Sharing and displaying photos among family members is hardly new, but unlike getting a few school photos of the grandkids in the mail, doing it digitally can be, well … complicated. Most online photo-sharing sites aren’t simple to use, the same goes for those digital picture frames, and not everyone wants to share pictures on Facebook for the whole world to see. It’s a shame, really, because enjoying family photos should be one of life’s simpler pleasures.

That’s why a free new app called Familiar has been getting so much buzz. You don’t have to have to be a digital native (which increasingly means “in grade school”) to figure out how to use it. And it lets you share photos privately – right to your computer or tablet’s screensaver slideshow.

Here’s how it works: Family members can sign up for the service and invite other family and friends via email. That part’s simple too. If you invite a family member to join, Familiar automatically creates an account for that person. All they have to do is click “download” and enter their name. That’s it. No tedious registration process. (Tip: Forward this article to your daughter/son/grandkid and get them to invite you.)

After that, everyone in your Familiar group gets to sit back and enjoy the new photos as any one member adds them. So, if your kids across the country share some snaps of the family ski trip, they will automatically appear on your computer or tablet’s screensaver, or in your smartphone’s photo wallet. If you have a big family, you might turn on your computer to find new photos every day.

You and your group members can add images using Familiar on the web; via a Familiar iPhone or Android smartphone app; or through popular photo-sharing applications like Flickr, Picasa, Instagram or even Facebook.

The Familiar app is available on Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire devices. Click here to learn more about it and sign up at Familiar.com.

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