Airdrop and Quick Share (before Nearby Share) They are two sensational inventions, but they have a problem: they are not multiplatform. Airdrop only works in the Apple and Quick Share ecosystem alone in Android and Windows, so we have a problem if we mix devices. If you have an Android Mac and mobile, sending files from each other is a pain. If you have an iPhone and a Windows or Linux PC, the same. The solution? How could it be otherwise, an application Open Sourcefree, multiplatform and that works at one thousand wonders.
My case. I have a Windows computer, an Android mobile and an iPad. I use the iPad to read and design, the mobile for all the things of day to day (but mainly take photos) and the PC for everything else. One can imagine how complex the file sharing is.
To date, the simplest solution I had found were Telegram saved messagesbut it did not seem to me the most efficient way to send files, especially heavy, from one device to another, particularly from and from the iPad to others.
LESS Airdrop. Whoever has an iPhone and a Mac will know the comfortable and above all, how fast is it sending any file through Airdrop: you share it, the devices are among themselves and wait a few seconds. Is there no alternative that works on any device, regardless of the brand? There are several, but the one that has managed to convince me for a matter of ease of use, for being free, multiplatform and Open Source His name is LocalSend.
Localsend interface on Android | Image: Xataka
LocalSend? It is an application that allows you to send files between devices through a local network without the need for Internet connection. To do this, use an API Rest and HTTPS encryption. It does not require external servers, but connects the devices with each other. The app has been developed by Tien do Nam and Your code is available in githubin case someone wants to take a look.
And how does it work? Surprisingly well. The transfer is fast, stable and agnostic to the device. And if that were not enough, there is not a single ad, no data is not collected or data with third parties are not shared. A unicorn, go. Can be downloaded in Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and macOS From the official website.
Patient potato (my mobile) sending files to Bright Melon (my PC) | Image: Xataka
The only handicap is that both devices must be connected to the same Wi -Fi network, something that is not a problem if we are at home. Unfortunately, it is not compatible with Wi -Fi Directat least for now. If we had to use it away from home, it would be enough to create a local Wi -Fi network from the mobile and connect the devices to it.
What can it serve. He has come to me to pass the brutes of the videos he recorded For Tiktok from the mobile to the PC (before I climbed them to Amazon Photos and downloaded them on the computer, like the beasts). It has also been good for me to spend some heavy designs from the PC or to send files to my mobile partner (Android) to yours (an iPhone). If you usually transfer heavy files between devices, localsend can be a great ally.
Images | Xataka
In Xataka | How to send large files: 9 free services with unlimited size
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