If you want to share some text or a quick screenshot on your iPhone, you don’t need to copy and paste the item manually. It’s troublesome to exit one app, open another, and switch back and forth between them. From saving an image to sending media to specific apps and people, the Share button and Share Sheet enable you to perform a myriad of functions on your iPhone almost seamlessly.

Let’s look at how to access your iPhone’s Share Sheet and explore the three sections in the menu. We’ll also briefly cover how you can customize the Share Sheet on your device.

The Basics of Sharing in iOS

To share something from your iPhone, you’ll need to access the Share Sheet. The Share Sheet is a three-sectioned sharing interface, which allows you to share content with other devices and apps, as well as carrying out actions on your selected item.

There are several ways to bring up your iPhone’s Share Sheet. In most cases, you simply use the dedicated Share button or use a context menu. But in third-party apps, you may sometimes need to tap on other buttons first to get to it.

Using the Share Button

toolbar in iphone photos app

The Share button is easy enough to recognize; it looks like a box with an arrow coming out of it. This button often shows up in the toolbar for apps like Photos and Safari. Tapping the button will grab the photo, video, or web page you’re currently viewing and open the Share Sheet for you.

Using the Context Menu

You can also share via context menus, which often appear when you tap and hold or highlight and select something on your iPhone. As an example, if you highlight text on a Safari web page, you’ll see a Share option in the horizontal context menu.

iphone context menu for highlighted text in safari app

Similarly, if you tap and hold an image you come across, you’ll also see a vertical context menu show up on your screen.

iphone context menu for selected image in safari app

Sharing in Third-Party Apps

In third-party apps such as Instagram and Reddit, the Share button may be hidden behind a More button, which is often presented as an ellipsis icon. Other apps like YouTube and Tumblr have their own Share button that looks like a forward arrow. However, tapping on it only brings up the app’s own Share menu, which offers fewer options.

Although the Share sheet is integrated into the majority of apps, keep in mind that there are still some that limit you to sharing content within its ecosystem. For example, Facebook’s in-app Share button only allows you to either share a post on your Facebook profile or via Messenger.

How to Use the Share Sheet on Your iPhone

Now, let’s look at the three sections in your Share sheet. They are:

  • Your recent contacts
  • AirDrop and your iPhone apps
  • A list of content- and app-specific actions

1. Your Recent Contacts

recent contacts in iphone share sheet

The first section shows the people you interacted with recently. The icon in the corner of their profile picture indicates the app you used to communicate with them. The same person may show up twice on this list if you used different apps to contact them lately (for example, both WhatsApp and Instagram).

Tapping on the recent contact loads the item you want to share into a chat conversation in the corresponding app. Here, you can make additional text- or any app-specific edits before you hit the Send button. If you’re sharing an item via an app that requires an internet connection to work, you’ll need to connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network or turn on your device’s mobile data beforehand.

2. AirDrop or Share to Other Apps

airdrop and iphone apps in iphone share sheet

The first button in the second section is AirDrop. AirDrop is an Apple-to-Apple wireless sharing protocol. It allows you to share from an iPhone to another iPhone, from an iPhone to a Mac, and from a Mac to an iPhone. However, take note that AirDrop only works for Apple devices. Android, Windows, and Linux users cannot receive AirDrop files.

For more information, check out our guide on how to use AirDrop. If you find that AirDrop is not working properly for you, you can refer to our tips to help troubleshoot AirDrop problems.

When you’re sharing photos with friends and want to preserve the quality and metadata of the pictures, you’ll need to tap the Options button at the very top of the menu. Then, toggle on All Photos Data and tap Done. Besides sharing photos, AirDrop is also one of the ways to share videos from your iPhone.

Next to AirDrop, the rest of the buttons in this second section are a mix of built-in and third-party apps on your iPhone. The options for each will vary depending on the app. For example, let’s say you want to share a picture. When you tap on a third-party app like Instagram, you’ll be asked whether you want to share the image as a Post, Story, or Message.

3. Share Actions

list of actions in iphone share sheet

The third section of the Share Sheet displays a list of actions you can take with a selected item. If you access the Share Sheet within a third-party app such as Reddit, some of the share actions include cross-posting and sharing a link to an existing Reddit chat conversation.

However, the actions don’t necessarily involve sharing every time. The list varies depending on the app in use and the type of file you selected. For example, other than sharing pictures, the Share Sheet in the Photos app lets you copy an image, play it as a slideshow, or set it as your iPhone’s wallpaper. In Safari, you can bookmark a web page or add it to your Favorites list.

How to Customize the Share Sheet on Your iPhone

To get a more personalized interface, you can customize the second and third sections of your iPhone’s Share Sheet. You can rearrange the order of the apps and actions or make the sheet show only the options you frequently use.

To customize the app list, scroll horizontally to the right end and tap More. Next, tap Edit to start adding, removing, or reordering the apps according to your preference. Tap Done to save. Then, tap Done again to exit the customization window.

When customizing the second section, keep in mind that you need to have an app already installed on your iPhone for it to show up in the Share sheet. Also, take note that modifications made to the second tier will change the Share sheet display across all your other iPhone apps. Changes to the third tier remain app-specific.

To customize the actions, scroll to the bottom and tap Edit Actions. Tap Done when you’ve finished. For more information, you can refer to our guide on how to customize the Share menu on your iPhone or Mac.

Share Content With Family and Friends From Your iPhone

The Share Sheet on your iPhone makes it incredibly easy to send a photo, video, or web link to other people. It’s best to use AirDrop when you’re sharing pictures with other Apple devices and want to ensure the highest quality.

But if it’s just a meme or casual screenshot, you can simply share via social media platforms and messaging apps. If needed, remember to connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi or turn on mobile data so that you can share your file successfully.