Photo gallery

Every book has a dedicated Photos page that shows every approved or pending photo as a contact-sheet grid. It's a faster way to scan visual contributions than scrolling through full submissions.

Where to find it

Open your book and click Photos in the book navigation. The URL is /books/<your-book-slug>/gallery/.

What's on the page

  • Approved photos and pending photos appear together so you can see the full picture set in one view. Rejected photos are excluded.
  • Each tile shows the photo, the contributor's name, and the submission date.
  • Click the photo itself to open the full-resolution file in a new tab.
  • For approved photos, View memory takes you to the full submission page. For pending photos, Review jumps to the moderation queue so you can approve or reject.
  • If your book's plan includes media downloads, a Download link appears on each approved photo. This gives you a web-friendly copy (HEIC photos are converted to JPEG so they open everywhere). An Original link sits beside it for the untouched file the contributor uploaded: the exact format and full resolution. The Original is available to anyone who can use the Download link. (Whole-book and bulk exports bundle web-friendly copies; use the per-photo Original link to grab an untouched file.)
  • Apple Live Photos appear here too, marked with a LIVE badge; they play on hover (desktop) or press-and-hold (mobile) and otherwise behave like any other photo.

Pagination

Books with many photos paginate at 60 photos per page. Use the page links at the bottom to navigate.

Who can see it

The owner Photos page is owner-only. Members and contributors view individual photos through the public book page or via the share link.

Sharing a photo gallery with visitors

If you'd like family and friends to browse all your photos in one place (not just scroll through submissions inline), you can turn on a public photo gallery:

  1. Open your book's Settings page.
  2. Under Sharing, check Public photo gallery.
  3. Save.

A subtle “View all photos →” link will appear on your public book page. Visitors who click it land on a dedicated grid of every approved photo. Tapping a photo opens the full memory (with the contributor's name, story, and any other media), not a raw image URL.

What visitors see

  • Only approved photos. Pending submissions are never visible to visitors.
  • Photos from public submissions only. Memories you've marked private stay private.
  • No moderation chrome: no pending badges, no review links, no admin tools.

Visibility rules

The public gallery follows your book's existing visibility setting:

  • Public books: anyone can browse the gallery.
  • Link-only books: visitors need the share token (the same one that lets them see your book).
  • Private books: the public gallery toggle isn't available. Set visibility to Public or Link-only first.

If you switch a book's visibility from Public/Link-only back to Private, the public gallery turns off automatically.

Ready to try it? Create your free memory book