Apple Watch Face Sharing Explained: What a .watchface File Is and How to Use It
2 min read
Apple added watch face sharing in watchOS 7. It lets you pass a face you have set up — its style, colours, images and complications — to someone else, who can add it to their own watch in a couple of taps.
What is a .watchface file?
A .watchface file is a small package that describes one Apple Watch face: which built-in face it is based on, its configuration and colours, any images it shows, and its complications. It does not contain a new face design — it is a ready-made set-up of a face that already exists on Apple Watch.
Share a face
On the watch: touch and hold the face, tap the share button and choose a contact, Messages or Mail.
On your iPhone: open the Watch app, choose the face under My Faces, tap the share button and pick how to send it. You can also post the file on a website so others can download it.
Add a face someone shared with you
- Open the link or file on your iPhone (or tap it in Messages on the watch).
- Tap Add to My Faces.
- The face appears on your watch and in the Watch app.
The receiving watch needs watchOS 7 or later.
What about third-party complications?
A shared face can include complications from other apps. If you do not have one of those apps, you are offered the app in the App Store, or you can tap Continue Without This App and add the face without that complication.
Tips
- Only add faces from people and sites you trust — check what apps a face asks you to install.
- Some faces only exist on newer models; an older watch may not be able to add them.