If your Claude share link is not working, open Share on the original chat and check who has access. Email invitations require the invited account. Public links open without one. If the page shows old content, check the shared snapshot before asking the recipient to change browsers.
1. Match the link to the recipient’s account
Email invitations are Claude’s default way to share a chat. Sending an invitation link doesn’t make it public.
| Sharing mode | Who can open it | First check |
|---|---|---|
| Invitation to specific people | The invited Claude account | Does the signed-in account’s email address match the invitation? |
| Public chat link | Anyone with the URL | Is public sharing still enabled? |
| Organization chat link | Signed-in members of that organization | Is the recipient using the right organization account? |
If the recipient sees You need access, compare their signed-in email with the address under People with access.
A colleague may open a work invitation from a personal account. Ask them to switch accounts and reopen it. Forwarding an invitation won’t give someone else access. Enter that person’s address under People with access, then click Send.
Recipients without a Claude account can create a Free account with the invited address. Organization invitations also depend on the organization’s access rules.
2. Check whether the chat belongs to an organization
A Team or Enterprise chat cannot be made public. Claude’s public-link rules restrict those links to signed-in members of the same organization.
Ask your coworker which organization they’re signed in to. For a missing seat or access restriction, ask an administrator for help. Administrators can also disable chat sharing, as the invitation guide explains. Another invitation may not solve the problem.
For an external client, check your organization’s rules for sending work outside it. If a document is allowed, prepare one. The chat-sharing overview helps you choose between a link and a file.
3. Confirm that the original chat is still shared
If a link used to work, check whether sharing was turned off, the recipient was removed, or the chat was deleted.
- Open the original conversation.
- Click Share.
- Review the audience and listed recipients.
- Add the intended recipient again if access was removed by mistake.
Turn off stops access for everyone, according to Anthropic’s invitation instructions. Deleting the chat also removes its shared snapshot.
Read the chat before sharing again. A deleted original can’t be recovered through its old URL. Use a saved copy if you have one.
4. Update the snapshot when the latest answer is missing
A shared chat is a snapshot, so later messages won’t appear automatically. This applies to public chat links and invitations.
For an invited chat, open Share and choose Update shared chat, as the invitation guide explains. This replaces the snapshot for everyone with access.
If your menu uses Public and Private, Anthropic’s general guide says to unshare and share again. Recheck the audience before sending the link.
Compare the last message the recipient sees with the one you want to send. A revised budget or corrected deadline helps tell versions apart. Read the discussion between those messages, too. Updating can include more than the corrected answer.
Ask the recipient to reopen the link. If the answer is still old, compare their URL with the source chat’s shared link, especially if you shared several project conversations.
5. Check what the snapshot is allowed to include
Public snapshots leave out uploaded files. So do email invitations, except within an organization, according to the invitation guide. Invited viewers cannot download files from the snapshot.
Send the spreadsheet or brief separately through an appropriate channel. The discussion may be visible even though the file is missing.
Generated files have a different restriction. Anthropic’s file-creation guide says public sharing is disabled for Free, Pro, Max, and Ultra chats containing file artifacts from that feature. This can explain a missing public-sharing option.
Check which file type you have. A missing upload and a generated file blocking public sharing need different fixes.
6. Test a supposedly public link in a private window
Use a private window to check access without your existing Claude session.
- Copy the shared-chat URL from Share.
- Open a private browsing window.
- Confirm you are not signed in to Claude there.
- Paste the URL.
A public snapshot should open without an account. Invitations and organization links still need the right sign-in, so a sign-in request doesn’t mean they’re broken.
If the chat was meant for one person, correct the invitation or account. Making it public to pass this test would widen its audience.
7. Make sure the URL opens a chat
Standalone artifacts have different sharing rules. Ordinary shared artifacts require a Claude account. Publicly published legacy chat artifacts are an exception. An owner can allow outside access to some organization artifact links, although organization chat links remain internal.
Claude Docs have further restrictions. Recipients need a Claude account to open a shared Doc. If the URL opens a document or tool, check its own Share menu.
8. Send a reviewed file when the recipient needs a deliverable
For a fixed record or email attachment, DocMyChat exports an open claude.ai chat or reply to PDF or Word. It works in desktop Chrome, one chat or reply at a time. Check that the file contains only what the recipient needs before sending.
Use the PDF export steps for a readable copy or the email handoff guide for a response or attachment. Send needed original source files separately if you have permission.
Apply your usual sharing rules. Add a clear filename and date so the recipient can identify the version.
Questions
Can the recipient reply to or continue my shared chat?
No. Shared-chat snapshots are view only. An invitation doesn’t turn your conversation into a collaborative chat or add a copy to the recipient’s account.
Does turning sharing off delete screenshots or copies?
No. It disables the Claude link but cannot remove a copy someone already saved. Choose the sharing audience before sending the link.
Do chat invitations expire?
Anthropic says a pending invitation expires after 30 days if it isn’t opened. This applies to unopened invitations, so don’t use it as an expiration date for every Claude link.
Can I invite specific people from the mobile app?
Use claude.ai in a web browser to send chat invitations, following Anthropic’s invitation guide. Recipients can open a chat shared with them on any device.