Found a video on your iPhone? 6 ways to send the link to your Mac

The six options at a glance

1. AirDrop: the page opens on the Mac right away

1. On the iPhone, tap the Share button and choose AirDrop.
2. Tap your Mac. The page opens in the Mac's default browser.

What it needs: Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth turned on for both devices, and the two within about 10 meters (30 feet) of each other. Wake the Mac first, because a sleeping Mac usually doesn't show up. On the Mac, AirDrop has to accept items from Contacts Only or Everyone (set it in Finder under AirDrop, or in Control Center). Devices signed in to the same Apple Account accept the item without asking.

Where it falls short: it is a live hand-off. If nobody is at the Mac, the tab just opens and sits there, and you send one link at a time.

2. Handoff: pick up the tab from the Dock

1. Open the page in Safari on the iPhone and keep it on screen.
2. On the Mac, a browser icon with a small phone badge appears at the edge of the Dock. Click it.

What it needs: the same Apple Account on both devices, Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth on, and Handoff enabled in Settings on the iPhone and in System Settings on the Mac.

Where it falls short: it only offers the page that is open on the phone at that moment, and the icon goes away when the phone locks.

3. Universal Clipboard: copy on the phone, paste on the Mac

1. Copy the link on the iPhone (Share → Copy, or touch and hold the address).
2. On the Mac, press ⌘V wherever you want the link.

What it needs: the same setup as Handoff.

Where it falls short: the copied link is only available for a short time, and the next thing you copy replaces it.

4. iCloud Tabs: open the phone's Safari tabs on the Mac

1. Leave the page open in Safari on the iPhone.
2. In Safari on the Mac, open the start page or the tab overview. Tabs that are open on your iPhone are listed under its name.

What it needs: Safari switched on in iCloud settings on both devices.

Where it falls short: Safari only, it can take a moment to sync, and the tab leaves the list once you close it on the phone.

5. Send it to yourself: for when the Mac is asleep or far away

Share the link to Notes, Reminders, or a message to yourself. It syncs through iCloud and waits until you sit down at the Mac. Nothing has to be nearby or awake, which makes this the dependable choice when you are out.

Where it falls short: it is a to-do list. Later you still have to open each link and deal with the video yourself.

6. Vidnip for iPhone: when you want the video, not the page

The five methods above move a link. If the real goal is to have the video on that page saved on your Mac, the link is only the first step: you would still open the page on the Mac, find the video, and start a download.

Vidnip for iPhone is the free companion to Vidnip for Mac, a web video downloader. It turns all of that into one share:

1. Pair once. On the Mac, open Vidnip, click iPhone in the sidebar, turn on Allow iPhone to connect over the local network and click Show Pairing Code. On the iPhone, pick the Mac under Nearby Macs and type the 6‑digit code.
2. Share the link. In Safari or any other app, tap Share and choose Vidnip. The sheet confirms “Sent to” followed by the name of your Mac.
3. Confirm on the phone. The Mac looks for videos on the page. The Tasks tab then shows “The Mac found 1 video. Tap to confirm the download”. Pick the quality and tap Download.
4. Watch it finish. Progress, speed and time remaining update live on the phone. Afterwards you can copy the file to the iPhone, stream it, or leave it on the Mac.

Which one should you use?

• You are at the Mac and want the page open now: AirDrop or Handoff.
• You want to paste the link into something: Universal Clipboard.
• The Mac is asleep, or you are out: send it to yourself.
• You want the video saved on the Mac without walking over: Vidnip for iPhone.

Common questions