Keep in touch with friends and family

iPad makes it easy to reach the people important to you—you can catch up with text messages or video calls, start a shared photo library, and even watch movies or listen to music together.

A Group FaceTime call with four participants, including the originator. Each participant appears in a separate tile.FaceTime controls are at the bottom of the screen, including the Audio, Mic, Camera, Share Content, and End buttons. At the top of the controls are the name or Apple ID of the group or person you’re talking to, and the Info button.

Make a video call

Use FaceTime to make video calls with your friends and family.

In the FaceTime app , tap New FaceTime near the top of the screen, type the name of the person you want to call, then tap .

You can add more people to a FaceTime call—friends and family can join in at any time. Tap the screen to show the controls, tap the top of the controls, then tap Add People.

A video player fills the iPad screen. On the right side of the screen, a group Messages conversation appears in a Slide Over window. The participants in the group conversation are discussing the video on the screen.

Start a group conversation

You can send messages to a group of people you want to talk to at the same time, like members of your family.

In the Messages app , tap , type the names of the people you want to send a message to, then send the first message.

Participants in a group conversation can also collaborate on documents, share photos and videos, and even watch a movie or listen to music together.

A photo library in the Photos app. The More button at the top of the screen is selected, and the Shared Library and Shared Library Badge options are selected.

Start a shared photo library

You can use iCloud Shared Photo Library in the Photos app to share photos and videos with up to five other friends or family members. Everyone can add, edit, and caption photos and enjoy the shared photos in their memories, featured photos, and Photos widget.

To use iCloud Shared Photo Library, all members need to have iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, or macOS Ventura with iCloud Photos turned on; go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos, then turn on Sync this iPad. Then, tap Shared Library to get started.

A FaceTime call showing video content and controls from SharePlay.

Watch and listen together

With SharePlay in the FaceTime app , you can bring TV shows, movies, and music into your FaceTime calls. Synced playback and shared controls let everyone on the call see and hear the same moments at the same time. And when you listen to music, everyone can add songs to a shared queue. To start SharePlay, open a supported video or music app while on a FaceTime call, then tap Play to share with everyone.

Want to learn more? Check out Make and receive FaceTime calls on iPad, Have a group conversation in Messages on iPad, Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library in Photos on iPad, and Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together in FaceTime on iPad.

Helpful?

iPad User Guide

Keep in touch with friends and family

Make a video call

Start a group conversation

Start a shared photo library

Watch and listen together