Adobe Lightroom Cloud photos not showing for others

Hello!

​This is a frustrating behavior, especially when your workflow depends on real-time collaboration. Since uploading via a web browser works, it confirms that your account and the album permissions are fine. The issue lies within the Lightroom Desktop (Mac) sync engine, which is failing to 'flag' the new assets as shared during the background upload process.

​Here are the specific steps to resolve this sync deadlock:

1. ​Check Sync Status & Pause/Resume: Click the Cloud icon at the top right of your MacBook app. Even if it says 'Synced,' click Pause Sync, wait for 10 seconds, and then click Resume. This often forces the app to re-check the 'Sharing' metadata for each file in that album.
2. ​Verify 'Shared' Toggle at the Album Level: In the Lightroom Desktop app, right-click the album in the left panel and select Share & Connect. Ensure that 'Allow contributors' and 'Show metadata' are toggled correctly. Sometimes, toggling these OFF and then ON again forces a server-side refresh.
3. ​Rebuild Sync Data (Advanced): If the issue persists, your local sync database might be corrupted.
   • ​Go to Lightroom > Preferences > Lightroom Sync.
   • ​Hold down the Alt (Option) key on your keyboard. You will see a hidden button appear: 'Rebuild Sync Data'.
   • ​Click it. Lightroom will restart and rescan your library to ensure everything in the cloud matches your local app.
4. ​Check for Network/Firewall Throttling: Since the browser works but the app doesn't, ensure that the Adobe Desktop Service is not being throttled by macOS 'Screen Time' or a third-party Firewall. These can sometimes block the specific 'Sharing' packets while allowing the raw image data to pass through.

​Question: Are the other users seeing 'Zero photos' or just 'Spinning circles' (gray boxes)? If it’s gray boxes, the metadata has synced but the smart previews are stuck. If it’s zero, then the 'Sharing' flag is definitely not being sent from your Mac."