A must-have Mac app if you have an iPhone and iPad
By Roman Resenchuk,
The best mac app for iphone and ipad owners keeps every screenshot in a single library on all three devices. CloudShots does that: install it on your Mac, iPhone and iPad, sign in to the same iCloud, and one screenshot library follows you everywhere.
The Mac app that ties your devices together
I am Roman Res, an iOS and macOS developer since 2011. In my free time I built CloudShots, a pet project, because my screenshots lived on three devices that never met. The Mac had a Desktop full of files, the iPhone a camera roll, the iPad its own pile. CloudShots is a screenshot app for Mac, iPhone and iPad that puts them in one library, with a panel at the edge of the Mac screen.
What the slides show
- The cover: a must-have Mac app with on-device AI, if you work on iPhone and iPad too.
- Your screenshots live on three devices. One library on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- Take it on iPhone. It's already on your Mac. It lands in the Mac panel.
- IMG_4821.png says nothing. Named by what's inside, on device with Apple Intelligence.
- That Wi-Fi password from last week? Type "wifi". Search reads the text inside screenshots.
- Only you see them. Synced through your own iCloud. No servers of ours.
- Download on CloudShots.app.
The takes in the slides are staged, so I make no claim about speed.
How the Mac panel works
The Mac app is a panel at the edge of the screen. It shows your latest screenshots, including the ones you took on the iPhone, so you can drop one into a message without searching a folder. Space or Return opens a larger look at the selected screenshot. Because the panel stays beside your work, the screenshot you need is one move away.
How to link your Mac, iPhone and iPad
- Install CloudShots on your Mac, your iPhone and your iPad.
- Sign in to iCloud on each device with the same Apple account.
- Take a screenshot on the iPhone.
- Open the CloudShots panel on the Mac and find it there.
- Open CloudShots on the iPad to see the same library.
The sync screenshots between Mac and iPhone guide goes through each step, and the iCloud screenshot manager page explains how the library uses your iCloud.
Names and search
Every screenshot gets a name, so the library reads like a list instead of a pile of dates. Smart names are made with Apple Intelligence on supported devices; where it is unavailable, the app uses a downloaded model. You can also search a word and find every screenshot with that word inside. The find text in screenshots guide shows how.
How privacy works
Your screenshots sync through your own private iCloud. There are no CloudShots servers that hold them. Text recognition runs on your device. The privacy page lists what the app does and does not do, including what you can turn off.
Why one library matters
Most people take screenshots without a plan. A recipe, a ticket, a chat, a receipt, a map: each one is useful for a day and then buried among hundreds of images. When the library is split across a Mac Desktop, a camera roll and an iPad, finding the one you need means remembering where you took it. A single library removes that question. The newest screenshots sit together, the older ones carry names, and a word you remember is enough to find them.
Who it is for
CloudShots is for anyone who works on a Mac and also carries an iPhone or an iPad. A developer sends a terminal screenshot from the Mac panel. A traveller keeps a boarding pass from the phone on the Mac. One library replaces three piles.
What it is not
Smart features need supported devices. CloudShots is a small project built by one developer, and I keep it simple on purpose.
FAQ
How do I find a mac app for iphone and ipad screenshots?
Install CloudShots on your Mac, iPhone and iPad and sign in to the same iCloud account on each. The library then shows on all three.
What is a must-have Mac app for iPhone and iPad owners?
CloudShots is one: a screenshot app that keeps one library on your Mac, iPhone and iPad through your private iCloud.
How do I see my iPhone screenshots on my Mac?
Install CloudShots on both devices and sign in to the same iCloud account. Screenshots from the iPhone appear in the panel on the Mac.
Does CloudShots store my screenshots on its servers?
No. Your library syncs through your own private iCloud, and CloudShots has no servers that hold your screenshots.
Download on CloudShots.app.
More guides
- How to automatically sync screenshots between Mac, iPhone and iPadOne private screenshot history that syncs both ways through iCloud: Mac to iPhone and iPad, and back.
- How to find a screenshot by the text inside itSearch by the words you remember seeing, on any of your devices.
- How to free up the space your screenshots takeClear synced originals from Photos and your Mac without losing your history.
- CloudShots is an iCloud screenshot manager for Mac, iPhone and iPadWhat lives in your own iCloud, how the library limit works, and what stays private.
- One screenshot history for your Mac, iPhone and iPadOne searchable history of every screenshot from your Mac, iPhone and iPad, synced through your own iCloud. Find any shot and free up storage.
- How to pin a screenshot on screen on MacKeep a screenshot floating above your other windows on Mac with ⌘P. Pin up to 6, move and resize them, close with Esc.
- How to redact or blur text and faces in a screenshot on MacBlur, pixelate or cover text, faces and objects in a screenshot on Mac. Redaction in CloudShots is non-destructive: your original stays untouched.
- How to add a background, padding and shadow to a screenshot on MacExport a Mac screenshot with a background, padding, rounded corners and a shadow using Export with Frame in CloudShots. Copy, save or share the result.
- CloudShots compared with a premium all-in-one capture suiteHow CloudShots compares with a premium, paid all-in-one capture and annotation suite for Mac: history, text search, redaction and pricing.
- CloudShots compared with a floating screenshot toolHow CloudShots compares with a floating, pin-on-screen screenshot tool with a quick library: history, text search, redaction and pricing.
- CloudShots compared with a fast capture and text-recognition utilityHow CloudShots compares with a fast, lightweight capture utility with on-screen text recognition: history, text search, redaction and pricing.
- All guides
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