How to Use iCloud Folder Sharing Across iOS and macOS

apple Files app Merge PDFs on iOS

iCloud Folder Sharing was first announced as a feature of iOS 13. Apple then pulled the feature back in order to work out some bugs. iOS 13.4 brought the feature back, so here’s how to use it across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

iCloud Folder Sharing

Sharing a Folder

  1. To share a folder on iOS and iPadOS, open the Files app, long press a folder, tap Share, then tap Add People. Make sure the folder is in iCloud Drive, and not within the On My Device section.
  2. On macOS, right-click a folder in iCloud Drive, choose Share, then click Add People.

On the Mac, you can choose to send the invitation link through Mail, Messages, a copied link, or AirDrop. On iOS and iPadOS you’ll see options for other apps you have installed. You’ll then see sharing options to configure, like who can access the folder and their permission level.

You can share documents in the same way. Recently, Apple updated iWork that lets you drop a document from Keynote, Numbers, or Pages into a shared folder and it will automatically start sharing.

Screenshot of icloud folder sharing on iPadOS

Change Sharing Options

You can change the sharing options for folders, but not for individual documents. So if they aren’t already in a folder, drop them into one.

  1. On macOS, select the folder, right-click and choose Share, then click Show People. You’ll see multiple options here.

Stop Sharing

The process is similar if you want to stop sharing a folder or document.

  1. Select the folder, choose Share, then click Show People. Here you have two options: Stop sharing with everyone, or Stop sharing with a specific person.
  2. Or, you can also just delete the folder to stop sharing it. To stop sharing a document, move it out of the folder.

Unfortunately you cannot hide a folder on iOS. However, what you can do instead is hide iPad app names on iPhone.

Further Reading

[Apple Releases 13.4 Update for iOS and iPadOS]

[iPad Pro Adds Mac-Like Microphone Disconnect Feature]

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