Planning a group vacation, organizing a research project, or shopping for furniture with a partner used to involve endlessly copying and pasting individual URLs into a chaotic iMessage thread. The links would get lost in the chat history, and keeping track of who had reviewed which website was nearly impossible.
To solve this, Apple introduced “Shared Tab Groups” in Safari. This feature allows you to create a dedicated folder of websites on your iPhone and invite other Apple users to view it. Most importantly, it is collaborative. If your partner finds a great hotel, they can add it to the shared group, and the new tab will instantly appear on your iPhone in real-time.
This guide explains how to create and share a Safari Tab Group on your iPhone.
Step 1: Create a New Tab Group
Before you can share a group, you must create one and add your initial links to it.
- Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
- Tap the Tabs icon (the two overlapping squares) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Look at the very bottom center of the screen, where it says “[Number] Tabs” with a small downward-facing arrow. Tap this button.
- A menu will appear showing your Tab Groups. Tap New Empty Tab Group.
- Give your group a descriptive name (e.g., “Paris Trip 2024” or “Kitchen Remodel”) and tap Save.
You are now inside your new Tab Group. You can press the “+” button to open a new tab and start searching for websites, or you can go back to your main tab list, long-press on an existing tab, and select “Move to Tab Group” to add it to your new folder.
Step 2: Share the Tab Group
Once you have a few links saved in your group, you are ready to invite collaborators.
- Tap the Tabs icon to view your grid of open tabs within the group.
- Look at the top center of the screen where your group name is displayed (e.g., “Paris Trip 2024”). Next to the name, you will see a Share icon (a square with an upward-pointing arrow). Tap it.
- The iOS Share Sheet will appear. You will see a list of your recent iMessage contacts at the top.
- Tap the Messages icon to open a new text message.
- Type the name of the person (or the group chat) you want to share the tabs with, and press Send.
How Collaboration Works in Real-Time
When your friend receives the iMessage and taps the link, their iPhone will automatically open Safari and download the Tab Group.
From that moment on, the folder is synced via iCloud. If you tap the “X” to close a hotel website on your phone, that tab will instantly vanish from your friend’s phone. If they open a new tab to search for flights, you will see a tiny icon containing their profile picture appear on that tab in your grid, indicating that they are actively looking at it.
How to Stop Sharing
If the project is finished or the vacation is over, you can revoke access to the group.
- Tap the Tabs icon to view the grid.
- Tap the Collaboration icon (two overlapping silhouettes) at the top of the screen next to the group name.
- Tap Manage Shared Tab Group.
- Tap Stop Sharing. The Tab Group will instantly disappear from all other users’ devices, but it will remain fully intact on your iPhone.