Quick Share is coming to more phones, and expanding into apps

Quick Share is arguably the easiest way to share files between Android phones, Android tablets, and PCs. Now, Google has revealed that Quick Share is spreading to third-party apps.

Google announced that third-party Android apps such as WhatsApp will soon get Quick Share functionality. The company is positioning this as an alternative local-sharing solution for Android phones without AirDrop support.

“We wanted to make Quick Share compatible with AirDrop on as many phones as possible, but there needs to be some supported hardware. And so the Quick Share technology will be built into WhatsApp,” Googler Dieter Bohn told a media briefing in response to an Android Authority question.

“So if you want to share a file with somebody who doesn’t have AirDrop compatibility with Quick Share, they can open up WhatsApp, and it will go directly (to them). It won’t have to go up the internet and back down again. We wanted to make local file sharing work for as many people as possible, because that seems like an obvious thing that should just work in 2026.”

What else to know about Quick Share in apps?

Google revealed more details about this feature in response to an Android Authority email. For one, it confirmed that Quick Share in third-party apps can share files with native Quick Share on Android, ChromeOS, and Windows.

“This interoperability with native Quick Share is part of the value proposition that we offer to third party apps with a Quick Share integration,” a Google representative told us.

The representative also hinted at some bad news if you have an Android phone without Google Mobile Services (GMS):

Quick Share integrated with third-party apps on Android will still require GMS in order to interoperate with native Quick Share on Android/ChromeOS/PC devices.

Finally, the search giant confirmed that it’ll bring Quick Share to “other third-party apps beyond WhatsApp in the coming months.” Unfortunately, it didn’t name these specific apps.

AirDrop expands, plus an alternative solution

Google also announced that it’s bringing AirDrop compatibility to more Android phones this year, including devices from Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, vivo, Xiaomi, and HONOR. The feature has been available on the Galaxy S26 series, OPPO Find X9 series, and vivo X300 Ultra for a while now. But Google notes that the option will soon come to devices like the Galaxy S25 series, the Galaxy S24 range, Galaxy Z7 and Z6 devices, the OnePlus 15, the OPPO Find X8 range, and the HONOR Magic 8 Pro. Check out the image below for the full list.

Is your Android phone not on the list of devices slated to get AirDrop support? Can’t wait for WhatsApp to get Quick Share? Then Google is offering another sharing solution on Android.

“If you don’t have a compatible device, starting today, you can use Quick Share on any Android phone to generate a QR code, which will let you instantly share with iOS devices via the cloud,” the company explained.

This sounds similar to the cloud-based sharing system we discovered late last year. At the time, we found evidence that files needed to be uploaded to Google’s servers and were retained for up to 24 hours.

Google revealed more details regarding this feature in response to an emailed Android Authority query:

Your files stay secure with end-to-end encryption and remain available for download for 24 hours on Google servers. This doesn’t use storage in your personal Google Drive account. For successful transfers, both devices need internet access.

We’re especially glad to hear that this doesn’t use your Google Drive storage. So this could be a decent alternative if your Android phone doesn’t have AirDrop support.