Setup guide · iPhone
How to draw on their home screen.
The whole setup is install, pair once with a 6-letter code, add the widget. It takes about two minutes, you only do it once, and both of you need an iPhone. Here is each step.
iOS 17 or later · setup takes about two minutes
The setup, step by step
Install Twin Draw on both iPhones
Download the app free from the App Store on both phones. It requires iOS 17 or later.
Create an account on each phone
Sign in with an email address on each side. Each person has their own account.
Share the 6-letter pair code
One of you opens the pairing screen and sends the 6-letter code to the other, who types it in. That links the two accounts. You only do this once.
Add the widget to your home screen
Touch and hold an empty area of the home screen, tap the plus button, search for Twin Draw, and add the shared canvas widget. Do it on both phones so you each see the other's drawings.
Draw something
Open the canvas and draw. It appears on your partner's widget without either of you pressing send.
What happens after setup
Once you're paired, anything you draw on the shared canvas appears on your partner's widget, and anything they draw appears on yours. While you're both in the app the strokes show up on the other screen within a couple hundred milliseconds — there is no send button and nothing to save first.
The widget refreshes itself, so neither of you has to open the app to see a new drawing — and it does it without sending an alert, so a drawing turns up quietly rather than interrupting. iOS decides exactly when a widget may refresh, so the home screen can lag the canvas by a few minutes; opening the app always shows the current state.
If the widget looks out of date
This is almost always iOS budgeting widget refreshes rather than anything being lost. The drawing is waiting on the shared canvas, and opening Twin Draw shows it immediately. Nothing is ever discarded because a widget didn't refresh in time.
What you'll need
Both people need an iPhone running iOS 17 or later — there is no Android version yet, and a pair can't span the two. Each of you needs an account, which is an email address, and you can only be paired with one person at a time. The app's interface is English-only for now, including the widget names in the iOS widget gallery.
Questions
How do I draw on my partner's home screen?
Install Twin Draw on both iPhones, pair once by sharing a 6-letter code, then add the Twin Draw widget to each home screen. Anything you draw on the shared canvas then appears on your partner's widget, and the widget refreshes itself without either of you opening the app.
How long does setup take?
About two minutes, and you only do it once. The longest part is typing in the 6-letter pair code.
Do we both need an iPhone?
Yes. Twin Draw is an iPhone app and needs iOS 17 or later on both sides. There is no Android version yet, so a pair cannot be one iPhone and one Android phone.
Why hasn't my widget updated yet?
iOS controls how often a widget is allowed to refresh, so the home screen can lag the canvas by a few minutes. Nothing is lost — the drawing is waiting on the shared canvas, and opening the app shows it straight away.
Does my partner get a notification when I draw?
No. A new drawing arrives silently: it updates their home-screen widget without an alert, so they find it the next time they look at their phone. The only notification Twin Draw sends is when your partner leaves a reaction or a one-line reply on the canvas. There are no streak reminders and no prompts to draw.