Updated on December 22, 2020 Apple introduced file sharing capability in iCloud Drive beginning with
macOS High Sierra and iOS 11. The new sharing option is called Add People, and it creates a sharing link to a file you've uploaded to iCloud
Drive. So, when you upload a video and set the options in Add People, iCloud sends a link to the people you would like to view it. They don't download the file. It stays where it is. iCloud accounts are free to anyone with an Apple ID, which is also free. Create and access an iCloud account on your
iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac computer. If you have a Windows PC, get web-only access to iCloud anywhere you have an internet connection. iCloud comes with 5
GB of free iCloud storage, which is shared with other Apple services. If you plan to upload many videos, 5 GB may not last long. Apple offers several tiers of paid storage beginning with 50 GB for $0.99 per month. Plans go as high as 2 TB and are shareable with your family. Whether you make home movies in iMovie or short videos for posting on social media, upload the video file to
your iCloud account if you want to share it with others. Log in to your iCloud account with your account name and password. Select the iCloud Drive icon from the icons on the screen. Drag a video file from the desktop to the iCloud
Drive window. You have two options for sharing a file with other people from iCloud Drive: have iCloud Drive email the link immediately or generate a link you can use whenever you want to share the file with someone. Open your iCloud Drive in any
browser. Then: In the iCloud Drive screen, select the video. Select the Add people icon at
the top of the screen to open the Add People window. The icon resembles a person's head with a plus sign next to it. It's fun and easy to use iCloud to share and store video
Who Can Have an iCloud Account?
How to Upload a Video to iCloud
How to Share a Video
Select Email or Copy Link.
- Email adds the email addresses or phone numbers of the people you want to share the video link with.
- Copy Link creates a link you can distribute at any time.
Select Share Options to expand the window.
Next to Who can access, select either Only people you invite or Anyone with the link.
Next to Permission, select View only. The other option allows viewers to make changes.
Select Share to send the link to your recipients or to copy the link iCloud generates.
Save the link generated by iCloud Drive and use it to invite additional viewers in the future.
How to Stop Sharing in iCloud
When you are ready to stop sharing a video, go back to your iCloud account in any browser.
Open iCloud Drive.
Select the icon of the video you are currently sharing to highlight it.
Select the Add People icon at the top of the screen.
Select Share Options.
Choose Stop Sharing.
Select OK in the confirmation window to stop sharing the file.
How to Turn on iCloud
iCloud is a great resource for macOS and iOS users that makes it easy to store and share files. It provides online storage for Apple's productivity apps, including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. There is no app to install for Macs and iOS devices because iCloud in included in their operating systems. You just go to System Preferences, select iCloud, and sign in with an Apple ID. iCloud Drive is just one of the folders available on iCloud.
Windows users need to download the iCloud control panel program. It places folders in your main user folder for iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos. Any file you put in the iCloud Drive folder or its subfolders appears on your other computers and iOS devices if you have iCloud Drive enabled.
Currently, iCloud Drive is not supported by the Android operating system.
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iOS 12 has introduced a slew of new features and hidden gems. And one seemingly small addition to the Photos app can make a huge change to the way you share photos and videos.
Instead of texting or emailing photos and videos from your iPhone ($320 at eBay), you can instead send an iCloud link that recipients can use to view and, if they so choose, download what you shared. I'll still text a single photo or two at a time, but this new iCloud sharing feature is super useful for sharing groups of photos or large video files. Here's how it works.
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Sharing photos and video with iCloud link
First make sure that iCloud Photos is enabled. Open Settings, tap your Apple ID at the top and then go to iCloud > Photos and make sure that iCloud Photos is toggled on.
With iCloud Photos enabled, you'll see a new option on the share sheet for the Photos app. Select a photo or a video (or multiple photos and videos) then tap the share button. You'll see a new button in the bottom row of black-and-white buttons titled Copy iCloud Link. Tap this button and a link will be copied to your clipboard. You can then paste it into a text, email or message.
From the Photos tab, you can also tap the header for a group of photos, which lines up an album for you to share. Tap the triple-dot button in the top right and then tap Share Photos. From here, you can deselect any photos you don't want to send. Tap Next to add people to the recipient list.
Once everything's set up, tap Share in Messages and the Messages app will open with your photos or videos ready to be shared.
If you use the Messages app, you and your recipients will see a pretty preview thumbnail of the photos or videos you're sharing. The iCloud link will expire after 30 days.
On the receiving end of an iCloud link
When someone shares an iCloud photo link with you, tap on the link or thumbnail preview to open the Photos app.
From there you can view the photos or videos without needing to download them first. (On a computer, clicking on an iCloud link opens a new tab in your default browser of an iCloud Photos page.) You may need to wait half a beat for the images to fully render as you scroll through them.
To download the shared photos or videos, tap the blue Add All button. Or you can tap Select below the Add All button to deselect the ones you don't want to add and then hit the Add All button, which will now simply read Add.
Kill a link
iCloud links expire after a month, but you can revoke access at any time. You'll find all of your recently shared items at the top of the For You tab in the Photos app. Tap a shared album to open it, tap the triple-dot button in the top right and then tap Stop Sharing. Access will be removed immediately.