How to browse your photo collections on iPad

Your photos and videos are organized into curated collections such as Memories, Trips, People & Pets, and more. Some collections are also organized by category such as Live Photos, Selfies, Recently Saved, and Recently Viewed.

You can change how collections are displayed, reorder them, and pin your favorite collections and albums. You can also see all the collections in a category, and view collections with larger or smaller image tiles, or with no images at all.

Here’s how to browse your photo collections on iPad.

View your collections

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Swipe up to view the collections.

   Under each collection heading, swipe left or right to see different collections. Or tap the heading to see all the collections in that category.

4. Tap a collection to open it.

Quick tip: To close the sidebar, tap the Hide Sidebar button, and to bring it back, tap the Toggle Sidebar button.

Change the collections display

Collections can show larger or smaller image tiles, or none at all, and you can change the order they appear on the screen.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Tap the More button and then do any of the following:
   • Enlarge the size of the collection tiles: Tap the Large Grid button.
   • Reduce the size of the collection tiles: Tap the Small Grid button.
   • Show the default display: Tap the Mixed Grid button.
   • Hide the collection tiles: Tap Collapse All.
   • Reorder collections: Tap Reorder, drag a collection into a new position, and then tap the Done button.
   • Choose which photo library to include in collections (if you’re part of an iCloud Shared Photo Library): Tap Both Libraries, Personal Library, or Shared Library.

Quick tip: For a single collection, tap the Forward button to hide its image tiles, then tap it again to stop hiding them.

By default, videos and Live Photos automatically play when you tap Collections. To turn autoplay off, tap your account in the top-right corner, then turn off Auto-Play Motion and Loop Videos.

Reorder collections

You can change the order of collections so the ones you go to most frequently appear first. For example, if you frequently view your Shared Albums, you can move them above other collections.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Reorder. Then drag a collection into a new position.
4. Tap Done.

You can also tap the More button, then tap Reorder.

Pin collections and albums

The Pinned collection at the top of the screen holds whatever you choose, so your most-viewed collections are easy to find.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Tap Edit (to the right of the Pinned heading), then do any of the following:
   • Remove a pinned collection: Tap the Remove button and tap the Trash button.
   • Pin a collection: Tap the suggested collection you want to add, or tap Any Collection or Album to see more options.
   • Reorder pinned collections: Touch and hold a pinned collection. Then drag it to a new position.

     Note: Collections with the Remove button next to them are currently in your pinned collections. Collections with the Add button next to them are not yet pinned.

4. When you’re done, tap the Close button.

Quick tip: To add a collection to Pinned, touch and hold it and tap Pin. To take it off Pinned later, touch and hold it again, then tap Unpin.

Filter and sort items in a collection

Filter items in a collection by category, like Edited, Rating, or Captured by Me, or sort them so the newest or oldest show first.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap Collections, then tap a collection to open it.
3. Tap the Sort and Filter button and then do either of the following:
   • Filter items: Tap the filter you want to apply.
   • Sort items: Tap Sort By. Tap Newest First or Oldest First.

See also

• View your memories in Photos on iPad
• Create and work with photo albums on iPad
• Search for photos and videos on iPad