Do you want to use AirDrop on Windows? Try Snapdrop, the free alternative

Have you ever needed a file that you had available on a device on another connected to your network? This is a fairly frequent problem, especially with the arrival of mobile devices, as you may need a photograph or any other type of document on your computer, and getting this is not always so easy.

This is why AirDrop arrived a long time ago from Apple, a proprietary and exclusive technology among its various devices thanks to which, using a network, it is possible to transfer files between them very quickly and at the same time safely. Based in part on the operation of this feature comes Snapdrop, an open source solution with which without having to install anything on any of your devices you can send and receive files and messages between different computers connected to the same network.

Snapdrop, this is how the free alternative to Apple’s AirDrop for Windows and Android works

As we mentioned, in this case Snapdrop works in a very similar way to how AirDrop does within the Apple ecosystem., only that in this case you will not need a Mac, iPhone or iPad (although if you want you can use it, of course), but the solution can be used without problem in Windows, Android, Linux or any operating system.

To do this, you just have to access from the devices between which you want to share your files or messages to the official website of Snapdrop. When you do this, you will see a fairly simple starting interface, where only a button will appear to indicate the files to share. As devices that are connected to the same network as you join, such as your mobile device through a Wi-Fi network, they will be displayed within the page.

In this case, although it is true that the model of the device appears below each device, names are randomly selected. At the bottom, you will be able to see the name by which each device is identified, in order to be able to use the service correctly.

There are two different functions in Snapdrop: on the one hand there is the sending of files, and on the other the sending of messages. The main thing is to send files, for which You only have to click on the device to which you want to send content and you can automatically choose it from your computer or mobile as you wish. Afterwards, the transfer of the same will begin immediately, being able to choose once it is finished whether or not you want to save the file in question.

The main advantage why choosing this service over others such as email or uploads to the cloud is speed, because in this case the file does not really leave your local network, but through the access device to Internet is exchanged between the different services. A) Yes, Regardless of your connection speed, the most probable thing for the vast majority of files is that in a matter of seconds you can use them on your computer without problem.

In addition, separate from the service of sending and receiving files, can also be used for conversations. If you choose a device and right-click from your computer or long-press from any mobile device, the box in question will be displayed. You can write any message you want and it will appear instantly on the other device.

This is quite useful for sending confirmation keys or similar aspects, taking into account privacy as the content does not get out of the internal network.

In this way, as you may have seen It is a free and comprehensive communication tool between devices that can save you from many problems at certain times. To this we must also add that it is about an open source solution, with which other developers can make use of the code of said platform if they wish, so it is possible that in the future we will see news using this same multi-device technology.