Is there AirDrop for Windows or Android?

AirDrop only runs on Apple devices

Apple describes AirDrop as a way to send photos, documents and more to a nearby iPhone, iPad or Mac. It does not make AirDrop for Windows or Android, and there is no setting that lets a PC join in. Windows 11 has its own feature called Nearby sharing, under Settings, System, Nearby sharing, but it only sends between Windows PCs. So the useful question is not which app is AirDrop for Windows, but which route works for the two devices in front of you. The table above answers that pair by pair, and the sections below explain each route and its catch.

Android to iPhone, iPad and Mac: Quick Share works with AirDrop

On November 20, 2025, Google made Quick Share on the Pixel 10 family work with AirDrop, and it has spread since. Google's help now lists Pixel 8a or later, plus certain Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, Honor, Transsion and Motorola devices, for sending to an iPhone, iPad or Mac. Receiving from an Apple device is listed for Pixel 9 and later, except the Pixel 9a, and certain models from the same makers. Nothing is installed on the Apple side: the person with the iPhone, iPad or Mac sets AirDrop to accept from everyone (Everyone for 10 Minutes on an iPhone or iPad, Everyone on a Mac) and accepts the transfer like any other AirDrop. Google says the files go directly between the two devices, not through a server. Google does not name the exact models from the other makers, so the quickest test is to share a photo with Quick Share next to an iPhone set to Everyone for 10 Minutes and see whether it appears.

AirDrop's Contacts Only setting does not work with Quick Share yet; Google supports only the Everyone for 10 Minutes mode for now. On phones without AirDrop support, Quick Share offers Use QR code instead. That route uploads the files, end-to-end encrypted, to Google's servers for 24 hours, needs internet on both devices, and is limited to 10 GB every 24 hours.

Android and Windows: Quick Share for Windows or Phone Link

This pair has two first-party answers. Google renamed Nearby Share to Quick Share, and its Quick Share app for Windows sends images, videos, documents and whole folders between an Android phone and a PC. Google lists 64-bit Windows 10 or later (Windows 11 on ARM PCs), Android 6.0 or later, Bluetooth on both, both on the same network, and the devices within about 16 feet (5 meters). Received files go to a Quick Share folder in Downloads, and Samsung PCs use Samsung's own Quick Share app instead. Microsoft's Phone Link also sends files: on Android 10 or later, share a file to Link to Windows, Send to PC, and it lands in a Phone Link folder in Downloads. From the PC, right-click a file, choose Share, then Phone Link.

Phone Link only sends files saved on the device; for a file in the cloud it sends a link instead. Windows' own Nearby sharing, despite the similar name, does not reach phones at all.

iPhone and Windows: where AirDrop leaves the biggest gap

This is the pair with the least built in. Microsoft has added iPhone file sharing to Phone Link: on the iPhone you tap Share, then Link to Windows, and on the PC you right-click a file and choose Share, then My Phone. In November 2026, Microsoft's own article still describes it as a gradual rollout to the Windows Insider community and lists an Insider PC and iOS 16 or later as requirements, so most PCs do not have it yet. Apple's iCloud for Windows, from the Microsoft Store, brings your iCloud photos and files to the PC, but it syncs through iCloud over the internet rather than sending across the room. For a direct transfer today, use LocalSend or PairDrop, described below.

Mac and Windows: share a folder, or use an app on both

Neither Apple nor Microsoft offers a nearby send between a Mac and a PC. What macOS does have is file sharing over SMB, which Windows understands. On the Mac, open System Settings, General, Sharing, turn on File Sharing, click the Info button next to it, then Options, turn on Share files and folders using SMB, and tick the Mac account the PC will sign in with. The PC then connects to the network address shown under File Sharing: On, using that account's name and password. It suits a desk where both computers stay on the same network. For an occasional file, an app on both is quicker.

Apple warns that passwords stored for Windows sharing may be stored less securely, and suggests turning each account off when you are not using it.

When nothing built in fits: LocalSend and PairDrop

LocalSend is the nearest thing to AirDrop that runs everywhere. It is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license, runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, needs no account or internet connection, and sends files or text over your local network with HTTPS encryption. Install it on both devices and they find each other. PairDrop needs no install: open it in a browser on both devices and, on the same network, they see each other and send files or text peer to peer over WebRTC. You can also pair two devices with a six-digit code or a QR code so they can find each other on different networks.

PairDrop is open source (GPL-3.0). Its maintainers say that on the same network your files never reach a server, but between different networks files may be relayed through PairDrop's TURN server, and you rely on its server to set up every connection.

Between your own devices, with Clypy's Send files

If you already use Clypy to sync your clipboard, its Send files feature moves files of any size between your paired devices on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, which covers every pair in the table above. Files go directly from one device to the other over your local network, end-to-end encrypted, never through a server, and they arrive as files rather than as clips.

Send files is part of Clypy Pro. Both devices need Clypy and must be paired with each other first, it only works when both are on the same local network and never falls back to the internet, and a phone receives only while Clypy is open. It is for moving files between your own devices, not for sending to someone else's phone the way AirDrop can.