How to Share a Website You're Reading With a Friend by Text

Have you ever been reading a wonderful recipe, an obituary, or a news story on your phone and thought, "My sister would love this"? In the old days, you might have clipped it from the newspaper and mailed it. Your iPhone can do something similar in about ten seconds — and your sister will have it before her next cup of coffee.

Here's exactly how to send a webpage you're reading to one person by text message.

The Share Button — Your Modern Pair of Scissors

Every webpage in Safari (that's the compass-shaped app you use to visit websites) has a little button that acts like scissors and an envelope combined. It's called the Share button, and it looks like a square with an arrow pointing up out of it.

You'll find it at the bottom of your screen while you're reading a webpage. If you don't see it, give the screen a gentle tap or scroll up a tiny bit — the row of buttons sometimes tucks itself away to give you more room to read.

Sending the Page in Four Taps

Once you're on the page you'd like to share, here's what to do:

Tap the Share button (the square with the arrow pointing up).
A menu will slide up from the bottom. Tap the green Messages icon — it's a white speech bubble on a green background.
In the "To:" box at the top, start typing your friend's name. When their name appears, tap it.
You'll see a little preview of the webpage in the message. Tap the blue arrow to send it.

That's it. Your friend will receive a tidy little box in their text messages showing the headline and a picture from the article. When they tap it, the page opens right up on their phone.

Adding a Personal Note

Sending just the link is fine, but a short note makes it feel like a letter instead of a flyer. Before you tap the blue arrow, tap in the message area next to the webpage preview and type something like "Thought of you" or "Look at this recipe — reminds me of Mom's."

That small touch is the difference between handing someone a newspaper and handing them a newspaper with a sticky note that says "Read this one first."

A Quick Word on Who Sees What

When you share a webpage this way, you're only sharing that one page — not your whole browsing history, and not anything else you've been reading. It's like tearing out a single article, not handing over your whole newspaper.

And if you tap the wrong person's name by mistake, you can tap the little "x" next to their name in the "To:" box before you send, and try again.

Try It Today

Find a webpage you've enjoyed recently — a news story, a recipe, or even the weather forecast for the week. Open it up in Safari, tap the Share button, and send it to one person who would appreciate it. You've just done the modern version of clipping and mailing an article, and it took less than a minute.

Need a hand with your technology? We're here to help. Give PorchSwing a call or book an appointment, and we'll walk you through it at your own pace — no rush, no jargon.