Android App in Open Beta!

Why bring Free Transfer to Android?

Phones have become the primary camera, scanner and note‑taking device for many people. Photos, videos and documents often start their life on mobile before they ever reach a laptop or desktop. Until now, sending those files through Free Transfer required opening a browser and navigating to the site, which works but is not always as smooth as a dedicated app.

The Android app aims to make private file sharing from mobile as natural as sharing a photo in a chat app, but with a very different architecture. Instead of uploading your media to a central server, the app uses P2P connections where possible. You can transfer files directly from your device to someone else’s browser or phone without creating long‑term cloud copies.

Key features in the open beta

The initial open beta focuses on getting the fundamentals right:

• Easy file selection: Choose one or multiple files from your device’s storage or gallery.
• Link‑based sharing: Generate a share link that you can send via chat, email or QR code.
• P2P transfers: When possible, the app establishes direct connections to recipients, mirroring the web experience.
• No file size limit: As on the web, we do not impose an artificial cap; your connection and device resources are the main constraints.

Over time we will refine the interface and add more options, but even in its beta state the app already offers a powerful way to send files secure from Android.

How the app keeps your privacy intact

The Android app follows the same privacy principles as the main Free Transfer service. File contents are never stored on our servers. Instead, the app uses them only as a bridge for signalling and, where necessary, for TURN relaying that does not persist data beyond the session. End‑to‑end encryption provided by WebRTC ensures that only you and the intended recipient can see what is being sent.

We also avoid unnecessary analytics. Basic, aggregated metrics may be collected to understand stability and performance, but we do not build behavioural profiles or sell usage data. The goal is to prove that it is possible to run a useful mobile file transfer app without copying your entire camera roll to a remote data centre.

Getting started with the beta

Because the app is in open beta, we recommend a few simple steps:

• Install the app from the official store link provided on our website or repository.
• Verify that you are on a reasonably recent version of Android for best WebRTC support.
• Test transfers with non‑critical files first while you get comfortable with the workflow.

Once you are ready, you can start using the app for everyday tasks: sending photos to your laptop, sharing documents with colleagues or transferring project folders (compressed as archives) to collaborators.

How this fits with the web experience

The Android app is not a separate ecosystem. It is designed to complement the web client. You can send files from Android to a desktop browser, from desktop to Android or between two Android devices. The same link format is used across platforms, which keeps things simple for recipients. Under the hood, the app and the web client both rely on the same P2P signalling layer.

This means that improvements to the core Free Transfer engine benefit both environments. When we enhance connection logic, optimise chunking or refine error messages, those changes propagate to Android as well. Over time, we aim to make the distinction between "mobile" and "desktop" feel largely irrelevant: you simply choose the device that is most convenient at the moment.