How to Enable Nearby Share
Nearby Share allows you to instantly share photos, web pages, and files to other Android users. It is available on some Android phones and will be on more devices including Chromebooks in the future. It can use Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or WebRTC, so it works whether you’re online or offline. Both the sender and the receiver must have Nearby Share enabled on their device.
How to Use Nearby Share
Once everything is set up and you’re with a user who also has Nearby Share, it’s pretty easy to swap data. In this example, we’ll be using a web page, but this works for any kind of file, photo, or anything with a share button. On your recipient’s device, the sent file will open in whatever app has been designated to open that type of file. In this case, it was in Google Chrome, the phone’s default browser. Other files will be handled per Android’s rules.
I Don’t Have Nearby Share Yet. How Can I Get it?
Nearby Share is currently available for Pixel phones and Samsung Galaxy phones. Google will roll out the feature to other OEMs in the coming months. If you do not have one of those kinds of phones, but you want Nearby Share now, you can sign up for the Nearby Share beta program for Google Play Services. Keep in mind, that using a beta service has its own difficulties and pitfalls. It’s easy to get out of the program by visiting the same link and following the instructions on that page.
So Is Nearby Share Just Airdrop for Android?
Nearby Share is a lot like Apple’s AirDrop, which lets you send files, photos, and URLs to other Apple devices using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The two services are very similar to each other but there are two main differences:
Nearby Share adds WebRTC to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as protocols it can use. Users aren’t limited to a single device maker. Right now Samsung users can share with Google Pixel users and the list will expand to other OEMs in the future.
