It’s a switch inside each Messages conversation that controls whether links, photos, and music that person sends you appear automatically in your other Apple apps. Switch it on, and you’ll see the link in Safari that they’ve texted you. Switch it off, and it will stay in the chat as it’s supposed to be.
It’s a misleading name because this is why so many people Google it. It seems like you’re sharing something, but actually, it’s all about what appears on your own device. They don’t know anything either way.
The Short Version:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What it controls | Whether their shared content appears in your other apps |
| Where you find it | Tap the person’s name at the top of a chat |
| Does it share anything? | No. Nothing leaves your device |
| Does the other person know? | No, and they never will |
| Which apps are affected | Safari, Photos, Music, Podcasts, News, Apple TV |
| Turning it off deletes messages? | No. Content stays in the conversation |
| Not the same as | The TikTok or Instagram version of the phrase |
What the Setting Actually Does:
Understanding what does show in Shared with You mean is easier once you know what Apple built it for.
This means that a good recommendation should not be lost. A friend sends you an article on Tuesday, you do not read it, and by Friday, it becomes twenty messages up the chain. With this setting on, the same article will pop up in a Shared with You section in Safari whenever you start a new tab.
This process is applied in several Apple applications. A song shows up in Music, a podcast in Podcasts, a picture in Photos, a news report in News, a movie in TV. The items are tagged with the sender’s name, and you can reply to them from within the same application you are using.
The per-conversation switch only determines if the specific person’s recommendations are shown in this way.
It Doesn’t Share Anything:
It’s this bit that really needs to be explicit, because the phrasing is troubling.
Nothing is broadcast, published, or visible to anyone else. The feature just makes what was previously sent to you privately through messaging services more easily accessible in a different place on your phone.
The sender is not notified of whether this toggle is turned on or not. So if you turn it off for a certain person who keeps sending photos to you and fills up your Photos app, that person will never know, and those messages will still come to you.
Interpret the name in terms of content that has been shared with you, not as a prompt for sharing something. And then everything becomes clear.
Where the Content Shows Up:
| App | What appears | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Safari | Links people text you | On the Start Page for a new tab |
| Photos | Photos and videos from Messages | In the For You tab |
| Music | Songs and albums | In the Listen Now area |
| Podcasts | Episodes and shows | On the Listen Now tab |
| News | Articles | On the Today tab |
| Apple TV | Films and shows | In the app’s Shared with You row |
There are two requirements. Firstly, it must come via Messages, and secondly, it usually comes from those who you normally communicate with as opposed to just a single text message.
How to Turn It Off, Three Ways:
There are three tiers, and choosing the correct one will save much adjustment.
For one person. Open their conversation, click on their name or image in the upper part of the conversation, and disable Show in Shared with You. Their content will no longer show up in other applications. The rest of the conversation will stay the same. In case of the Mac, there is the same button in the info window for the conversation.
For one app. Go to Settings, choose Messages, go to Shared with You, and disable the application you do not need. This solution should be used if you like the function but do not want your Photos to contain the images from this function.
For everything. Go to the same settings and disable the Automatic Sharing option. Nothing will appear in any application from now on.
There is even a trick. Hold the conversation in your Messages folder, and you will see the option to remove it from Shared with You without opening it.
Which One Should You Use?:
| If your problem is | Use this level | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One friend sends endless photos | Per person | Keeps the feature working for everyone else |
| Photos app is full of memes | Per app, Photos off | Links and music still work as before |
| Safari’s Start Page is cluttered | Per app, Safari off | The most common complaint by far |
| You never use the feature at all | Automatic Sharing off | Clears all six apps in one move |
| One specific link is annoying you | Remove that item | Press and hold it in the app it appears in |
The Exception Nobody Mentions:
The pinning function takes precedence over the switch.
A pinned message within the conversation will show up within the app even if Shared with You is disabled. This is according to an Apple document, and for good reason too; pinning is basically you prioritizing the message above the setting.
It’s confusing to users who disable everything yet still find a message showing up in their Safari app. In such cases, chances are that the message has been pinned.
Stopping Photos From Filling Your Library:
This is one of the most frequent reasons why people try to find the location, and for this reason, deserves to be distinguished from the rest.
Photos sent to you via the Messages app appear in the For You tab in the Photos app under the Shared with You section. They are not saved to your collection in the usual manner and do not occupy space like regular photos, but they do pop up, and in an overloaded group chat, this leads to significant clutter.
Two solutions. Disable the Photos toggle in the settings for Shared with You, and it will not happen for everybody. Alternatively, disable the toggle in just one conversation that causes it, which is usually the group chat sending forty photos per day.
It’s Not the Same as TikTok’s Version:
This phrase is used in several applications, and all these have different meanings.
In an iPhone, Shared with You refers to the system-level feature provided by Apple, where all the links and media shared with you through Messages are compiled in your other apps. In TikTok and Instagram, the phrase is synonymous to sharing a video with you in a private chat.
If the phrase was seen in any social application other than Messages, Safari, and Photos, then this is the meaning of the phrase.
Common Mistakes People Make:
- Considering it as outgoing sharing. Only impacts the messages that you receive on your device.
- Concern that the other person gets notified. They don’t in either case.
- Expectation that it clears all messages. The message will be there in its original form.
- Turning everything off when it’s just one app. App-based toggles are more accurate.
- Not remembering about the pinned messages. Pinned messages override the settings and this is a bug.
- Confusion with the social media app. Same name, different features and applications.
Trivia Worth Knowing:
- This function was added to iOS 15 after some time since Messages began storing shared links in the background mode.
- There are six Apple applications supporting this option: Safari, Photos, Music, Podcasts, News, and TV.
- Each object has the user’s name written next to it, and one can respond without switching to the Messages application.
- The pinned items will appear regardless of whether this feature is turned off for this specific user or not.
- This option can be found in the conversation information menu on both Mac and iPhone/iPad devices.
- It goes completely unnoticed when turned off for one person; this is why many people recommend using this option for silencing a noisy group conversation.
Final Take:
The response to what does show in Shared with You mean is as follows: This setting will determine whether one person’s links, photos, and music that are sent through Messages appear in your Safari, Photos, Music, Podcasts, News, and TV applications, or remain in the message itself.
This setting doesn’t share anything, inform anyone, or delete anything at all. If you find that the feature is valuable to you, keep it on. If you find that a particular person or application causes problems, there is an option specifically for that situation, and the other person will never know.
Settings change between iOS versions, so menu titles may be different from those on your own phone.
Frequently Asked Questions:
No. It only manages which messages will show up in your own device. Nothing gets sent anywhere nor will anything be seen by others.
No. They won’t get any notification of this action nor will there be any visible difference in their end. They’ll keep receiving messages the usual way.
They will stay in the conversation thread. All you can do is they won’t be shown in Safari, Photos and the other applications anymore.
Safari, Photos, Music, Podcasts, News and the Apple TV application. Every one of these applications has its own Shared with You part.
Switch off Photos toggle in Shared with You section of Messages, or per person switch in the conversation itself.
It may be pinned. Pinned items continue to show up in their respective app even if the setting has been turned off; this is by design, not an error.
No. “Shared with You” on TikTok is simply what it’s called when another user sends you a video in a message on the app. Apple’s version of it is a system setting that collects shared items in your other apps.
Yes. You can disable Automatic Sharing in the Shared with You settings on Messages and none of the compatible apps will show any shared content.
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