Public Links vs Sharing with a Wave User
Wave has two ways to send someone a session — a public web page, or an invite into Wave. Here's which one to reach for.
Both live in the same share sheet, and they do different jobs. A public link publishes the session as a web page anyone can open. Share with a Wave user invites a named person into Wave to read the session there.
Side by side
| Public link | Share with a Wave user | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can open it | Anyone with the URL | Anyone with the invite link, after signing in |
| Wave account needed | No | Yes — free is fine |
| Where it opens | A web page on share.wave.co | Inside Wave: the app, app.wave.co, or Wave Desktop |
| Password | Optional | Not applicable |
| Choose what's visible | Yes — summary, transcript, audio | No — summary, transcript, action items, and audio all go |
| Expires | No | The link expires after 30 days; claimed access doesn't |
| See who opened it | No | Yes, in People with access |
| Remove one person | No — you can only switch the whole link off | Yes |
| Take it all back | Switch publishing off | Remove everyone, then Reset link |
| Shows in their Wave library | No | Yes, under Shared with me |
Use a public link when
- The person doesn't use Wave and shouldn't have to sign up for anything.
- You're posting it somewhere semi-open — a client email, a class page, a group chat.
- You want to publish the summary only, and keep the transcript and audio back.
- You want a password on it.
Full walkthrough: Sharing a Session as a Public Link.
Share with a Wave user when
- You're sending it to specific people and want a record of who has it.
- You may need to take one person's access away later without disturbing everyone else.
- You'd rather they read it in Wave, with the player and the transcript they're used to.
- You want them to keep finding it later, in their own Shared with me list, instead of hunting for an old URL.
Full walkthrough: Sharing a Session with Another Wave User.
Neither, sometimes
If you just want a copy of the content in someone's hands — a PDF for a client, a Word file for a report, a page in Notion, an email to yourself — that's an export, not a share. See Sharing and Exporting Your Wave Sessions and Emailing Your Wave Summaries.
FAQ
Yes. They're independent switches on the same session. Turning one off doesn't touch the other.
No. Both are free on every plan, for you and for whoever you send them to.
Not from inside Wave — they can't re-share or export a session shared with them. A public link, on the other hand, is as forwardable as any URL.
Yes, both ways. A corrected summary, a renamed session, or a trim shows on the public page, and to the people you invited the next time they open the session.
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