Apple patents camera app that auto-sorts photos into shared or private albums
Apple has filed a patent for a system that automatically decides where to save new photos or videos based on specific rules. When you take a picture, the device checks if it meets certain criteria to be added to a group album shared with others, or keeps it in your personal library if it does not.
In the filing’s own words
The present disclosure generally relates to methods and user interfaces concerning media libraries, such as methods and user interfaces for managing one or more media libraries, methods and user interfaces for notifying participants of changes to one or more media libraries, methods and user interfaces for managing captured media for one or more media libraries, methods and user interfaces for recommending media items for one or more media libraries, and methods and user interfaces for managing duplicate media.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer system configured to communicate with a display generation component and one or more cameras, comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: while displaying, via the display generation component, a representation of a field-of-view of the one or more cameras, detecting a request to capture media corresponding to the field-of-view of the one or more cameras; in response to detecting the request to capture the media corresponding to the field-of-view of the one or more cameras, capturing a media item corresponding to the field-of-view of the one or more cameras; and after capturing the media item corresponding to the field-of-view of the one or more cameras and in accordance with a determination that the computer system is configured to share a collection of media items with a set of one or more other users: in accordance with a determination that a set of media-sharing criteria is satisfied, automatically adding the media item to a shared collection of media items; and in accordance with a determination that the set of media-sharing criteria is not satisfied, automatically adding the media item to a personal collection of media items without adding the media item to the shared collection of media items.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- USER INTERFACES FOR MANAGING MEDIA LIBRARIES
- Publication number
- US20260288308A1
- Application number
- 19695304
- Filed
- Jun 2, 2026
- Published
- Sep 24, 2026
- Inventors
- 6
- Claims
- 44
Classified under
G06F 3/0482 Physics & computingG06F 3/0484 Physics & computingG06F 16/435 Physics & computingG06F 16/438 Physics & computingG06F 16/447 Physics & computingMore from Apple in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.