Kipzy

How to Send a Web Page From Your Computer to iPhone

You found a recipe, an article or a video on your computer, and now you want it on your iPhone. The fastest way depends on which browser you use on each device. Chrome can send tabs to Chrome on your phone, Safari can hand pages to Safari, and a QR code works with any browser, with no account at all.

This guide covers each method, what it needs, and how to fix it when the page never shows up on your phone.

The short answer

  • Chrome on both devices: right-click the page and choose Send to your devices.
  • Safari on a Mac and iPhone: use Handoff, or open the tab from your Mac in Safari's tab overview on iPhone.
  • Any browser, no sign-in: make a QR code for the page and scan it with the iPhone camera.

Send a tab from Chrome to Chrome on iPhone

If you use Chrome on your computer and on your iPhone, Chrome can push the page straight to your phone. You need to be signed in to Chrome with the same Google account on both, with sync turned on.

  1. Open the page in Chrome on your computer.
  2. Right-click the page or its tab, then choose Send to your devices. You can also open the menu and go to Cast, save, and share → Send to your devices.
  3. Pick your iPhone from the list.
  4. On your iPhone, tap the notification, or open Chrome and the tab appears.

Google's guide to sharing tabs in Chrome has the same steps.

"Send to your devices" is missing or nothing arrives

  • Check sync. The option needs sync to be on for open tabs, on both devices.
  • Open Chrome on the iPhone once. Your phone only shows up in the list after Chrome on it has been signed in and opened.
  • Allow notifications. If Chrome can't notify you, the tab still arrives, but only when you open Chrome.
  • Look in Recent tabs. In Chrome on iPhone, the tabs open on your computer are listed under Recent Tabs, even if you didn't send them.

Send a page from Safari on Mac to iPhone

Apple's devices do this without any setup beyond signing in to the same Apple Account with iCloud Safari turned on.

  • Handoff: with the page open on your Mac, open the App Switcher on your iPhone. A Safari banner at the bottom opens the same page. Handoff needs Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, and both devices nearby. Apple explains it in use Handoff to continue tasks.
  • iCloud Tabs: in Safari on iPhone, open the tab overview and scroll down. Tabs open on your other devices are listed there, grouped by device.
  • AirDrop: click the Share button in Safari on your Mac and choose AirDrop, then your iPhone.

None of these work from a Windows PC, or from Chrome on a Mac to Safari on an iPhone.

Use a QR code: works with any browser

A QR code doesn't care which browser or account you use, so it works from a work computer, a Windows PC or a friend's laptop. Chrome has a QR code maker built in:

  1. Open the page in Chrome on your computer.
  2. Open the menu, go to Cast, save, and share, and choose Create QR code.
  3. Open the Camera on your iPhone and point it at the code.
  4. Tap the link that appears to open the page.

The page opens in your iPhone's default browser. If that's Safari and you'd rather use another one, you can change your default browser.

Send pages and videos with the Kipzy extension

The free Kipzy extension for Chrome puts a QR code for the page one click away, and opens it directly in Kipzy, the ad-free browser for iPhone.

  1. Add Kipzy to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. On any page, click the Kipzy icon in the toolbar, then click Send to iPhone.
  3. Scan the QR code with your iPhone camera. The page opens in Kipzy, without ads or pop-ups.

When the page has a video, the button changes to Save this video. Scan it and Kipzy opens the page ready to save the video to watch offline, for example before a flight. If Kipzy isn't installed yet, the code opens a page with a link to get it on the App Store.

The extension also blocks ads and trackers in Chrome. It doesn't need an account, and it never sends the pages you visit to us: the link only travels from your screen to your phone's camera.

Which method should you use?

  • You use Chrome everywhere: Send to your devices is the most automatic.
  • You use Safari on a Mac: Handoff and iCloud Tabs need no extra steps.
  • You switch browsers, use a work or shared computer, or want to save a video: a QR code, from Chrome's menu or the Kipzy extension, works every time.

Common questions

Can I send a page from my computer to iPhone without signing in?

Yes. Scanning a QR code needs no account on either device. Tab syncing in Chrome and Safari both need you to be signed in.

Is it safe to scan a QR code from my own screen?

Yes, it's just the page's address. Before you tap, the Camera app shows the website the code leads to, so you can check it.

Can I send a page from iPhone to my computer?

In Chrome on iPhone, tap Share, then Send to your devices. With Safari, Handoff and iCloud Tabs work in both directions between iPhone and Mac.

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