Android's Quick Share is losing a key feature, but it may be for the best

In November last year, Android’s Quick Share took a major leap when Google added support for interoperability with Apple’s AirDrop. While the feature is now limited to the Pixel 10 and Pixel 9 devices, Google recently confirmed to Android Authority that file transfer between Quick Share and AirDrop will soon be enabled on a broader set of Android devices. While that’s exciting news, Google may be eliminating one convenience for receiving files, though for a good reason.

Up until now, Google has offered four options for users to choose how they want to receive files from others. Users could choose among the options to receive files:

• Only from your devices with the same Google account
• Contacts
• Everyone
• Everyone (but with a 10-minute auto shut-off timer)

If you’re someone who uses Quick Share extensively with others, perhaps because your education or work requires it, the “Everyone” option must feel like such a blessing. However, because it allows virtually anyone to send you anything via Quick Share, it can pose a security risk. That is probably why Google has begun removing the “Everyone” option.

We recently learned that Google has begun limiting options to three, preventing users from keeping the “Everyone” setting permanently. Instead, they would only be able to keep it on for 10 minutes. The change brings Quick Share in line with AirDrop, which also limits the Everyone option to 10 minutes.

Although we observed this change following the recent Google Play Services update to version 26.06.31 beta, we can’t attribute it to that release with confidence. Because we’re only seeing the change on some of the dozens of devices our team members have, we believe it may be a server-side switch. That also means Google is likely to start removing the option for a broader set of Android devices.