If you plan to buy an iPhone or a new Mac, then you may come across a feature called Shared with You. This handy addition is exclusive to iMessage, allowing users to automatically organize the links they receive in their relevant apps. To learn more about the Shared with You feature and how to use it, read on.

What is Shared with You?

Shared with You helps you find relevant links where they belong. When you receive a link through the Messages app, the URL will appear like a thumbnail in the appropriate app. So, for example, if somebody sends you a link to a song on Apple Music, this song will surface in a Shared with You section in the Music app.

It's worth mentioning that this feature also works for photos. When somebody shares photos with you through iMessage, they'll surface in the Photos app with a tag stating who they're from. Furthermore, iOS 16 introduced a Shared with You API that allowed third-party developers to bring a Shared with You section to their apps.

Shared with You requirements

Shared with You requires at least iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or macOS Monterey. It works across most relevant Apple apps, including Books, Files/Finder, Freeform, Keynote, Music, News, Notes, Numbers, Pages, Podcasts, Reminders, and TV. If a shared link doesn't apply to any of the mentioned Apple apps, then it will surface in Safari on the Start Page.

How to enable or disable Shared with You

Shared with You works automatically unless you toggle it off. Whenever you receive a certain link through iMessage, you'll find it waiting for you in the appropriate app. To ensure Shared with You is toggled on, follow the steps below:

On iOS or iPadOS

  1. Go to the Settings app.
  2. Scroll until you find Messages and click on it.
  3. Click on Shared with You.
  4. Make sure it's on if you want it to be, and toggle off the apps you want to exclude.

On macOS

  1. Launch the Messages app.
  2. Tap on Messages in the menu bar, and hit the Settings button.
    messages settings button on macOS
  3. Go to the Shared with You tab to make sure it's enabled or to disable certain apps' access.
    shared with you settings on macOS, where you can enable or disable the feature

How to use Shared with You

After making sure the feature is enabled, it should work automatically. To demonstrate how it works, we're using the Apple Music app, but the functionality is similar across all supported apps.

  1. When you receive an Apple Music link, clicking it will not only open the Music app but also display the name of the contact who shared it.
  2. The Shared with You section in the Music app appears in the Listen Now tab.
  3. If you press and hold on a received link in a Messages thread, you can pin it to the respective app.
  4. The link will still show up in the Shared with You section as usual, but it will have a pin on it and get pushed to the top to emphasize its importance to you.
  5. Inside the Music app, if you click on the sender's name, it'll open the Messages thread where the link was first shared. You can then reply to it directly without needing to search for it and press Reply in Messages. This works across all supported apps, not just Music.

The process is the same across macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17. As long as the feature is toggled on, all received links through iMessage should appear in the correct apps.

Unfortunately, Shared with You only works with the Messages app right now, so links received through other messaging apps, such as Telegram, will not show up. In my opinion, this makes the feature pretty much useless in regions where iMessage isn't commonly relied on. But if you do live in an area where Messages is frequently used, you'll get a lot of use out of Shared with You.