Do my files pass through or get saved on any server?

No. Nearsend is strictly a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. The signaling server is only used to exchange temporary session tokens and WebRTC handshake coordinates. Once connected, your files, text, and clipboard stream directly between your devices via WebRTC DataChannels in 64KB encrypted chunks.

How does the Voice Pairing work securely?

When you generate a voice pairing phrase, the host device creates an ephemeral 3-minute token. When spoken on the guest device, browser speech recognition converts the acoustic phrase into the token. The server validates the match and immediately triggers an explicit confirmation prompt on the host device before any connection is allowed.

Does Nearsend work across different operating systems?

Yes! Nearsend works seamlessly across any modern web browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and ChromeOS. No native apps or software installations are required.

Is there a file size limit on Nearsend?

Because transfers stream directly via WebRTC without hitting a central server memory limit, you can send files ranging from kilobytes to multi-gigabyte videos. Nearsend incorporates backpressure flow control to ensure smooth transmission without exhausting device RAM.

AirDrop, Nearby Share, and Browser-Based Transfer: What's the Real Difference

September 27, 2026

These tools often get lumped together as "wireless file sharing," but they work in meaningfully different ways, with different trade-offs — not just different logos.

AirDrop: same ecosystem, local discovery

Apple's AirDrop uses Bluetooth to discover nearby Apple devices and Wi-Fi Direct to move the actual file, all handled at the operating-system level. It's fast and seamless, with one hard boundary: both devices have to be Apple hardware.

Nearby Share: the same shape, a different company

Nearby Share does the equivalent job for Android, and more recently Windows — the same local Bluetooth and Wi-Fi discovery model, the same ecosystem-first design, just a different company drawing the boundary.

Browser-based transfer: a different trade entirely

A browser-based tool like Nearsend gives up the "automatically discover a nearby device" convenience — you deliberately pair with a QR code, PIN, or phrase instead — in exchange for working the same way on any device with a browser, regardless of who made its operating system.

The real trade-off, spelled out

Ecosystem tools win on convenience within their own walled garden: no explicit pairing step, near-instant discovery. Browser-based tools win the moment your two devices don't share an operating system — an iPhone and a Windows laptop, for instance — which is exactly the situation where the ecosystem tools simply don't work at all.

This isn't really about which is 'better'

It comes down to whether your two devices are already in the same walled garden. If they are, the native tool is hard to beat on convenience. If they're not, that's specifically the gap a cross-platform, browser-based tool fills.