{ "slug": "best-photo-sharing-app-iphone", "method": "primary-docs", "checkedAt": "2026-10-25", "tools": [ "curl 8 (Safari user agent, Accept-Language en-US)", "Python 3 html-to-text normalisation in check.py", "WebFetch, tried for the WhatsApp and Instagram help centres", "grep over the Viallo repository for the HEIC conversion quality" ], "question": "For the seven ways to share iPhone photos the post compares, what does each vendor say on its own pages about whether a recipient needs an account, whether photos keep full resolution, iPhone formats (HEIC, Live Photos), the free tier and the cheapest paid tier?", "inputs": [ "https://help.dropbox.com/plans/dropbox-basic-faq", "https://help.dropbox.com/share/share-outside-dropbox", "https://one.google.com/about/plans", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/108047", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/108314", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/119857", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148676", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148868", "https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/share-photos-with-icloud-shared-photo-library-iph28ac9ea81/ios", "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6131416?hl=en", "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6193313?hl=en", "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791?hl=en", "https://www.dropbox.com/plans", "https://www.viallo.app/", "https://www.viallo.app/pricing", "repo:packages/shared/src/subscription/currency.ts" ], "inputsNotRead": [ "https://faq.whatsapp.com/", "https://help.instagram.com/1631821640426723", "https://faq.whatsapp.com/1199113714248286/?locale=en_US", "https://help.dropbox.com/create-upload/camera-uploads-heic" ], "checkRun": "python3 check.py on 2026-10-25: 26 quotes found, 0 missing, 17 cells without a quote; python3 check.py --recheck on 2026-10-28 from an EU host: 28 quotes found, 0 missing, 0 blocked, 17 cells without a quote", "extraQuotes": [ { "claim": "An iCloud Shared Photo Library holds up to six people", "quote": "A shared library can include up to six participants including the organizer", "url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/share-photos-with-icloud-shared-photo-library-iph28ac9ea81/ios" }, { "claim": "Shared albums made in iOS 26 or earlier hold at most 5000 items", "quote": "Maximum combined number of photos and videos from all contributors in any one shared album: 5000", "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148868" } ], "properties": [ "viewer_needs_account", "full_resolution", "iphone_formats", "free_tier", "cheapest_paid" ], "results": [ { "option": "Viallo", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "No account needed to view", "quote": "Anyone with the link can view your photos immediately", "url": "https://www.viallo.app/" }, "full_resolution": { "value": "Full resolution", "quote": "Originals kept at full resolution.", "url": "https://www.viallo.app/" }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "HEIC accepted, stored as a full-size JPEG", "quote": null, "url": null }, "free_tier": { "value": "2 albums, 200 photos, 10 GB", "quote": "2 albums 200 photos 10 GB of storage", "url": "https://www.viallo.app/pricing" }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "Plus, 200 GB, USD 69.99 a year", "quote": [ "200 GB of storage Invite people by name Track album views and downloads Get Started with Plus", "annual: { usd: 69.99, eur: 69.99, gbp: 59.99, aud: 99.99 }," ], "url": [ "https://www.viallo.app/pricing", "repo:packages/shared/src/subscription/currency.ts" ] } }, { "option": "Apple Shared Albums", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "Albums made in iOS 27 or later: no Apple Account needed to join on the web", "quote": "Friends and family will be able to join and contribute their own photos on the web, even without an Apple Account or Apple device.", "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/108314" }, "full_resolution": { "value": "iOS 27 or later: originals at full resolution; iOS 26 or earlier: 2048 pixels on the long edge", "quote": [ "Photos and videos in a shared album are stored in iCloud in their original formats at full resolution.", "When shared, photos are reduced to 2048 pixels on the long edge" ], "url": [ "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148676", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148676" ] }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "HEIF, RAW and Live Photos supported", "quote": [ "Supported image file types and formats HEIF JPEG RAW PNG GIF TIFF", "like slo-mo, time-lapse, Live Photos, and Memory videos" ], "url": [ "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148676", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148676" ] }, "free_tier": { "value": "5 GB of iCloud; iOS 27 albums count toward it", "quote": [ "with 5 GB of storage for free", "and they count towards your iCloud storage" ], "url": [ "https://support.apple.com/en-us/108047", "https://support.apple.com/en-us/148868" ] }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "iCloud+ 50 GB, USD 0.99 a month", "quote": "United States 4 (USD) $0.99 $2.99 $9.99", "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/108047" } }, { "option": "Google Photos", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "Anyone with the link can view", "quote": "When you share a link to your photos, anyone with the link can view them.", "url": "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6131416?hl=en" }, "full_resolution": { "value": "Yes in Original quality; Storage saver compresses", "quote": [ "Original quality Photos and videos are stored in the same resolution that you took them with no change to their quality.", "Photos are compressed to save space." ], "url": [ "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791?hl=en", "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791?hl=en" ] }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "HEIC and Live Photos back up from the iPhone app", "quote": [ "Photos: .jpg, .heic, .heif", "Live photos when you use the Google Photos app on your iPhone or iPad" ], "url": [ "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6193313?hl=en", "https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6193313?hl=en" ] }, "free_tier": { "value": "15 GB per Google account", "quote": "All Google accounts come with up to 15 GB of storage", "url": "https://one.google.com/about/plans" }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "Google One Basic, 100 GB, USD 1.99 a month (price excludes tax)", "quote": [ "\"name\": \"Google One Basic\", \"description\": \"The Google One Basic plan offers 100 GB of cloud storage", "\"offers\":{\"@type\": \"Offer\", \"price\": \"1.99\", \"priceCurrency\": \"USD\"" ], "url": [ "https://one.google.com/about/plans", "https://one.google.com/about/plans" ] } }, { "option": "AirDrop", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "Nearby Apple device needed, no link", "quote": "share and receive photos, documents, and more with nearby Apple devices", "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/119857" }, "full_resolution": { "value": "Not stated on the pages checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "Not stated on the pages checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "free_tier": { "value": "Not stated on the pages checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "Not stated on the pages checked", "quote": null, "url": null } }, { "option": "WhatsApp", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "full_resolution": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "free_tier": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null } }, { "option": "Instagram", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "full_resolution": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "free_tier": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "Not checked", "quote": null, "url": null } }, { "option": "Dropbox", "viewer_needs_account": { "value": "No account needed to open a view-only link", "quote": "They don't need to create an account or log in to open the link and preview files.", "url": "https://help.dropbox.com/share/share-outside-dropbox" }, "full_resolution": { "value": "Not stated on the pages checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "iphone_formats": { "value": "Not stated on the pages checked", "quote": null, "url": null }, "free_tier": { "value": "2 GB (Basic)", "quote": "Dropbox Basic is a free plan that offers 2 GB of space", "url": "https://help.dropbox.com/plans/dropbox-basic-faq" }, "cheapest_paid": { "value": "Plus, 2 TB, USD 9.99 a month", "quote": [ "Plus Standard", "For 1 person 2 TB of storage" ], "url": [ "https://www.dropbox.com/plans", "https://www.dropbox.com/plans" ] } } ], "notes": [ "WhatsApp: faq.whatsapp.com returned only the page heading to curl and to WebFetch (the help centre renders in the browser); two article URLs returned Page not found. Nothing about WhatsApp is published from this check.", "Instagram: help.instagram.com/1631821640426723 returned only \"Help Center\" to curl and WebFetch; the facebook.com/help/instagram mirror returned only its title. Nothing about Instagram is published from this check.", "AirDrop: Apple's AirDrop page says nothing about resolution, formats or storage, so those cells say not stated rather than filling them in.", "Dropbox: the HEIC camera-uploads help URL returned 404; the pages read say nothing about resolution or formats.", "Viallo iphone_formats comes from the repository, not a public page: an uploaded HEIC is converted to JPEG with HEIC_JPEG_QUALITY = 0.92 in apps/api/src/photos/image-processing.service.ts, read on 2026-10-25. check.py skips that cell.", "Apple pricing quote: the United States row reads \"United States 4 (USD)\" because the footnote marker 4 is part of the cell text.", "Google One, 2026-10-28: the 2026-10-25 check ran from Thailand and was served Google One Lite (30 GB), a plan Google offers only in some countries. Read again from an EU host, the page's JSON-LD names Google One Basic, 100 GB, USD 1.99 a month; the cell now says so. Viallo's USD price is read from packages/shared/src/subscription/currency.ts because viallo.app/pricing shows the visitor's currency, and the Dropbox cell checks the plan and its 2 TB rather than a currency-bound price string. The USD 9.99 Dropbox price is the 2026-10-25 reading." ] }