Nearby Share / Quick Share (Android)
Also known as: Quick Share, Nearby Share, Android AirDrop, Android file sharing
Nearby Share — now branded Quick Share — is Android’s built-in feature for sending photos, files, and links directly between nearby devices, using Bluetooth to pair and Wi-Fi to transfer. It is Android’s equivalent of AirDrop and needs no internet or data plan.
- Android’s AirDrop equivalent for device-to-device transfer
- Pairs over Bluetooth, transfers over Wi-Fi
- No internet or cellular data required
How Quick Share works
Quick Share discovers nearby devices over Bluetooth, then moves the actual files over a direct Wi-Fi link for speed. Because the transfer is device-to-device, it does not use mobile data or count against a cellular cap, and it works without an internet connection.
You trigger it from the system Share sheet: pick photos or files, choose Quick Share, and select the nearby device. Google merged the older "Nearby Share" name with Samsung’s "Quick Share," so newer phones show Quick Share.
Storage angle
Files you receive land in your device storage — usually the Downloads folder or the Photos library — so a big batch of shared videos adds to your used space just like any download. Sending files does not free space on the sender by itself.
It is a fast way to move large media off one phone onto a laptop or another device without uploading to the cloud first, which sidesteps slow upload speeds.