Securely control who you share content with from Mac

AirDrop is an easy way to share images, documents or other files between Apple devices that are near each other. You can set it up so that everyone near you can share, only your contacts can share or no one can share.

1. On your Mac, click the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window.

2. In the Finder sidebar, click AirDrop.

3. In the AirDrop window, click the “Allow me to be discovered by” pop-up menu, then choose an option that works best for you.

You can use Control Centre on Mac to quickly turn AirDrop on or off and choose who can send items to you using AirDrop.

1. On your Mac, click Control Centre in the menu bar.

2. Do any of the following:

   • Turn AirDrop on or off: Click the AirDrop icon .

   • Choose who can send items to you: Click the arrow button next to AirDrop, then choose an option that works best for you.

To learn more, see:

• Use AirDrop on your Mac to send files to devices near you in the macOS User Guide

With Shared Albums in Photos on Mac, you choose the photos and videos you want to share and the people you want to share them with. You can also change your sharing settings at any time. If you stop sharing a photo or an album with someone, they don’t receive a notification and their access to the shared album and its contents is removed.

If you’re a subscriber to a shared album, you can delete any photos that you shared. You can also select Unsubscribe to unsubscribe from the shared album.

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac, then click a shared album under Shared Albums in the sidebar.

2. Click the People button in the toolbar.

3. In the Invite People field, do one of the following:

   • Invite new subscribers: Enter an email address.

     If the person you’re inviting doesn’t use iCloud, you can select the Public Website tickbox to create a URL for your shared album. Anyone with this URL can view and download the shared album’s contents.

   • Remove subscribers: Select the subscriber’s email address, then press Delete.

   • Reinvite a subscriber: Click the down arrow beside the subscriber’s name and choose Resend Invitation.

To learn more, see:

• What are shared albums in Photos on Mac? in the Photos User Guide

• Subscribe to shared albums in Photos on Mac in the Photos User Guide

iCloud Shared Photo Library lets you share photos and videos seamlessly with up to five other people. When you contribute photos and videos to iCloud Shared Photo Library, they move out of your Personal Library and into the Shared Library. With Shared Library, you can choose what to share, or automatically share content straight from the camera. All participants have equal permissions to add, edit and delete content in the Shared Library, while the person who set up the Shared Library, the library creator, provides iCloud storage for all the content.

If you’re the library creator, you can remove participants from the Shared Library or delete your shared library at any time. When you remove a participant from your Shared Library, they receive a notification and can copy all the items in the Shared Library to their Personal Library. A participant can’t remove other participants. If a participant has been part of the Shared Library for less than 7 days, they can only retrieve the items they contributed.

1. In the Photos app on your Mac, choose Photos > Settings, then click Shared Library.

2. Click the More button next to the person you want to remove, then choose Remove.

3. Click Remove from Shared Library.

To learn more, see:

• What is iCloud Shared Photo Library in Photos on Mac? in the Photos User Guide

Participants can choose to leave a Shared Library at any time. If you’re the organiser of a Shared Library, you can delete it. When you delete the Shared Library, all participants receive a notification and can choose to keep all the items in the Shared Library in their Personal Library.

If you leave a Shared Library less than 7 days after joining, you can keep only the items you contributed.

1. In the Photos app on your Mac, choose Photos > Settings, then click Shared Library.

2. Click Leave Shared Library (if you’re a participant) or Delete Shared Library (if you’re the organiser).

3. Select one of the following options:

   • Keep everything: Add all the photos in the Shared Library to your Personal Library.

   • Keep only what I contributed: Add only photos that you contributed to the Shared Library to your Personal Library.

4. Click Delete Shared Library, then click Delete Shared Library again to confirm the deletion.

To learn more, see:

• What is iCloud Shared Photo Library in Photos on Mac? in the Photos User Guide

• Leave or delete a Shared Library in the Photos User Guide

If you previously invited a person to share your calendar, you can manage their ability to edit the calendar or you can stop sharing the calendar with that person.

If you’re the Calendar owner and would like to stop sharing, tap the name of the subscriber for options. If you’re a subscriber, you can select Delete Calendar to remove the shared calendar.

1. Open the Calendar app on your Mac.

2. Do one of the following:

   • On your Mac using macOS 13 or later: Choose Calendar > Settings.

   • On your Mac using macOS 12 or earlier: Choose Calendar > Preferences.

3. Click Accounts, select the calendar account, then click Delegation.

   A CalDAV account appears in the “Accounts I can access” list.

   Note: For a Microsoft Exchange account, click the Add button , then enter the username of the person who gave you access.

To learn more, see:

• Share calendar accounts on Mac in the Calendar User Guide

You can share a Tab Group and collaborate with people who use iCloud. A shared tab group can have a total of 100 participants. Participants can add and remove tabs from the Tab Group, and everyone sees updates in real time.

Everyone you collaborate with must be signed in with their Apple ID, have Safari turned on in iCloud settings and have two-factor authentication turned on.

1. In the Safari app on your Mac, click the Collaborate button in the toolbar.

2. Click Manage Shared Tab Group, then do any of the following:

   • Remove someone: Click a name, click Remove Access, then click Continue.

   • Stop Sharing with everyone: Click Stop Sharing, then click Continue.

   • Add someone: Click Share With More People, then click Messages to invite them.

To learn more, see:

• Add and remove people from a shared Tab Group in the Safari User Guide

1. Open the Messages app on your Mac, then select the conversation.

2. Click the Details button in the top-right corner of a conversation, then deselect Show in Shared with You to remove shared content from the Shared with You section.

   When Shared with You is turned off, you can still pin shared content to show it in the corresponding app.

To learn more, see:

• Keep track of shared content in Messages on Mac in the Messages User Guide

If you want to turn Shared with You on or off within the Music, Apple TV, News, Photos, Podcasts or Safari apps, you can adjust your settings on Mac.

1. Open the Messages app on your Mac.

   • On your Mac using macOS 13 or later: Choose Messages > Settings.

   • On your Mac using macOS 12 or earlier: Choose Messages > Preferences.

2. Click Shared with You, then do one of the following:

   • Turn off all apps: Click Turn Off.

   • Turn off selected apps: Deselect apps.