How to Share an Apple Watch Face as a .watchface File

Q: Why does the shared face show the time at the top when I chose Hidden?

The Photos face always has a time, so the file stores Hidden as Top. For a design with no clock at all in the picture, export an image with Hidden instead.

Can you share Apple Watch faces?

Yes. A .watchface file is Apple's own format for a face with its settings baked in. Watch Faces builds one of the Photos face with your design as the background, so you can keep a copy or send it to someone. AirDropping one to a watchOS 26 device can result in nothing happening on arrival; that's the version where this feature broke for every app, which is why this guide also covers the fallback.

How to share your Apple Watch face, step by step

Make your design in the Designer tab and pick the watch size at the top.
Tap the three-dot menu, then Export. Export Options opens.
In the Apple Watch Face section, tap Share as .watchface File.
The Generating Watch Face sheet shows the steps while the file is built.
The iOS share sheet opens: send it by AirDrop or Messages, or save it to Files.

What is inside the .watchface file?

Open it up and it's a zip bundle of a Photos face, holding:

Your background at the @1x size of the chosen preset, for example 396×484 for 45mm.
A preview snapshot of the face.
The time position: Top or Center. Hidden is written as Top, because the Photos face always shows a time.
If you used Use as animated face, the 3-second clip, with the still frame taken 0.1 seconds before the end of the clip (2.9 s into a full 3.0 s clip).

No time color is in there. The watch draws its own time, in its own style, regardless of what you picked in the designer.

Install on Apple Watch: does it work?

Install on Apple Watch in the same section, and the Apple Watch icon in the designer toolbar, try to send the face straight to your paired watch. With no watch paired, the button is grey and says No Apple Watch paired. Pair a watch to install directly.

The fallback that always works

In Export Options, tap Export to Photos for a still design (set Time to Hidden first), or Save as Live Photo for an animated one.
Share that photo or Live Photo like any other picture.
The person receiving it saves it and chooses it for the Photos face in Apple's Watch app.

Does sharing count as an export?

Yes. Share as .watchface File counts as one of the 5 free exports per calendar month. Install on Apple Watch only counts when the install succeeds. Premium removes the monthly limit.

Questions and answers

Can I open a .watchface file on an Android phone or a Mac?

Watch Faces makes the file on iPhone or iPad; it is meant for an Apple Watch paired with an iPhone. The app has no Android or Mac version.

Why does the shared face show the time at the top when I chose Hidden?

The Photos face always has a time, so the file stores Hidden as Top. For a design with no clock at all in the picture, export an image with Hidden instead.

Is the .watchface file bigger for an animated design?

It includes the short silent clip at @1x size, so it is larger than a still design, but it stays a small file you can send by message.

How to design your own Apple Watch face with colors and gradients · Watch Faces

How to share an Apple Watch face as a .watchface file