iPhone Sharing a Folder

[Infrared]

iOS 13.6:

If I select a folder within the Files app, the share icon is greyed out and unselectable. The option only becomes available if iCloud is enabled. Why is that?

Example: suppose I want share a folder using Airdrop, but I'm not logged into iCloud. It seems I can't do that from Files, but I can from many 3rd party apps. Am I missing something obvious here that would explain why this is so?

Thanks!

 

[0128672]

You'll need to be logged into iCloud to share Files folders. Here's an Apple support article with details about how that works:

Share files and folders in iCloud Drive on iCloud.com

In iCloud Drive on iCloud.com, share files and folders with other people, manage sharing, and stop sharing files or folders.

support.apple.com

 

[Infrared]

You'll need to be logged into iCloud to share Files folders. Here's an Apple support article with details about how that works:

Share files and folders in iCloud Drive on iCloud.com

In iCloud Drive on iCloud.com, share files and folders with other people, manage sharing, and stop sharing files or folders.

support.apple.com

That article seems to be referring to iCloud drive folders specifically. I was asking about sharing folders that are on the device itself. E.g., sharing those folders with another app on the same device (something that doesn't involve iCloud access in any obvious way).

 

[0128672]

That article seems to be referring to iCloud drive folders specifically. I was asking about sharing folders that are on the device itself. E.g., sharing those folders with another app on the same device (something that doesn't involve iCloud access in any obvious way).

So you're referring to the Files app > On My iPhone folders?

 

[Infrared]

Those folders or various folders under them. Network access isn't necessary to share the folders, but iCloud sign-in apparently is a requirement:

In airplane mode after having signed in to iCloud:

 

[ApfelKuchen]

The "Sharing" is specifically for sharing via iCloud Drive. It does not grant permission to share the folder/files stored locally on your device, it grants sharing permission to the folder/files stored on the iCloud servers. That's why it's not necessary for your device to be actively online in order to share - the folder/file has already been uploaded to the cloud, so it can be accessed regardless of whether your device is online.

If you're familiar with Drop Box, it's the same basic idea - you've granted permission for someone to access the files located on the Drop Box servers.

 

[Infrared]

Perhaps I wasn't clear or perhaps I am misusing terminology.

What I meant by sharing was using the share sheet to give other apps access to the selected folder (i.e., share the folder with those apps).

The share sheet icon for folders _on the phone_ is greyed out unless I'm logged into iCloud. That is not the case for individual non-folder files. Why is this?

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Perhaps I wasn't clear or perhaps I am misusing terminology.

What I meant by sharing was using the share sheet to give other apps access to the selected folder (i.e., share the folder with those apps).

The share sheet icon for folders _on the phone_ is greyed out unless I'm logged into iCloud. That is not the case for individual non-folder files. Why is this?

Because the Share Sheet in iOS is not the same as file system sharing in desktop OSes. Most Share Sheet activities are either "sharing" a copy of a document with someone via email, text message, or social media (sharing in a social sense), or directing that a file be Opened in or Saved to a particular app.

Would it be logical to allow a word processing app to Open an entire folder? Of course not. There might be thousands of documents in the Documents folder - the system would crash if someone tried to open them all at once.

iOS is a single-user OS. There is just one user account on the device, which means there is no need to share files with other users on that device.

Apple's fundamental decisions about securing the contents of that device from outside attack include the absence of traditional network file sharing. There is no way to make the contents of an iOS device accessible to other users on a network, by design.

As I said previously, iCloud Drive supports folder (and document) sharing. iCloud Drive is a cloud service. When you share a folder in iCloud Drive you are NOT granting permission to a person(s) to access your iPhone. You're granting permission to access folders and files stored in the cloud servers.

 

[Infrared]

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t answer the question and barely addresses the issue.

Let me explain this as simply as I can by way of an example:

I want to transfer a folder and all its contents to another device using AirDrop. I select the folder, I tap the share sheet icon, the share sheet icon appears and I tap AirDrop etc.

This works, but only if I’m signed into iCloud. If I’m not, then the share sheet icon is greyed out and tapping it does nothing.

This makes no sense to me. You don’t need iCloud access to transfer between two adjacent devices (afaik). And, in fact, the same folder can be sent via AirDrop from some other apps without the sign-in because the share sheet icon isn’t greyed out in those apps.