WhatsApp to offer offline wireless file transfer between Android and iOS

Earlier this year, Google merged Android’s Nearby Share into Samsung’s Quick Share. It allows people to transfer photos, videos, documents, and all types of files from one Android device to another nearby Android device wirelessly over Wi-Fi Direct (which doesn’t use the internet).

Around the same time, Meta introduced a feature in the beta version of WhatsApp for Android that offered the same functionality as Quick Share, which is sharing files between two Android devices over the local network. That made it an excellent alternative to Quick Share. Well, Meta is working on introducing that feature in WhatsApp for iOS as well.

This feature will not only allow you to transfer files from one iPhone to another iPhone without using the internet, making it a great alternative to AirDrop, but also from an iPhone to an Android device, giving you a new way to transfer files between nearby Android and iOS devices without using the internet over the local network (Wi-Fi Direct).

WhatsApp for iOS gets an AirDrop-like feature called Nearby Share

According to WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for iOS (version 24.15.10.70) has a feature called Nearby Share. With this feature, people can share photos, videos, documents, and all types of files with not only other nearby iPhones over Wi-Fi Direct (without using the internet) but also with nearby Android phones.

Nearby Share in WhatsApp for iOS works slightly differently compared to that on Android. On Android, when you use this feature, WhatsApp shows you nearby Android devices. However, on iOS, when you use this feature, WhatsApp will show you a QR code. The other Android/iOS will have to scan it to connect to this phone.

You can then transfer files from one Android/iOS phone to another. Currently, you can have the same functionality by installing third-party apps on Android and iOS devices. However, since WhatsApp is already installed on millions of devices, transferring files between nearby devices of the two platforms will become much easier.

The story continues after the video…

Currently, Nearby Share in WhatsApp for iOS is available only for internal testers. Meta could make the feature available to beta testers in the next couple of weeks and eventually roll out the feature to the public (stable version of WhatsApp for Android and iOS) in the next few months.