LocalSend — An alternative to AirDrop that works everywhere
We have been struggling with this situation where my wife is using iPhone 12 and now that the internal storage of her iPhone is almost full, she wants to transfer all of her photos and videos to some other device to free some space in it. And since I’m using an Android device, AirDrop is not an option.
We don’t have a Mac either so that option is also out of the equation. So, we were kinda stuck! But then I stumbled upon this seemingly “perfect solution” for our scenario recently that ended our misery. It’s an open-source app called LocalSend.
As the name suggests, LocalSend is a local file transfer tool that allows you to securely send files (and folders and text) from one device to another over your local network without the need for an internet connection. It uses RESTful API and HTTP encryption to transfer files between devices.
The best thing about LocalSend is that it’s cross-platform. It’s available on any platform you can think of. Be it Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and even Fire OS.
The app is also very easy to use. You just need to install the app on both devices and then the app will automatically detect the devices on the same network and then you can start transferring files between them.
As you can tell, the app has a very minimalistic yet functional UI. The native apps available for Android and iOS follow the same design language which is a good thing.
The app assigns a random name to your device when you first install it but you can change this from the settings. You can also configure other things like the app theme, destination folder, app language, and more from the settings.
I think go, give LocalSend a try if you’re in a similar situation as mine. It’s certainly a tool that will be in my arsenal from now on.
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👋 Hi there! I'm Amit. I write articles about all things web development. You can become a sponsor on my blog to help me continue my writing journey and get your brand in front of thousands of eyes.
