July 23, 2024, 12:04 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
AirDrop is a handy feature, but unfortunately, it’s only available for Apple devices. To share files between Android smartphones and iPhones, a workaround using a cloud storage service is necessary. WhatsApp aims to simplify this with a data transfer function. TECHBOOK explains how this is supposed to work.
The global reach of WhatsApp makes the messenger an ideal platform for an AirDrop-like feature for sharing files. The function has been in testing since January, but until now, it was only available for Android smartphones. Now it has appeared in the beta version of WhatsApp for iPhones and has been given a new name: Nearby Share.
File Sharing Still in Development
As usual, the insiders at WABetaInfo were the first to discover the change. It can be found in the WhatsApp beta version 24.15.10.70 for iOS. For testers who have installed the app via the Testflight program, the new Nearby Share option appears in the settings. A screenshot shows that the feature generates a QR code that another person can scan to share files.
The implementation of the feature in iOS is fundamentally different from the version WhatsApp has developed for Android so far. Here, scanning a QR code is not necessary, as the smartphones can automatically detect each other–hence the feature is called “People nearby.” At least in the early development stage, users need to shake the smartphone to see a nearby file-sharing request. Screenshots of the Android version of the feature indicate that file sharing is supposed to be end-to-end encrypted. For Nearby Share, this information is not yet available.
What Are the Advantages of Nearby Share?
Aside from making it easier to share photos, videos in original quality, and other files than sending them as WhatsApp messages, the feature offers additional benefits.
Nearby Share does not require the people who want to share something to be WhatsApp contacts. File sharing is possible without adding the number beforehand. Also, your phone number remains invisible to non-contacts during the transfer process.
Moreover, WhatsApp bridges the gap between Android smartphones and iPhones, which previously lacked integrated systems for file transfer. With its vast user base, WhatsApp provides an ideal alternative to cloud transfer services. If you want to share files, chances are the other person also has WhatsApp on their smartphone.
Additionally, Nearby Share offers the advantage that, similar to Apple’s AirDrop, no internet connection is required for use. This means that transferring larger files in original quality is possible even when Wi-Fi or mobile data is unavailable or insufficient.