LocalSend
FreeMove files between phone and PC without the cloud, a chat group or recompression
Cross-platform local file transfer. Devices on the same Wi-Fi find each other automatically; pick files and send. No account, no internet connection, nothing uploaded to any server, and files arrive uncompressed and unmodified. Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
Why we picked it
Getting photos from a phone onto a computer has become absurdly awkward: chat apps recompress them, a USB cable means drivers, and cloud storage means logging in and waiting through both an upload and a download. AirDrop solved this well — but only between Apple devices.
LocalSend fills that gap: AirDrop's experience, on every platform. Install on both ends, join the same Wi-Fi, open the app and the other device appears. Pick files, hit send, accept on the other side, done. 88,256 stars, Apache-2.0.
The details that actually matter:
- Files are not compressed, renamed or converted. An original photo stays the original; a video stays the video.
- It runs entirely over the local network, so it works with the internet disconnected. Nothing touches a server and nothing counts against a data plan.
- No sign-up. There is no account system; it is usable the moment it is installed.
- Transfers are encrypted over HTTPS, with devices confirming each other first.
The limitation is equally plain: both devices must be on the same local network. It does not do transfers across the internet, so it is no help sending a file to a colleague while you are out. Some corporate and campus Wi-Fi also enables client isolation, which hides devices from each other — nothing the app can do about that, though turning one device into a hotspot works around it.
The Android build ships in several architectures; for an ordinary phone take the arm64 APK (about 44 MB).