Skip to main content

How to use Shared with You on a Mac

Shared with You is a MacOS feature that groups together all your received photos, podcasts, news articles, and more. Any content that is sent to you by friends can be easily viewed and managed.

For instance, in the Messages app, all you need to do is click a sender’s information button, and you will find everything that person has sent you in one place without having to trawl through your message history to find each and every photo and link. It will save you the time and effort of having to hunt down these items individually.

Recommended Videos

Today, we’re going to show you how to enable Shared with You, which apps and content types it works with, and where to find everything on your Mac. So, no matter what content you have been sent, you will know exactly where it is and how to view it.

What can be shared?

Shared with You content in the Podcasts app in MacOS Monterey.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

At the time of writing, we were using the MacOS Monterey public beta. This let us share content in six of Apple’s own apps: Messages, News, Photos, Podcasts, Safari, and TV. Apple might decide to expand this list in the future, but for now, that’s what Shared with You works with.

Content has to be sent through Apple’s Messages app — it won’t appear in an app’s Shared with You section if you send it in WhatsApp or Telegram, for example.

Regardless of which app you view the shared content in, you will notice the sender’s name under the shared content. Clicking this takes you to the specific message where the content was sent so you can see the context and continue the conversation.

How to turn the feature on or off

Adjusting Shared with You settings in the Messages app in MacOS Monterey.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You might want to disable Shared with You entirely or turn it off on an app-by-app basis. Fortunately, you can do both.

Step 1: Open Messages and click Messages > Preferences in the menu bar.

Step 2: Click the Shared with You tab.

Step 3: To disable the feature for a particular app, untick its checkbox. Or, to disable it for everything, click Turn Off.

To re-enable Shared with You, just click Turn On, or tick each app’s checkbox.

How to find content that’s shared with you

Received news stories in the Shared with You Section of the News app, running on MacOS Monterey.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Each app is slightly different. In the Messages app, click the name of the person whose content you want to find, click the I button in the top-right corner, then scroll down to view their sent content. It’s divided into sections like photos, podcasts, links, and more.

The Podcasts and Apple TV apps work in similar ways to each other. In TV, click Watch Now, then scroll down until you see the Shared with You section. In Podcasts, the relevant section is on the Listen Now page. In the News app, meanwhile, the Shared with You section is nestled in the sidebar. So, any of the current best shows on Apple TV+ could be shared with you and found here.

In Safari, you’ll find the shared content on the Start page when you open a new tab. To enable this, click Safari > Preferences > General and ensure New Tabs Open With says Start Page. Now, open a new tab, and click the slider button in the bottom-right, then tick the Shared with You checkbox.

If you appreciate people sharing things with you, why not return the favor? Here’s how to share files on your Mac.

Alex Blake
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Alex Blake has been working with Digital Trends since 2019, where he spends most of his time writing about Mac computers…
I tested the most popular free antivirus apps for Mac. Here are the very best
A MacBook Air is shown with the Bitdefender for Mac dashboard open.

The best free antivirus software for your Mac offers robust protection without breaking the bank. Although macOS was once an unlikely target for hackers, that's changing. As Apple computers become more popular, malware prevention is increasingly important to safeguard your personal and financial data.
Finding the best antivirus software can be challenging. While subscription prices are affordable, your budget might already be tight. Thankfully, there are several good, free malware solutions for macOS. Here are our top picks for free antivirus software for Mac, with each specially tailored to protect your Apple computer. If you use Windows, we also have a list of free antivirus software for PC.
Avast One Basic

While Avast One Basic is free and shows no ads, this powerful antivirus software still protects your Mac from malware infections, and blocks new threats before they become a problem. Perhaps more impressive is the Web Shield feature that identifies malicious downloads and prevents access to hazardous websites, halting phishing attempts and other online dangers.

Read more
Best Apple deals: Save on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, MacBook
Apple MacBook Air M1 open, on a table.

Apple's ecosystem is probably one of the biggest in the world, and if you want to expand it, then you probably know that Apple gear isn't that cheap. Of course, given that it makes some of the best wireless earbuds, the best smartwatches, the best laptops, and even the best tablets, that makes a lot of sense. Luckily, there are a lot of excellent Apple deals floating around that will help save you a little extra, which is why we've gone out and collected a few of our favorite ones.

That's why we've gone out and searched through various big retailers to find you some of the best deals we can find. That includes everything from the MacBook deals, AirPods deals, Apple TV deals and Apple Watch deals to the AirTag, so hopefully, you can find the perfect deal that fits your needs and budget.
Apple AirTag (4-Pack) -- $70 $99 30% off

Read more
Some updates coming to macOS 15 aren’t just about AI
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air on a desk, with macOS Sonoma running on its display.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is coming up soon, and everyone's expecting a huge announcement around AI. But don't worry, according to a report from AppleInsider, there are some practical tweaks coming to macOS 15 that are in the works. Notably, the System Settings app is set to receive the biggest changes, with other menus and app UIs also expecting some rearranging.

The last update to the Settings app happened with macOS Ventura, changing the name from System Preferences to System Settings and shifting to an iOS-style design, a change that ruffled the feathers of diehard Mac users. This time, the organizational system will reportedly be based on "priority and overall importance."

Read more