Nearby sharing is finally available on Windows

Share nearby is up there as one of the best ways to transfer files between Android devices and Chromebooks, but the feature was missing in Windows. This meant you had to use email, cloud transfers, a cable or other methods to transfer files between your PC and Android device.

Fortunately, Google has finally brought Near Share to Windows as part of an open beta program. Indeed, it allows you to transfer files locally (and wirelessly) between your PC, Android device and/or Chromebook.

Getting started is pretty easy:

1. Download the Near Share Beta for Windows app from Google’s website.
2. Run the resulting BetterTogetherSetup.exe file to begin the installation.
3. Open the Nearby Sharing app for Windows once it’s installed and sign in to your desired Google account when prompted.

Not only can you adjust the sharing settings (e.g. only visible to your devices, contacts, everyone, etc.), but you can also rename your PC and change the download location. On the other hand, we’d like to see the ability to choose the download location for each transfer to your PC, in line with PC web browsers.

As for the actual transfer process, you can choose to send a file or folder from your PC by clicking the “Select Files” or “Select Folders” options. But sending a file from your phone to your PC works just like any other file transfer around.

A quick test shows that an 80 MB file takes about 20 to 30 seconds to transfer from phone to computer, while it takes about five minutes to transfer a ~690 MB file to a PC. But we suspect that this speed may vary slightly from device to device. Nevertheless, this is still a useful and highly anticipated Windows app.

However, there are some caveats before downloading the app. First it is not available in many European countries just. It’s also worth noting that Near Share for Windows doesn’t support Arm devices yet.