Decide what the recipient needs
Suppose someone needs one receipt from a space that also contains identity documents. Send the receipt, not the entire collection. Open the file first, check every page and confirm its name. If a document contains unrelated personal details, prepare and inspect a separate redacted version in a suitable editor before sharing it.
An export is a readable copy
In the current Veil preview, the file menu offers Export decrypted copy. Selected files can also be exported together. These actions prepare ordinary files for the iOS share sheet, not an encrypted Veil backup. Check the selected filenames, destination and recipient before completing the handoff. Available destinations depend on the apps installed on your phone.
Sending and saving both create another place to check
If you save an exported file to Files, it remains there independently of the vault. Apple documents sending files from Files through destinations such as AirDrop, Messages or Mail. An exported copy may be stored or synchronized by its destination. Review that destination’s behavior before using it for private material.
Check the image as well as its metadata
Apple notes that sharing from Photos can include information such as location and capture time. An export from a vault should not be assumed to remove metadata. Also inspect what is visible: an address on a receipt, a name on a badge or a reflection can identify someone even when location metadata is absent. Veil’s browser image tool creates a new PNG; it does not redact visible content or clean PDFs and videos.
Locking the vault does not recall a copy
Veil’s lock flow clears its temporary export state and attempts to remove its temporary files. That is separate from a file already saved or delivered elsewhere. Deleting the source from Veil, changing its pattern or ending Plus access does not erase the recipient’s copy. Do not rely on a vault to prevent screenshots, photographs of a screen or onward sharing.
A backup serves a different purpose
Use an encrypted backup when you need to recover your own collection. It contains the space’s backed-up content rather than just the one item selected for ordinary export. Keep its matching recovery code separate. Do not send a whole-space backup and its recovery code just to deliver one document.
What about invitations and revocation?
Online invitations are not enabled in the current Veil release configuration. The development implementation has expiry and export controls, but production operation and behavior across separate devices still need validation. This guide does not offer a live revocable-sharing service. Even a future invitation that stops allowing access could not erase a copy someone already obtained.
Before you finish
Check that the intended file reached the intended place and opens correctly. Remove any extra readable copies you no longer need from destinations you control, considering their own trash and backup behavior. Keep your encrypted original or a recoverable backup if you still need it. If you cannot accept the recipient retaining a copy, reconsider sending the file.