iCloud

You can customize the settings for the Freeform app.

You can change access and permissions for boards and folders you share, change a board’s background, and align items more easily. A list of participants shows who has access to a board or folder, and you can grant individuals access, permissions, or even co-ownership. You can also use a dark canvas for a board.

Here’s how to change your Freeform settings on iPad.

Change access and permissions for boards and folders

You can change access and permissions for individuals or for everyone after you start sharing or collaborating on boards and folders.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPad.
2. While viewing All Boards or the folder list, touch and hold the shared board or folder and then tap Manage Shared Board (or Folder).

   A list of participants appears, showing who has access to the board or folder.

3. Do any of the following:
   • Grant individuals access, permissions, or co-ownership: Tap a participant’s name and then adjust their settings.
   • If you own the board, change access or permissions for all: Tap Sharing Options and then adjust settings for everyone.
   • Invite others with a link: Tap Sharing Options and tap Anyone with the Link, tap the Back button. Then tap Copy Link.
     • Note: Anyone can copy the link to send to others, but if you select People You Choose, then only those invited to open the board can use the link. If you don’t want to review individual requests to view or edit the board or folder, turn off Access Requests.

Quick tip: You can manage any board while you’re working on it: Tap the Collaborate button, then tap Manage Shared Board.

Change a board’s background

If Dark Mode is on, a board can have a dark canvas with controls to match. And to see more easily whether items line up, you can show a grid of gray dots on your board.

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPad.
2. Open a board, or tap the New Board button to start a new one.
3. Tap the More button and then do any of the following:
   • Use a dark canvas: Tap Show with Dark Background. If you don’t see it, make sure you turned on Dark Mode.
   • Use another color in the background: Freeform boards have a black or white background. To define a workspace within your board that has a different background color, add a large rectangle of any color and then send it to the back and lock it. See Position items on a Freeform board.
   • Add or remove the dot grid background in full-screen view: Tap the View Options button in the lower-right corner.
   • Add or remove the dot grid background in smaller windows: Tap the More button and tap View Options. Then tap Hide Grid or Show Grid. See Work with multiple windows at once.

Align items more easily

You can make edges and points align to the nearest dot on the grid as you resize or move an item. You can also use alignment guides to help you place items more precisely. When guides are on, they appear as you drag an item on a board and it aligns with another item.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Freeform.
3. Turn on Snap to Grid, or turn on or off any of the following:
   • Center Guides: These appear when the midpoints of items align.
   • Edge Guides: These appear when the edges of items align.
   • Spacing Guides: These appear when three or more items are equally spaced in a line.

You can also access these settings when you’re working in a board. Tap the More button, tap Alignment Settings, then tap Snap to Grid or turn on the guides you want to use. Or turn them off if you don’t want them appearing as you move items near one another on the board.

Get math hints

You can choose how you want your iPad to respond to the math problems you enter.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Freeform.
3. Tap Math Results, then select one of the following:
   • If you want problems to be solved automatically: Choose Insert Results. (The answer appears in writing that matches your own.)
   • If you want suggestions to appear: Choose Suggest Results. (A Solve button appears that, when tapped, adds the answer in writing that matches your own.)
   • If you don’t want to see math results: Choose Off.

You can also access these settings when you’re working in a board. Tap the More button, then tap Math Results.

Store your Freeform boards in iCloud

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap your name, then tap iCloud.
3. Tap See All, then turn on Freeform.

Sort your boards or folders

1. Open the Freeform app on your iPad.
2. Tap the Grid View button or the List View button to switch between grid and list view.
3. Tap the More button and then do any of the following:
   • List boards alphabetically (instead of by most recently updated): Tap Sort by Name.
   • Change how boards and subfolders are listed: Choose Sort by Date, Name, Kind, or Shared By. To switch to descending order, tap the Sort Order button next to the sort name.
   • Categorize boards by how long ago they were last opened: Tap Sort by Date, then tap Use Groups.
   • Categorize boards by board owner: While viewing Shared, tap Use Groups.

Change Freeform privacy and analytics settings

Apple collects a variety of data, some of which is associated with your Apple Account. You can limit the use of certain analytics data or reset your identifier specifically used by apps in Apple Creator Studio.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Freeform.
3. Turn on or off either of the following:
   • Share Analytics Data
   • Reset Identifier

If you use iCloud Passwords & Keychain, turning off analytics or resetting your identifier affects your devices with iCloud Passwords & Keychain turned on.

See also

• Apply consistent styles and formatting in Freeform on iPad
• Position items on a Freeform board on iPad
• Get started with Freeform on iPad

The Freeform app gives you a boundless canvas for creativity. You can bring photos, drawings, links, and files together on an online whiteboard, invite others to work with you in real time, and brainstorm, sketch ideas, or take notes by yourself or with a group.

You can put just about any kind of file in a board without worrying about layouts or page sizes, and add sticky notes to brainstorm or provide feedback. Boards you store in iCloud are on your iPhone or Mac, too, so you can keep working there.

Gather ideas freely

You can put just about any kind of file in a Freeform board without worrying about layouts or page sizes. To create a board, tap the New Board button, then tap the Insert button or another option at the top of the screen to start adding your ideas.

Collaborate with others

Tap the Share Board button to invite people to start working together in real time on a board. To conduct a brainstorming session or provide feedback, add a sticky note—tap the Add Sticky Note button.

Get creative with the drawing tools

Tap the Drawing and Handwriting Tools button (or just use your Apple Pencil) to start drawing. Tap a tool to adjust the line’s thickness, transparency, color, and more. Pinch to zoom in and out as you work.

Everything you need in one place

An Apple Creator Studio subscription unlocks a rich library of premium content, along with AI-powered features like automatic cropping and photorealistic image generation.

Start on your iPad, keep working on your iPhone or Mac

The Freeform boards you store in iCloud—and any changes you make to them—stay up to date on all your Apple devices when you’re signed in to the same Apple Account. To use iCloud with Freeform, go to the Settings app, then tap your name. Tap iCloud, tap See All (in the Saved to iCloud section), then turn on Freeform.

There’s plenty more you can do with Freeform, and these guides are a good place to start:

• Create a Freeform board on iPad
• Collaborate in Freeform boards and folders on iPad
• Draw or handwrite on a Freeform board on iPad
• Add images, scans, links, and other files to a Freeform board on iPad
• Add diagrams to a Freeform board on iPad
• Subscribe to Apple Creator Studio in Freeform on iPad