Joe Hindy / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google’s Nearby Share feature could gain a so-called Self Share mode soon.
- This would remove the need for approving shares between your own devices.
Nearby Share is Android’s own take on local file-sharing, inspired by Apple’s Air Drop feature. However, one mild annoyance is that you need to approve each incoming share, even when sharing files between your own devices. Fortunately, it seems like Google is working on a solution.
Former XDA-Developers editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman has uncovered the existence of a so-called Self Share mode for Nearby Share, detailing his find on Twitter. Check out his screenshot below.
This option will let you seamlessly share files between devices that are signed into the same Google account, without needing to approve the share first. It’s a small but convenient tweak, and you should still rightfully see the approval screen when receiving files from someone else’s device.
Rahman notes that the feature is present in the latest version of Google Play Services but isn’t available to users just yet. Nevertheless, the use of Google Play Services means that even users with older Android devices should theoretically have access to this feature.
References to this feature were also spotted in Chromium by Chrome Story earlier this year, suggesting that Chromebooks will get in on the action as well. So you won’t have to approve file sharing when transferring files between your Android phone and Chromebook.
