How to turn your Mac into a digital photo frame

By Kshitij Koranne, 24 October 2026

You already own a very good screen, and it's on most of the day. Here are four ways to make your Mac show photos of the people you love, and what each one is good and bad at.

1. Use the Photos screen saver

This is the closest thing macOS has to a classic photo frame. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, click Wallpaper, then Screen Saver (you may need to scroll down). Under Other, click Photos, and use Options to adjust it. Then, under Start Screen Saver, set how long your Mac should sit idle before it starts.

Good for: full-screen photos while you're away from the desk. The catch: you only see it when your Mac is idle, so you're never looking at it while you work.

2. Make one photo your wallpaper

In System Settings, click Wallpaper, then Add Photo. Or select a photo in the Photos app, click Share and choose Set Wallpaper. It's quick and free.

Good for: one lovely, calm picture. The catch: every open window hides it.

3. Add the Photos widget to the desktop

On macOS Sonoma and later, Control-click an empty spot on the desktop, choose Edit Widgets, and drag the Photos widget onto the desktop. Point it at an album that holds just the photos you want.

Good for: a tidy, changing view of your library. The catch: it's one small rectangle showing one picture at a time.

4. Hang a few photos on a string

This is Picture-Line, which I make. Instead of a slideshow, you get a handful of photos in instant-photo frames, clipped to a string across the top of your desktop and sitting just behind your windows. Close or move a window and they're there. Write a caption under each one and a note on the back.

It's meant to be glanced at, not watched, so it uses almost no power when nothing is moving. It's free for up to five photos, and $4.99 once unlocks twelve photos, colours, frames and festival decorations. It needs macOS 14 or later, and it works on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Good for: a few photos that you want in the corner of your eye all day. The catch: it's a few photos, not your whole library.

Which one should you pick?

• Want a big picture while you're away? Use the screen saver.
• Want zero setup? Make one photo your wallpaper.
• Want your library rotating on its own? Use the Photos widget.
• Want a few people always in view while you work? Try the string.

They work together too: a wallpaper, a screen saver and a string can all run at once.

Keeping your photos private

All four options stay on your Mac. Picture-Line has no account and sends nothing anywhere. If you're sharing your screen on a call, hide the string first from its menu bar icon.