There are about a million ways that you can share files between your Android devices, but Google introduced Nearby Share. It’s a unified way to share files that’s present in all Android phones released in the past couple of years. Now, Nearby Share can send files to your phone even if it’s sleeping.
When you initiate a transfer with Nearby Share, you’ll see a list of phones pop up on your screen. These are the phones that you can send the file to. In order for it to pop up on the list, it needs to be awake and unlocked. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it requires an extra step in sending files.
But, Nearby Share will let you share files with sleeping phones
Nearby Share has come a long way in the past year. Before, you’d need to accept the file on the other device which was a bit tedious if you’re sending files between your own phones. Google made the change that lets you send the files without needing to accept them. The only stipulation is that it be awake and unlocked.
However, according to Android Authority (via Phone Arena), Google just changed that. When you initiate a transfer, you’ll see your phone even with the screen locked. There’s only one thing to know about this. In order for the phone to show up in your list, that phone will need to be signed into the same Google account as the sending phone.
This seems like a necessary decision. The issue with instantly sending files to other phones is the threat of bad actors sending malicious files to you without your consent. So, Google is making sure that, if you’re receiving a file with your screen locked, you’re the one sending the file.
It’s not the biggest change, but it’s still a nice change if you’re a person who often shares files with yourself.
2023-06-29 15:09:58