Easy share mobile phone content: convenient tips for Android and iOS systems

(This article has been updated, the original text was published on April 6, 2020)

You may often need to share various content from your phone - photos, files, links, etc. Therefore, both Android and iOS systems significantly display the Share button in most interfaces.

Simply put, the Share button on an Android phone looks like a circled "less than" sign, while the iPhone is an arrow pointing out of a square. But no matter which platform you use, this button is for the same purpose: share what you are viewing with others.

Although the sharing button is simple, you can make the sharing process smoother and more time-saving by selecting the action after clicking "Share", or using other clever methods to send content directly from the image application of your choice.

iOS Sharing Setting Customization

To customize the sharing panel, you need to call it out first. First share some content—such as web pages in Safari. You can't really customize the list of commonly used contacts and commonly used devices at the top of the share menu, but you can long press someone's name and tell iOS to reduce suggestions for that contact. Most customizations involve the list of applications under these suggested names.

[Related: How to share large files online]

Scroll to the far right of the app list, select More, and then click Edit to select and reorder the app that appears first when sharing content - use the Three line handles to change the order. If you always share to an app, make sure it appears in the first place. Click to finish , and then click again to complete to set your selection.

Finally, scroll to the action list (including copying or printing items), and click Edit action to select what is displayed here. Similarly, you can add or delete entries in the list, for example, you can delete the Copy the option and add the Save to Dropbox option.

Android Sharing Settings Customization

By default, when you click the share button on Android, you will see four contacts along with four apps. These are determined by the operating system based on the people you usually contact, the people you recently chat with, the tools you usually use to send a specific type of file, and the applications it considers you most often to use.

Unfortunately, these suggestions are not customizable, but swiping up to the share menu will open an app drawer with more options. Starting with Bluetooth, you'll see more apps in addition to the first four apps (18 on our phones). They are often social media, storage services, and a variety of communication tools from email platforms to messaging applications.

You will notice that some app names have a down arrow next to them - meaning you can select a specific location in the app to share content. For example, clicking the down arrow next to Instagram will open a new menu where you can choose to send an image or video as a direct message to someone on the platform, post it to your news, or upload it to your story. Similarly, click the down arrow next to Twitter and you can choose whether you want to send the file via direct message or post it as a tweet. If you are using a Galaxy phone, Samsung has an additional sharing setting in addition to Android settings. This will allow you to pin a specific contact on an app so that they will always be displayed no matter where you share content from. Open Settings, click Advanced Features, and then click Share directly . If you disable this option, you will only see the apps you use frequently in the share list.

A trick to affect the sharing menu of any Android version is to clear the data cache of any apps (such as messages) that occupy direct sharing links more frequently than you would like. This section will reset the list of contacts you most often contact on Android. From

Settings , click Application , and then click any application and Storage and Cache to find the Clear cache option.

Share between mobile phones

If you are in the same space as the person you want to share content, mobile phone sharing is usually the fastest choice. Traditionally, Bluetooth has been a tool for this task – just make sure you and the receiver are turned on and then connect from the

Share menu on Android or iOS. Your device. If the devices on the sending and receiving end are made by Apple, AirDrop is the fastest and most reliable way to share. Make sure this option is enabled on both phones (select General

from

Settings and then select AirDrop) when you click Share button, nearby AirDrop devices will first be displayed in the list. Simply select the device you want to connect to, and select the photo, file, link, or anything else you want to transfer.

The Android equivalent of AirDrop is Android Beam, but it was cancelled in Android 10. Its alternative is called Nearby Share, and you see it as the first option every time you open the share menu. To use it, click the Share button and click Near . Your phone will automatically search for other nearby Android devices, and the recipient's name should be displayed under Find nearby devices . When you see it, click on the correct entry and your friends will be notified – if they have Nearby Share enabled, Android will ask them if they accept what you sent. If not enabled, it will ask them to turn on this feature. Once they have accepted the content and the sharing is complete, click to finish .

Share photos and videos in Apple photos

Photoes and videos (baby photos, emoticons, vacation snapshots, viral video clips, etc.) are the most common content we share with friends and family. If you use the default Photos app on iOS and click the Share button, you will see some options specific to the app.

If you want to share a large number of photos and videos at once, select Add to Shared Album. This will allow you to create a new album (or use an existing album) in iCloud, which a specific selected contact can access. This option is great for vacation photos or sharing photos of your child with grandparents. Invited members can also add their own comments and pictures. If you don't see it, go to Set >Photo and turn on the switch next to Share Album.

If you want to share only one photo or video, try Copy the iCloud link . This creates a direct link to a file in Apple's cloud storage service, which you can send the URL to anyone through any application. But it's important to note that files shared in this way can be accessed and downloaded for 30 days by anyone with the link, so if you're sharing sensitive content, you may want to look for a safer alternative.

Another benefit of iCloud links is that unlike shared albums, recipients don't have to use Apple photos as well—this will be perfect if some of your family and friends live outside of the Apple ecosystem.

Share photos and videos in Google Photos

Google Photos (for Android and iOS) After you click the Share button, there is a set of options similar to Apple Photos. Select to create a link for one-time sharing, and you can then distribute the link to anyone who needs to access the file, whether it is a photo or a video.

Unlike iOS, links created by Google Photos do not expire. This means that as long as the file exists in your cloud, anyone with the link can access and download it, regardless of whether they have signed up for Google Photos before. Keep this in mind if you are sharing photos of your child or any other sensitive content.

[Related: Google Photos’ image editing features are better than you think]

Share albums are very convenient for sending large numbers of photos and videos to specific groups of people, especially if you want them to be able to contribute their own files and add comments. The best part is that you have control over the album and you can stop sharing or stop people from accessing it at any time.

In Google Photos on iOS, there is an option for sharing albums on the Share menu. In Google Photos for Android, you need to create an album first, by clicking the library in the lower right corner of the screen, and then clicking the plus sign under album . After adding the correct photos and videos to the album, you can share them with one or more individuals via the standard Share button.

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