---
title: "Pass sharing"
url: https://getstell.com/glossary/pass-sharing
description: "Whether a wallet pass can be sent from one person's wallet to another; a per-pass setting an issuer decides based on whether the pass is personal or transferable."
---

# Pass sharing

Pass sharing is the wallet's built-in way to forward a pass. Apple Wallet shows a share action on a pass, and using it sends a copy to another person, who adds it to their own wallet. It is convenient for exactly the passes that are meant to move: a ticket bought for a friend, a gift card, a coupon.

The issuer controls it. In [pass.json](/glossary/pass-json) a single flag, sharing prohibited, removes the share action from the pass. Google Wallet passes do not carry a share sheet in the same way; a pass is delivered through a [save link](/glossary/save-link), and whether that link can be reused is decided by how the issuer builds it.

Turning sharing off is not the same as making the pass unshareable. A screenshot of a QR code travels as easily as the pass itself, and a member number typed at the till works for whoever knows it. The pass becomes genuinely personal only when the identification route cannot be copied, which is what [account binding](/glossary/account-binding) on an [NFC pass](/glossary/nfc-identification) delivers: the encrypted tap comes from the device the pass was issued to, and a copy on another phone does not exist.

The decision is per program. Membership, member pricing and staff benefits are [credentials](/glossary/credential), and sharing them costs the program real money, so they should be locked down. Coupons and gift cards are usually meant to change hands, and locking them defeats their purpose. A points card sits between: sharing it is a small leak, and most programs leave it open rather than add friction.