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.

A Beginner's Guide to End-to-End Encrypted File Sharing

September 27, 2026

"End-to-end encrypted" shows up on a lot of apps and marketing pages. It's a specific, checkable claim — worth unpacking rather than taking as a blanket reassurance.

The basic idea

Data is scrambled on the sending device and only unscrambled again on the receiving device. Anything in between — a server, a network operator, anyone intercepting the traffic — sees only the scrambled version, never the readable file.

Why 'end-to-end' is the important part of the phrase

It's worth contrasting this with encryption that only covers part of the trip — a file encrypted between your device and a company's server (often called "encrypted in transit"), then decrypted and stored in plain, readable form on that server. That's real encryption. It just isn't end-to-end: the company itself can still read the file once it lands.

How this applies to a direct transfer

A direct, peer-to-peer transfer's data channel is encrypted, and there's no server in the middle decrypting anything to store or inspect. That means the two devices at either end are effectively the only two points where the file exists in readable form at all — which is the practical, working definition of end-to-end here.

What to actually check, not just what to read

For any tool making this claim, the useful question is "does anything other than the sender and recipient ever get a readable copy?" — not simply whether the word "encrypted" appears somewhere on the page.

A realistic expectation

Encryption protects data in motion and controls who can read it along the way — it doesn't vouch for who's actually on the other end of the connection. That's a separate job, which is exactly why pairing — a QR code, PIN, or spoken phrase — is a necessary layer on top of encryption, not a redundant one.