The cross-platform AirDrop alternative
The AirDrop Alternative That Works Across Every Device
Send full quality photos, files and clipboard text between your iPhone or Android and your Windows, Mac or Linux computer, both ways, over your own Wi-Fi and never through the cloud.
Free on your network. End to end encrypted. No account required.
Straight answer
AirDrop is Apple only. This AirDrop alternative is not.
AirDrop is fantastic, but it only works between Apple devices. The moment a Windows PC, an Android phone or a Linux machine joins the mix, it stops. Flitdrop is the free, cross-platform AirDrop alternative built for exactly that: it sends full quality photos, files, links and clipboard text directly between a phone and a computer, iPhone to Windows, Android to Mac, Samsung to Linux, both ways, over your own Wi-Fi and never through the cloud.
Why an alternative
Why AirDrop needs an alternative (and what Flitdrop fixes)
-
1
AirDrop is Apple to Apple only
There is no official AirDrop for Windows, Android or Linux, so mixed households and offices are stuck.
-
2
Flitdrop covers every combination
iPhone, Android and Samsung on one side; Windows, Mac and Linux on the other; any pairing works.
-
3
Full quality, no waiting
Cloud services and email compress your photos or make you wait on an upload; Flitdrop sends the original file at full quality.
-
4
Nothing to install on the phone
Most alternatives make you install an app on both devices; with Flitdrop the phone only needs its browser.
How it works
How Flitdrop works: scan once, send anything
Install on the computer, pair the phone with a single scan, then drop files. That is the whole flow.
-
1
Install on your computer
Install the free desktop app on Windows, Mac or Linux; on Windows it updates itself, no versions to chase.
-
2
Scan the QR code once
Scan from your phone to pair; there is nothing to install on the phone, it just opens a lightweight web app in its browser.
-
3
Drop and it lands
Drag a file, a big video or a batch of photos and it lands on the other device at original quality, directly over your Wi-Fi, no account and no sign-up.
What you send
What you can send, and why it stays private
Photos, any file, links and clipboard text, all in one tool, all on your own network.
-
1
Everything in one tool
Full quality photos, any file type up to 16 GB, links and clipboard text, all in one tool.
-
2
Clipboard both ways, in one tap
Copy a link or a paragraph on one device and paste it on the other.
-
3
End to end encrypted
Every transfer is end to end encrypted, so what you send stays between your two devices.
-
4
No server, no subscription
Because it runs on your own network peer to peer, Flitdrop is not an internet or cloud service and your files never touch a third-party server. Free on your own network with 30 files a day; Flitdrop Pro, one payment for life, removes the daily limit.
Who it is for
Made for mixed households, teams and travellers
-
1
iPhone and a Windows PC at home
The classic case: an iPhone user and a Windows PC in the same home who could never AirDrop to each other.
-
2
Get a shoot off your phone
Move a shoot off your Android or iPhone onto a Mac or PC without cables, cloud uploads or quality loss.
-
3
Across a mixed-OS team
Send a document or clipboard note across a mixed-OS team on the same office Wi-Fi in seconds.
-
4
Grab photos off a friend's phone
Grab photos off a friend's phone onto your laptop with nothing to install on their side, just a QR scan.
Full transparency
What Flitdrop cannot do (yet)
Flitdrop is young and free, and we would rather tell you the rough edges up front than have you find them mid transfer. Here is exactly what it does not do yet, and why.
-
The Mac app is not notarized by Apple yet, so on the very first launch macOS will stop it with a warning. The app is safe: open it once, then in System Settings, under Privacy and Security, click Open Anyway (on macOS 14 or older, right click then Open also works). On Windows the installer is signed and Flitdrop is also on the Microsoft Store, though SmartScreen may still flag a new app (More info, then Run anyway), and the code is public so you can check it yourself.
-
There is no native app for your phone. Nothing installs on the phone, and that is on purpose: you scan a QR code once and it all happens in your browser. The trade off is that everything runs inside a web page instead of a dedicated app.
-
Devices do not find each other automatically yet, so you scan a QR code to make the first connection. Automatic discovery on the local network is on the roadmap; for now the QR is the one small step that gets you paired.
-
Your phone cannot receive a file while its screen is locked or the browser is in the background. Because the phone side is a web page and not a background app, keep the Flitdrop tab open and the screen awake during a transfer.
-
Both devices have to be on the same Wi-Fi network. Flitdrop sends peer to peer over your local network, not across the internet, which is what keeps it fast and private. If you have no shared Wi-Fi, your computer can host a hotspot so the two still meet.
-
On Linux, the AppImage runs on any distro and updates itself, but Ubuntu 22.04 and later may first need the libfuse2 package. On Ubuntu, Debian and Mint the .deb is the simpler pick, and clipboard sending relies on wl-clipboard or xclip, which the .deb installs for you.
-
Flitdrop is source available under FSL-1.1-ALv2, not classic open source. The code is public and fully auditable, but the license blocks reselling it or building a competing product; each release turns into Apache 2.0 after two years. We would rather state this plainly than let anyone assume MIT.
Try the AirDrop alternative that crosses every device
Install Flitdrop on your computer, scan once from your phone, and start sending. Free on your own network.
Windows, Mac and Linux
AirDrop alternative: frequently asked
Is there an AirDrop for Windows and Android?
Not officially: AirDrop only works between Apple devices. Flitdrop fills that gap as a cross-platform alternative that connects iPhone, Android and Samsung with Windows, Mac and Linux, in any combination.
Do I have to install an app on my phone?
No. You install the desktop app only on your computer, then scan a QR code once to pair. The phone simply opens a lightweight web app in its browser, nothing to download from an app store.
Is Flitdrop free?
Yes. Flitdrop is free on your own network with 30 files a day, with no account and no subscription. Flitdrop Pro, one payment for life, removes the daily limit. Transfers happen directly between your devices, never through a server.
Does it send photos at full quality without the cloud?
Yes. Flitdrop transfers the original file at full quality directly device to device over your local Wi-Fi. It is not a cloud service, so nothing is uploaded to or compressed by a third-party server.
Is it secure and do I need an account?
Every transfer is end to end encrypted and there is no account to create. Pair with a QR code and send; your files stay between your two devices.
Can I transfer from iPhone to a Windows PC?
Yes, that is one of the main reasons Flitdrop exists. Install the app on your Windows PC, scan the QR code from your iPhone, and send photos, files or clipboard text both ways over your Wi-Fi.