How to share Apple Health data with someone you choose, what they see, how to stop it, and how Sam's Friends & Family differs

You want your partner or your mother to see how you are, without retelling the story every day. Apple Health can share data with a person you choose, within the Apple system. There is also Friends & Family in Sam. There you pick per person and per area what they see, read-only and revocable at any time. This text shows Apple's steps, what arrives with the other person, and how you end sharing.

In the Health app you tap Sharing, choose a person from your contacts and pick what they see. Per Apple, that person also sees the health notifications you receive, such as high heart rate. To stop, tap Stop Sharing in the Health app; deleting the contact is not enough.

The Apple steps come from the iPhone User Guide for iOS 27. Apple does not date these pages, and menu names change with new iOS versions, so check them on your own device.

How do you share Apple Health data with a partner or family member, step by step?

Apple says you can share data from the Health app with friends, family and other people who care for you. On the iPhone it works like this:

1. Add the person to your contacts. Apple says sharing only works with people in your contacts.
2. Open the Health app and tap Sharing.
3. The first time you tap Share with Someone. Later you tap Add another person, then tap Next.
4. Find the person with the search field in your contacts, then tap their contact information.
5. Tap See Suggested Topics or Set Up Manually, and choose what to share.
6. Tap Next through the pages, then tap Share and Done.

You get a notification once the person accepts the invitation.

It works the other way too. If you want your mother to share her data with you, Apple lets her decide what she shares and then you see it. She also needs you in her contacts and a device with the Health app.

What does the other person see on their phone?

Apple says the invited person can get notifications about the health of the people close to them. In the Health app, that person can view what you chose, for example activity, mobility, heart rate and health trends.

One point is easy to miss. Apple says the people you share health data with can also view the health notifications you receive. That includes high heart rate and irregular rhythm notifications. You can also share notifications for significant trends, for example when your activity drops sharply.

Apple says the high and low heart rate notifications are part of the Apple Watch. The Apple pages do not list exactly which events trigger a notification for the other person. Plan for the fact that something may appear on your partner's phone that you already ticked off yourself.

How do you review what you share and stop sharing?

To review, open the Health app, tap Sharing and then the person's name. Scroll down to View Shared Data. There you change the selection and confirm with Done.

To stop, you take the same path and tap Stop Sharing. Apple says removing the person from your contacts is not enough. Sharing continues until you end it in the Health app.

Set a date for your first review, for example four weeks after you start. Then you see whether the sharing still matches why you turned it on.

What does the other person see with Apple, and what with Friends & Family?

Friends & Family is the sharing in Sam. You invite a person by link or code and switch on areas for them, for example values, progress, symptoms or documents. They see these read-only in their own Sam app, as a snapshot your app refreshes from time to time, not live. With documents, that person can also open the original file. The table sets out what arrives with the other person in each case.

This is a difference, not a verdict. Both ways show someone part of your history. Friends & Family is not an emergency system and sends nothing when a value changes.

Which areas do you share with whom? A plan in seven lines

Before you tap anything in Apple or Sam, answer these seven lines for each person. On paper one line per person is enough.

1. Person and relationship: who is it?
2. The purpose: what should they be able to do? Come with you to an appointment, know whether you are ok, or feel reassured?
3. Areas: only what fits the purpose. With Apple you choose the topics during setup.
4. Health notifications: Apple says the person sees these too. Tell them this in advance and say what you want if they notice one.
5. A phone-call sentence: one line for when they call because something caught their eye. For example: "Thank you, I will look, I will get back to you this evening."
6. Start and review date: when does the sharing start, and when do you review it, for example after four weeks?
7. Ending: who ends it and how? With Apple, it is Sharing, the person's name, then Stop Sharing.

An invented example: you record that your partner comes with you to appointments. You share activity, and nothing more. You tell them in advance that they also see Health notifications. The review date is in four weeks.

Sharing or bringing data to the doctor: where is the difference?

A shared view is for the weeks between appointments. To the person who supports you, it shows how you were recently. Into the practice you take something you put together yourself.

For that, Apple offers the XML export. In the Health app you choose Export All Health Data in your profile and then a way to pass it on. In Sam the doctor report is a PDF for the period you choose for eight conditions. You pass both on yourself. Friends & Family does not share the doctor report.

How you choose health data for a doctor conversation is in the post how to share wearable health data with your doctor. If your goal is an emergency pass, our guide to Medical ID on iPhone for a chronic condition covers that separately.

How do you tell your partner before you switch it on?

Say in advance what you share and what you do not. Also say what can appear on their phone and that you can end the sharing at any time. One sentence is enough: "I share my activity with you so you can see whether I have been out. I can switch that off again."

That takes the surprise out of the sharing. If you read along for a relative, the doctor appointment checklist for a chronic condition helps you prepare.

Share your health data read-only and per person in Sam

With Friends & Family in Sam you decide for each person which part of your history they read. More on sharing in Sam.

• Instead of everything at once: you switch on values, progress, symptoms or documents individually. Only a basic profile is always included.
• Instead of screenshots in a chat: the person reads only what you shared, as the latest refreshed snapshot, and cannot change or enter anything.
• Instead of questions after every value: Friends & Family sends no messages about your values.
• Instead of a handoff with no way back: you end a share at any time, and access stops immediately.

The person needs Sam, and you share the doctor report yourself. Friends & Family is not an emergency system and sends nothing when a value changes.

Try Sam Health

Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or health state. Always consult qualified professionals for medical decisions.

Related reading

• How to share wearable health data with your doctor
• Medical ID on iPhone for an emergency
• Doctor visit checklist for a chronic condition

Sources

Updated: October 2026

• Apple, iPhone User Guide: Share your data in Health on iPhone
• Apple, iPhone User Guide: View health data shared by others
• Apple Support: Heart health notifications on your Apple Watch (published 28 September 2026)
• Apple Support: Set up your Medical ID in the Health app on your iPhone (published 10 March 2026)
• Sam: Friends & Family sharing (product page)