WhatsApp is working on a new and useful function to transfer files from one mobile phone to another. The system, which is very similar to AirDrop or Quick Share, was found in the new beta version of the application and is still in the testing phase, but it aims to solve a problem that is still present on Android, although there is an easy solution. : Sending large and heavy original quality files from one mobile phone to another is troublesome.

People Nearby. This is the name of this new feature developed by WhatsApp. It translates to “Nearby Contacts” and in essence, it allows you to share photos, documents, files and all kinds of content from one device to another, as long as they are nearby. If it sounds familiar, this is completely normal: it works almost the same as AirDrop or Quick Share.

direct link. Like the alternatives we mentioned before, People Nearby establishes a direct connection between both devices. This way the transfer speed is much faster, and since it is a local connection that can be made over a WiFi network, you do not have to 1) upload the file to WhatsApp servers and 2) download it. Simply put, it is the implementation of WiFi Direct technology directly in WhatsApp, without compromising end-to-end encryption.

Nearby People Screenshots | Images: WaBetaInfo

Privacy. For Nearby Contacts to work, both the sender and the recipient will need to give permission to detect and detect, and the window dedicated to sending and receiving files will need to be open at the same time. In other words, someone on the street will not be able to send us a photo that has nothing to do with the subject. Another positive point is that this system prevents us from having to share something personal, such as our phone number, with others to send files.

Currently in testing. This new functionality was found in WhatsApp Beta for Android 2.24.9.22 and is in a beta version for now. The company is still working on it and it is not known when it will reach all users. In any case, it usually doesn’t take long from the time something is discovered in beta until it reaches all users. An important aspect to highlight is that we do not know whether this functionality will be cross-platform, that is, whether it will allow us to send files from iOS to Android or vice versa.

popularity issue. WhatsApp has the ability to popularize something that was previously unknown. The clearest example of this is stickers and multi-device support, which have been available on other platforms since time immemorial and did not gain prominence until they were implemented in WhatsApp. There is a very simple reason for this: WhatsApp is one of the most used messaging applications in the world. world (courtesy of iMessage in the United States and WeChat in China). The same thing will probably occur with this function.

It is interesting that AirDrop is one of the biggest arguments of the Apple ecosystem and one of the most loved functions, in Android there is also a similar function that is not used much. It used to be called Nearby Sharing, and now Google has teamed up with Samsung to turn its alternative, Quick Share, into AirDrop for Android. This function allows exactly the same thing as AirDrop, but between Android phones and even from mobile phones to PC and vice versa. The problem is that it is not as popular as AirDrop.

WhatsApp’s opportunity. The arrival of this function may have one meaning, and that is to enable an encrypted fast file sharing system with nearby cross-platform contacts. So it’s an AirDrop compatible with iOS and Android. The important thing is that this system reduces the time spent sharing files with our contacts and the amount of data spent doing so without a Wi-Fi connection. In any case, we will have to wait to find out the implementation carried out by WhatsApp.

Picture | Pexels

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