Share Web App or Web map only with friends

[Maps-Berlin]

Hello everybody,

I was wondering if there is a possiblity to share a web map or web app I created in ArcGIS Online only with friends instead of publishing it publicly or to my organization (of which there is none because I am using a personal license).

I was thinking of something like a password protection or activation link.

Is there any way to achieve this?

[JayJohnsonWashoeCounty]

You would have to create a group and share your content with that group. 

Then invite your friends to join that group.

[Maps-Berlin]

Thank you for your answer, but I think I need a bit more guidance here.

I tried this approach by creating a free account which I then tried to invite to my group. The problem is that, as I then found out, I can´t Invite a free account if my main account for which I had to create an organization to manage credits and such. Organizational accounts cants group with free accounts.     

[Maps-Berlin]

After digging a little deeper, it seems this is a feature which requires a business subsription and additionally buying viewer user type subscriptions.

Is there no way to simply password (or otherwise) protect a map or some other workaround?

An example: I, using my personal licence, create a layer containing day trips during a vacation in ArcGIS Desktop and upload it to ArcGIS Online, create a simple map, and want to share it with my family/friends (needless to say none of which have an ArcGIS account or even know what ArcGIS is) but not with the public, is there no way to achieve this? This seems like a simple feature.  

[JayJohnsonWashoeCounty · Accepted solution]

Simple idea, yes -  but that just isn't the way ESRI has it set up. 

Either you make the map public, in which case everyone can see it, OR you keep it private, but share it with a group - which requires AGOL accounts for everyone in the group.  There is no other out of the box mechanism for a "password protected map".

My original advice was based on thinking you were working from a public account.  As you found out, you can't invite public accounts to Groups in your organizational account, but you CAN create groups and invite other public account users via YOUR public account.  You just can't mix organizational accounts with public accounts.  So you could copy your content from your organizational account to your newly created public account (or just re-create your content in the public account, if you find that easier), create your group there and share with a group of friends/family that way.  That still requires the people you want to share with to have a public account, which might be more than you (or they) want to deal with.

 Or just make it public...

[Maps-Berlin]

Thanks so much for taking the time. 

[JayJohnsonWashoeCounty]

Sure Phillip.  If this answered your question, be sure to mark it as "Correct" so that this thread is completed.