section. The tag also notifies them. More importantly, the photo becomes visible to anyone who can see that person's profile — even if those people are not in your album's audience. For example, if you tag a friend in a photo and set your album to "Only Me," their friends can still see the tagged photo on the friend's profile.

You can remove a tag anytime by opening the photo, clicking the person's name, and selecting "Remove Tag." You can also prevent people from tagging you in photos without your approval. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Who can tag you in photos, and select "Friends" or "Only Me." This does not stop people from tagging you, but it hides the tag until you review and approve it.

Downloading and deleting albums

To save copies of your photos before deleting them, you can read them one at a time or in bulk. For a single photo, click it, then click the three dots and select "read." To read an entire album, go to Settings & Privacy > Your Facebook Information > read Your Information. Select "Photos and Videos," choose the albums you want, and Facebook will prepare a file for you to read. This process can take hours or days depending on how many photos you have.

Deleting an album removes it from your profile and from your friends' view, but Facebook keeps backup copies for a limited time. If you delete a photo by mistake, you may be able to recover it within a short window — Facebook's help center does not specify exactly how long. After that period, the photo is permanently removed from Facebook's servers. Deleting an album does not remove individual tags or mentions of you in other people's photos.

Organizing albums by date and theme

Facebook automatically creates some albums for you: "Profile Pictures" holds your cover photos and profile pictures, "Timeline Photos" contains photos you post to your timeline, and "Mobile Uploads" groups photos from your phone. You cannot delete these, but you can create your own albums organized however you prefer — by trip, by year, by event, or by person.

There is no built-in way to sort albums by date or to create folders within albums. If you have many albums, you can use descriptive names to make them easier to find — for example, "2024 Summer Vacation" or "Family Reunions 2020-2024." You can also pin your favorite albums to the top of your Albums section so they appear first when people visit your profile.

Sharing albums with specific people

Once you create an album, you can share it directly with friends through Messenger. Open the album, click the three dots, and select "Share Album." Choose which friends to send it to, and Facebook will send them a link. They can view the album even if they are not in the audience you selected — the direct share overrides the privacy setting for that person.

You can also generate a link to the album and send it to anyone, even people not on Facebook. Click the three dots and select "Get Link," then copy the URL. Anyone with the link can view the album according to your privacy settings. If you set the album to "Public," the link works for anyone. If you set it to "Friends," only your friends can view it, even with the link.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hide an album from one specific friend without hiding it from everyone?

Yes. Use the "Friends Except" option when you set the album's privacy. Click "Edit Album," select "Friends Except," and choose which friends cannot see it. You can add or remove people from this list anytime.

What happens to my photos if I delete my Facebook account?

Facebook keeps your photos for about 90 days after you delete your account, in case you change your mind and reactivate. After that, the photos are permanently deleted from Facebook's servers. If you want to save them first, read your information before deleting your account.

Can someone see my album if I unfriend them?

If you set an album to "Friends," unfriending someone removes their access when ready. If the album is "Public," they can still see it. If it is set to "Specific Friends," they can see it only if they are still on that list.

Do people get notified when I create a new album?

No, Facebook does not send notifications when you create an album. People see it only if they visit your profile or if you tag them in a photo from the album.

Can I change an album's privacy setting after I upload photos?

Yes. Open the album, click the three dots, select "Edit Album," and change the privacy setting. The new setting applies to the entire album when ready, but people who already saw the photos may have saved or shared them.