Creating a new album on Facebook

To create an album on Facebook, 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 if you want one — both are optional, though a name makes it easier to find later.

Once you name the album, you can start adding photos. Click "Add Photos/Videos" and choose images from your computer or phone. You can upload multiple photos at once by selecting several files together. Facebook lets you drag and drop photos directly into the album window on most browsers, which is faster than clicking through a file picker each time.

After you upload photos, you can add captions to individual images by clicking on them and typing in the caption box. You can also tag people in photos by clicking the "Tag Photo" button — this notifies them and links the photo to their profile. When you are finished adding and organizing photos, click "Done" to save the album.

Key Takeaways

  • Albums are created from your profile's Photos tab, and you can name them anything you want to organize photos by trip, event, or time period.
  • You can upload multiple photos at once and add captions or tags to individual images after they are in the album.
  • Facebook albums have privacy settings that control who can see them — you can make them visible to everyone, friends only, or just yourself.
  • You can rearrange photos within an album by dragging them to a new position, and you can delete or edit individual photos without removing the whole album.
  • Existing photos already on your profile can be moved into a new album using the "Add to Album" option on each photo.

Setting privacy for your album

When you create an album, Facebook sets it to the same privacy level as your profile by default. To change who can see it, click the privacy icon (usually a globe or lock symbol) next to the album name. You can choose "Public" so anyone on Facebook can see it, "Friends" to limit it to people on your friends list, "Specific Friends" to pick individual people, or "Only Me" to keep it private.

You can change the privacy setting anytime after creating the album. Click the three dots next to the album name and select "Edit Album," then adjust the privacy option. This does not affect photos you have already shared in other places — it only controls who sees the album itself when they visit your profile.

Moving existing photos into an album

If you have already posted photos to your profile or timeline, you can move them into an album without uploading them again. Go to the photo you want to move, click the three dots in the corner, and select "Add to Album." Choose an existing album or create a new one. The photo stays on your timeline but also appears in the album.

You can add the same photo to multiple albums if you want — for example, a photo from a vacation could go in both a "Summer 2024" album and a "Beach Trips" album. Removing a photo from an album does not delete the photo from your profile, it just removes it from that specific collection.

Organizing and editing photos within an album

Once photos are in an album, you can rearrange them by clicking and dragging them to a new position. The order you set is how they appear when someone views the album. You can also set a cover photo for the album — this is the image that shows when people see the album listed on your profile. Click the three dots on the photo you want as the cover and select "Make Album Cover."

To edit a photo's caption after it is uploaded, click on the photo and look for the caption box below it. You can also add or remove tags, delete the photo entirely, or rotate it if it was uploaded sideways. These edits do not affect the original file on your computer — they only change how it appears on Facebook.

Downloading and backing up your albums

Facebook does not have a built-in button to download an entire album at once, but you can download individual photos. Click on a photo, then click the three dots and select "Download." Your browser will save the image file to your computer in its original resolution.

If you want to back up all photos from an album, you can use Facebook's download tool. Go to Settings, click "Your Information," then select "Download Your Information." Choose "Photos and Videos" and select which albums to include. Facebook will prepare a file that you can download — this process can take several hours for large albums.

Sharing albums with others

You can share an album link with people who are not on your friends list by clicking the three dots next to the album name and selecting "Share." This generates a link you can send via email, text, or any messaging app. The person who receives the link can view the album if your privacy settings allow it — if the album is set to "Only Me," the link will not work for anyone else.

You can also invite specific people to contribute photos to an album you create. Click the three dots, select "Edit Album," and toggle on "Allow Contributors." Then add the names or email addresses of people you want to invite. They will receive a notification and can upload photos directly to the album without needing to be your friend.

Deleting albums and photos

To delete an entire album, go to your Albums page, click the three dots next to the album name, and select "Delete Album." Facebook will ask you to confirm — deleting an album removes all photos in it from your profile. If you only want to remove one photo, click on it, select the three dots, and choose "Delete Photo" instead.

Deleted photos and albums cannot be recovered, so make sure you have downloaded any images you want to keep before removing them. If you delete a photo that was tagged with other people, the tag is also removed, but the photo remains on their profile if they uploaded it themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create an album on someone else's profile?

No, you can only create albums on your own profile. However, if someone has allowed contributors on their album, you can upload photos to it. You can also tag yourself in photos that other people upload, which adds those photos to a "Photos of You" album on your profile automatically.

What happens to an album if I deactivate my Facebook account?

If you deactivate your account, your albums become hidden from other people but are not deleted. If you reactivate your account later, the albums and all photos in them will be restored. If you permanently delete your account instead of deactivating it, all albums and photos are deleted permanently after 30 days.

Can I make an album that only certain friends can see?

Yes, use the "Specific Friends" privacy option when you create or edit the album. Click the privacy icon next to the album name, select "Specific Friends," and type in the names of the people you want to see it. Everyone else on your friends list will not be able to view that album.

How many photos can I put in one album?

Facebook does not have a strict limit on album size, but albums with thousands of photos may load slowly. Most people organize large photo collections into multiple albums by date or event instead of putting everything in one place. There is no penalty for creating many albums.

Can I edit the date on an album?

Facebook does not provide a way to change the album's creation date directly. The date shown is when you created the album. You can add a description that mentions when the photos were taken, but the official date stamp cannot be edited after the album is created.