LocalSend is the most useful app I’ve come across in a very long time, letting me share files across devices with a couple clicks

I’m often moving a lot of files around a host of different devices. Photographs taken on my iPhone are sent to my Windows PC for editing. Then over to my work laptop, which I recently switched to Ubuntu, to upload to PC Gamer. The application that makes it all possible, and convenient, is LocalSend.

LocalSend is totally free. It’s also open source and end-to-end encrypted using HTTPS. You don’t even have to create an account or log in to use it—it’s the sort of application that doesn’t outstay its welcome at a time when many do. And, hey, some might view singing praise as a sponsored post in disguise, but it’s not. Credit where credit’s due on this one—free software that does a job and does it very well is worth calling out, in my opinion.

The app lets you transfer files between devices on the same network. I’ve seen it described as open-source AirDrop, which maybe means more to you Apple-heads than it does me. The key thing here is that it’s not for sharing files across different networks ( i.e. the internet), it’s localised to the network you’re connected to. Ideal for shifting files around a multitude of devices with different operating systems. It supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. I use it on an iPad, too.

“LocalSend is a cross-platform app that enables secure communication between devices using a REST API and HTTPS encryption,” the website says. “Unlike other messaging apps that rely on external servers, LocalSend doesn’t require an internet connection or third-party servers, making it a fast and reliable solution for local communication.”

Install the application, and it’ll happily run in the background until required, or you can just boot it up when you need it. It only takes a second to pop up, so if you can’t spare the background usage. On my Ubuntu machine, it makes use of 0.3% CPU utilisation and around 100 MB of RAM when open, and drops down to nil utilisation when minimised. Nice.

(Image credit: LocalSend)

What’s even nicer is the web app. I don’t tend to use this myself, just as I don’t mind installing the app everywhere for convenience, but you can load this up on any machine with ease.

It’ll transfer all sorts of things. Files, folders, even text or links. So long as you have LocalSend open on multiple devices on the same network, it only takes picking something to send on one device, selecting a nearby device from the list (each device has an auto-generated name), and then accepting the send request on the other device. Job done. Any files or folders sent will show up in downloads.

The application does struggle a bit on corpo internet. When the powers that be keep the flow of information locked behind firewalls and admin access, plucky lil’ LocalSend doesn’t stand a chance. But so what if airports and offices are mostly out of the question? It’s the day-to-day stuff that really matters most for me.

It’s a lot better than sending yourself messages on WhatsApp, and a damn sight better than moving files between machines with sluggish USB drives. Running your own Network Attached Storage (NAS) might work a treat for mass sharing files or folders—I’m actually testing a NAS now, and I totally get it—that could be costly or involve more steps. LocalSend flourishes in its simplicity and the fact that it’s free.

So, if you’re in a similar boat to me and need to shift a lot of files around without delay or the usual USB drive dance, LocalSend is well worth a look.

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