Last updated: 2026-07-09
AirDrop only exists inside Apple's world, which leaves everyone else — Windows, Linux, Android, and any household with a mix of devices — without a built-in equivalent. This guide shows the closest thing to AirDrop for non-Apple devices: open a web page on both ends and the file just moves.
It works the same way regardless of platform, so it also covers the case AirDrop never handles well: a Windows laptop, a Linux desktop and an Android phone all in the same room, or all three plus an iPhone thrown in.
This is the everyday case AirDrop is built for, and Relayium matches it without needing an app from any store.
AirDrop is nearby-only — walk out of Bluetooth/Wi-Fi range and it stops working. Relayium's second mode covers exactly that gap: two devices on completely different networks, anywhere in the world.
The sender signs in and gets a short pairing code (with a join link and a QR code); the receiver enters it, or scans the QR, or opens the link — and never needs an account. The two devices then connect directly whenever the networks allow it; when a direct path isn't possible, the encrypted stream falls back to a TURN relay that only ever sees ciphertext, so it stays end-to-end encrypted the whole way. A dropped connection can resume instead of restarting from zero.
Both modes above are realtime transfers, and both use the same encryption: an X25519 key exchange derives a key used for per-chunk AES-256-GCM, negotiated only between the two devices. Both sides display the same 6-digit verification code (a Short Authentication String) so you can confirm no one is sitting in the middle, and each file is checked end-to-end with a SHA-256 hash.
Nothing is stored on a server in this mode — it exists only for the duration of the transfer. Relayium is open source under the MIT license at github.com/relayium/relayium, so the mechanics are auditable rather than a black box.
Because the file never lands on a server, there's no upload quota — the real limit is which browser is receiving. On Windows, Linux or Android with Chrome or Edge, incoming data streams straight to disk, so multi-gigabyte files are fine. On Firefox or an iOS Safari receiver in a mixed fleet, the file buffers in memory instead, so keep those transfers under roughly 200 MB.
Folders work too: pick a folder on desktop (not iOS) and relative paths are preserved. If the receiving browser can write straight to a chosen directory (Chrome, Edge) files land in place; otherwise (Firefox, Safari) the whole folder arrives as one .zip that unpacks to the same structure.
No — AirDrop is exclusive to Apple devices and Apple has never shipped a Windows or Android client. Relayium is a browser-based equivalent: open relayium.com on both devices and it works the same way regardless of platform, including mixed Apple/non-Apple pairs.
Not for the same-Wi-Fi flow — open the page on both devices and they discover each other, no sign-in at all. Sending across different networks with a pairing code requires the sender to sign in; the person receiving never needs an account, on either network mode.
No. It's a web page on every platform — Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS — so there's nothing to download from a store and nothing to keep updated.
That article is a head-to-head look at where AirDrop is genuinely better (pure-Apple households) and where it falls short. This guide is the how-to for actually getting the AirDrop-like experience when at least one device isn't an Apple one.
On the same network, yes — the local room isn't limited to two devices, so more than one nearby device can receive at once. The pairing-code mode for across-the-internet sending is a direct connection between two devices.
Open Relayium on your Windows, Linux or Android device and the one you're sending to — no account needed on the same network.
Try Relayium now