Google announced today that its Nearby Share app for Windows PCs is now officially available. Nearby Share makes its easier to share files across your phones, tablets, Chromebooks and more devices. A PC version of the app has been in beta since March 2023, and is now officially available.
The tech giant says the beta version has been installed by more than 1.7 million people, and that it has seen over 50 million files transferred between PC and Android devices since launch.
With today’s official release, Google is adding new improvements to the Nearby Share for Windows app. The company has added the estimated time for file transfers to be completed, so you can get an understanding of how quickly large files like videos or entire folders will be shared. There is also now an image preview within device notifications to help you confirm that the correct file is being shared.
“To make sharing between Android devices and PCs even more seamless, we’re working with partners like HP to include the Nearby Share app on select Windows PCs, such as the HP Dragonfly Pro,” Google wrote in a blog post. “We’ll continue to work on Nearby Share for Windows, adding new functionality and listening to your feedback.”
Users must enable their PC’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions in order to use Nearby Share for Windows. Once you have set up the functionality, you will be able to drag a file into the app or right-click it and select the Nearby Share option to send it to a device near you. Devices that you’re transferring files between have to be within 16 feet of each other.