Share Icons

Unlike icons such as search or close, share never settled on a single universal shape. The three-connected-dots symbol (popularized by Android) and the arrow-breaking-out-of-a-box symbol (popularized by iOS) are both widely recognized, but which one users expect can depend on their platform habits. Pick based on your target platform or audience, or check your product's existing icon conventions.

For web apps without a strong platform-specific audience, either works, though the arrow-out-of-a-box style has become more broadly recognized across platforms in recent years. If your product is heavily used within a specific mobile OS context, matching that platform's native convention can feel more familiar to users.

They're closely related but not always identical in meaning — 'share' usually implies sending content to another person or platform (social media, messaging), while 'export' implies saving content in a different format or location (like exporting to PDF or CSV). Some libraries use the same arrow-out icon for both; if the distinction matters in your product, consider using visually distinct icons or clear labels.

This depends on your platform — mobile web and native apps can often trigger the device's built-in share sheet (letting users pick from installed apps), while desktop web interfaces more commonly show a custom dropdown or modal listing specific sharing options (copy link, email, social platforms) since there's no equivalent native share sheet in most browsers.

Each icon keeps the license from its source library attached to it, and terms can differ depending on which library a specific icon comes from. Check the license shown on the individual icon's page before using it commercially.

Yes — a general share icon is often used as the trigger button, which then opens a menu showing individual platform icons (from Pathwork's Social Media collection) for the specific networks a user can share to.