What is PairDrop Android used for?

PairDrop Android is the Android app for PairDrop, a browser-based local file sharing tool similar to AirDrop that works across Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iPhone. It is a good fit for sending phone photos to a PC quickly, sharing files with nearby devices on any OS and using a self-hosted PairDrop server from Android.

Is PairDrop Android open source?

Yes. PairDrop Android is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at fm-sys/pairdrop-android and is written mainly in Java.

Is PairDrop Android free?

Yes. PairDrop Android is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host PairDrop Android?

Yes. PairDrop Android can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is PairDrop Android an alternative to?

PairDrop Android is an open-source alternative to Send Anywhere. Other open-source alternatives to Send Anywhere include PairDrop, LocalSend and FastSend.

Is PairDrop Android actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to PairDrop Android was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.3.1, published on 11 February 2025. The project has 1.1k stars on GitHub.

PairDrop Android: open-source alternative to Send Anywhere

About PairDrop Android

PairDrop for Android is a client app for PairDrop, a free and open-source local file sharing tool that runs in the browser. PairDrop works a bit like Apple's AirDrop but across all platforms, letting you move files between a phone and a computer on the same network without USB cables, Bluetooth or emailing yourself.

The Android app adds system integration, so you can choose PairDrop as a share target from within other apps and send files faster than using the website. It can connect to the public PairDrop service or to self-hosted Snapdrop and PairDrop instances. Transfers rely on WebRTC. The app is available from Google Play and F-Droid, translations are managed with Crowdin, and the author says there are no commercial interests.

The app is written in Java and licensed under GPL-3.0. Issues about the PairDrop website itself belong in the main PairDrop project rather than this repository. It suits Android users who frequently move photos and documents to a computer and want a simple, open-source solution.

Key features

Share to PairDrop from other Android apps
Local file sharing across devices
Works with PairDrop and Snapdrop servers
WebRTC based transfers
Available on Google Play and F-Droid

Good fit for

→Sending phone photos to a PC quickly
→Sharing files with nearby devices on any OS
→Using a self-hosted PairDrop server from Android

Built with: Java
Tags: file-sharing; android; pairdrop; snapdrop; webrtc; local-network; open-source; java; f-droid

PairDrop Android: questions and answers

What is PairDrop Android used for?: PairDrop Android is the Android app for PairDrop, a browser-based local file sharing tool similar to AirDrop that works across Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iPhone. It is a good fit for sending phone photos to a PC quickly, sharing files with nearby devices on any OS and using a self-hosted PairDrop server from Android.
Is PairDrop Android open source?: Yes. PairDrop Android is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at fm-sys/pairdrop-android and is written mainly in Java.
Is PairDrop Android free?: Yes. PairDrop Android is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host PairDrop Android?: Yes. PairDrop Android can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is PairDrop Android an alternative to?: PairDrop Android is an open-source alternative to Send Anywhere. Other open-source alternatives to Send Anywhere include PairDrop, LocalSend and FastSend.
Is PairDrop Android actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to PairDrop Android was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.3.1, published on 11 February 2025. The project has 1.1k stars on GitHub.