What you need to know
- Google is widely rolling new feature for its popular Quick Share tool on Android devices.
- Quick Share users can now take advantage of a new QR code option to send their files to other users.
- Recipient can quickly scan the QR code to get the files through a link.
Quick Share is a nifty equivalent to Apple’s AirDrop for Android users. While it has been around on Android handsets for a while, the quick sharing functionality is adding new means to share files with other users.
Android phone users can now share files through Quick Share with the help of a QR code, which will make receiving files by the recipients hassle-free and also make it more secure. This feature happened to be rolling out widely (via 9to5Google) when it was announced last month and was initially spotted back in May last year.
Up until now, users who wanted to share photos or files had to turn on the Quick Share feature either to their Contacts or for everyone nearby, which showcases the device’s availability to almost any Android device nearby. However, the new QR code-sharing users can now tap on the “User QR code” feature, which will be visible in the “Send to nearby devices” pane.
Tapping it further will reveal the QR code alongside the number and types of files that a user wants to send. The recipient can now scan the code from their Android phone and click on the quick share link (quick share.google) to get the original files. There is also a nifty prompt over the QR code indicating that the Android phone recipient should scan the respective code.
It eliminates the need to keep searching for contacts or pairing for new devices nearby, as scanning a QR code is a bit easier. Also, the QR code can be read by more than one Android device, which means multiple users nearby can benefit from quickly receiving the original files, which can be a savior in gatherings or at events.
Android users on the latest version of Quick Share (version 24.49.33) will be able to see the functionality on their devices, as the rollout has just begun.