Quick Share vs tosstome
Quick Share, which used to be called Nearby Share, is Google's built-in way to send files between nearby Android phones, Chromebooks and Windows PCs. If both of your devices support it, it is the fastest option and needs nothing extra on the phone. tosstome covers the cases it does not.
What Quick Share does
From Google's Quick Share help page and the Quick Share for Windows page (checked 2026-10-28):
- It is built into Android 6 and later and Chromebooks. On Windows it is an app for "a 64-bit version of Windows 10 and up (or Windows 11 and up for ARM-based devices)".
- Both devices need Bluetooth on, and the Windows PC needs Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Google says the devices "should be close to each other, within 16 feet (5m)".
- You choose who can find you: your own devices, your contacts, or everyone for 10 minutes.
- Some newer Android phones (Pixel 8a or later and certain other brands) can send to an iPhone, iPad or Mac through AirDrop. Other phones can send to Apple devices with a QR code; those files are "end-to-end encrypted and uploaded to Google servers" and stay available for 24 hours.
- Samsung PCs use Samsung's own Quick Share app instead of Google's.
Side by side
| Quick Share | tosstome | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Built into Android; an app on Windows | Nothing; a browser tab on each device |
| Mac and Linux computers | Not listed by Google | Yes, any modern browser |
| iPhone | AirDrop on some newer phones, otherwise a 24-hour link on Google servers | Yes, in Safari, with nothing stored |
| Distance | Nearby, about 5 m, Bluetooth on | Any distance; same Wi-Fi or a 6-digit code |
| Always-on receiver on a server | No | Yes, tosstome listen |
| Files stored | No, except the QR code path to Apple devices | No |
Which one to use
- Android to a Windows PC or Chromebook in the same room: Quick Share. It is already on the phone and does not need a browser on either side.
- Android to a Mac or Linux computer: tosstome, or another browser tool. See Android to Mac.
- Devices in different places: tosstome with a 6-digit code. Quick Share needs the devices next to each other.
- A work PC where you cannot install apps or turn on Bluetooth: tosstome only needs the browser.
What tosstome does
- Runs in the browser. Nothing to install on the sending side.
- Devices on the same network see each other automatically. On different networks, one device shows a 6-digit code and the other types it in.
- Files go device to device over WebRTC when the networks allow it. If a direct connection does not come up within a few seconds, they go through a relay on Cloudflare that forwards the bytes and keeps nothing.
- An optional command line tool,
tosstome listen, keeps an always-on inbox on a computer. It prints a link and QR code; open it on a phone and files land in a folder on that computer, with no browser open on the computer side. - Text messages and links travel the same way as files, with a Copy button on the receiving side.
- Nothing is stored. If the receiver is offline, nothing is sent.
What tosstome does not do (yet)
- The relay is protected by TLS between each device and Cloudflare, but it is not end-to-end encrypted yet. Direct WebRTC transfers are encrypted end to end by the browser (DTLS).
- A receiving browser keeps the file in memory until you save it, so very large files are better received with the command line tool, which writes straight to disk.
- Both sides must be online at the same time. There is no "upload now, download tomorrow".
- It is new. Browser-side device pairing and end-to-end encryption on the relay are still being built.
Related
- Send files from Android to a PC without USB
- Send files from Android to a Mac
- An AirDrop alternative for Windows, Android and everything else
- Snapdrop alternatives that still send peer to peer
Last checked 2026-10-28.