Share files from iCloud Drive on iPhone safely.

Quick answer: In the Files app, open a location such as iCloud Drive, touch and hold the file or folder, tap Share, then choose Share a Link for ongoing iCloud collaboration or Send a Copy when you only want to hand someone a duplicate through Messages, Mail, or another app. For a link, set whether People you choose or Anyone with the link can open it and whether they can edit or only view and download. Apple notes that the link to a shared file includes its name, so avoid forwarding sensitive titles when the name itself is private.

Share a Link versus Send a Copy

Share a Link keeps one item in iCloud Drive and lets invited people—or anyone with the URL, depending on your setting—open that hosted copy. Changes you make can appear for collaborators when they refresh or reopen the file. Send a Copy creates a separate transfer: the recipient keeps their own copy, and your original link settings do not apply to that attachment.

Apple’s send files from the Files app guide recommends inviting people to view or edit iCloud Drive content instead of sending copies when the files already live there. Apple’s share files and folders in iCloud Drive guide describes collaboration, permissions, and when moving a shared file breaks the old link.

Create a Share a Link invitation

1. Open the Files app and browse to iCloud Drive or another location that stores the item.
2. Touch and hold the file or folder, then tap Share.
3. Tap the menu under the item’s title, then tap Share a Link.
4. Tap the access row (for example People you choose can edit) and set who can open the link and whether they may edit or only view and download.
5. Choose how to send the invitation and complete the share sheet.

If you share a folder, Apple states that items you or other participants add to that folder are automatically shared. Treat the folder like a live window into everything placed inside it.

Review permissions before you paste a link

1. Before you send, confirm whether access is People you choose or Anyone with the link.
2. Under New Participants Can, choose Can make changes only when edits are intended; otherwise prefer view and download only.
3. Read the file or folder name on the share sheet. Apple warns that the link includes the name, so renaming sensitive items before sharing may reduce accidental disclosure.

Anyone with the link can be forwarded like any URL. Prefer People you choose when you need a shorter invite list. This Files workflow is separate from a Share iCloud Link in Photos, which hosts selected photos and videos from your library.

Change or stop sharing later

1. In Files, tap Shared.
2. Touch and hold the folder or file, then tap Manage Shared Folder or Manage Shared File.
3. Tap Sharing Options to change access for everyone, or use Copy Link / Add Participant when those actions apply.

Apple notes that changing access from Anyone with the link to People you choose invalidates the old URL for everyone until you send a new invitation. Moving a shared file to another location also breaks the link. Stopping share does not delete copies someone already downloaded from the link or from a separate Send a Copy transfer.

Send a Copy when you need a one-off file

1. Touch and hold the file in Files, then tap Share.
2. Tap the menu under the title, then tap Send a Copy.
3. Pick AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or another destination and tap Send.

For large files, Apple suggests tapping Compress before Share to send a ZIP copy. Review AirDrop limits when you send nearby instead of a hosted link.

Before you link-share private files

• An iCloud Drive link publishes access through Apple’s sharing service. It is not the same as storing a file only on your iPhone or inside an encrypted vault.
• Password-locking a PDF in Preview protects that document file; it does not change who can open a separate iCloud Drive link you create for another copy. See how to password-protect a PDF on iPhone.
• Importing into Ego leaves other copies in place and does not revoke links you already sent for files still in iCloud Drive. Read what happens to the original after import.
• Hiding an app or locking the device does not close an active share link for items still in iCloud Drive.

Ego is in development for iPhone; its public App Store release has not launched. When available, it is designed as separate device-encrypted vaults on your iPhone. Saving or exporting from an unlocked vault is intended to require explicit confirmation because the copy leaves Ego’s encryption and may sync or back up elsewhere. Ego does not replace or manage iCloud Drive link sharing. Read current product and availability details; do not assume vault items stay private if you later upload or link-share them from Files.