Android does not have AirDrop, because AirDrop is an Apple-only feature. The good news: Android has its own equivalent, Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share), for phone-to-phone sharing, and there are even better options for getting a photo onto a computer. This guide shows the real ways to get that AirDrop feeling on Android, including Camera to Clipboard, which drops a photo straight into your PC or Mac clipboard.
The quick answer: There is no AirDrop for Android. For Android to Android, use Quick Share, which is built in. For a photo straight to a PC or Mac, use Camera to Clipboard: it puts the picture into your computer's clipboard in seconds over local Wi-Fi, ready to paste, with nothing uploaded to the cloud.
Get the Android appThe easiest way to reach a computer: send it straight to the clipboard
If the reason you want AirDrop on Android is to get a photo onto a computer, Camera to Clipboard is the closest thing to that instant AirDrop feeling. You capture or pick a photo on your Android phone and it appears in your PC or Mac clipboard instantly, ready to paste with Ctrl + V (or Cmd + V) into an email, a chat, a document or an image editor. The transfer runs directly over your local Wi-Fi, is encrypted with AES-256, and even works when your laptop is on your phone's hotspot. It works on any Android phone, including Samsung Galaxy.
- Install Camera to Clipboard on your Android phone and the desktop app on your PC or Mac.
- Pair them once by scanning a QR code (about ten seconds).
- On the phone, take a photo or pick one from your gallery.
- Press Ctrl + V (or Cmd + V on a Mac) to paste it. Done.
Free to download and try on Android, Windows and Mac.
Does Android have AirDrop?
No. AirDrop is Apple-only, built into iPhone, iPad and MacBook, and it will never appear on Android. What Android has instead is Quick Share, its built-in equivalent. Quick Share used to be called Nearby Share, and in 2024 Samsung and Google merged their two competing systems into one under the Quick Share name. It does Android to Android, and Android to Windows (through the Quick Share Windows app). What it does not do is reach an iPhone, and it saves a file to a folder rather than dropping the image straight onto your clipboard.
How to "AirDrop" on Android: the real options
There is no single button called AirDrop on Android, but there are several ways to get the same result. Here are the honest options, each with the catch you should know about.
Option 1: Camera to Clipboard (photo straight into a PC or Mac clipboard)
Camera to Clipboard is the closest thing to AirDrop when the other device is a computer. It sends a photo from your Android phone straight into the PC or Mac clipboard, wirelessly over your local Wi-Fi, encrypted, with nothing uploaded to any cloud. The image is ready to paste the instant it arrives. The limitation: it is built for photos into the clipboard, not for moving arbitrary large files like a folder of videos or documents.
Option 2: Quick Share / Nearby Share (Android to Android, Android to Windows)
Quick Share is Android's own built-in AirDrop equivalent. Between two Android phones it is the exact same experience as AirDrop: pick a photo, tap Share, choose the nearby device. It also reaches a Windows PC through the free Quick Share Windows app. The limitation: it does not work with an iPhone at all, and on a computer it saves the photo as a file in a Downloads folder rather than putting it on the clipboard.
Option 3: Microsoft Phone Link / Link to Windows (mirror Android on a PC)
Phone Link on Windows, paired with the Link to Windows app on Android, mirrors your phone on the PC so you can drag recent photos across and even copy-paste between the two. It is good for whole files and ongoing use. The limitation: it needs both apps signed in to the same Microsoft account, it is Windows-only (no Mac), and the setup is heavier than a quick one-off share.
Option 4: Snapdrop or LocalSend (local-network, cross-platform)
Snapdrop (in a browser) and LocalSend (a small app) both send files device to device across your local network, and both are cross-platform, so they can reach a Mac, a Windows PC or another phone. The limitation: they save the photo as a file for you to open, not straight onto the clipboard, and both devices have to be on the same network with the page or app open at the same time.
Option 5: Send Anywhere or cloud transfer (works anywhere)
Send Anywhere and similar cloud transfer tools work even when the two devices are not near each other, because they upload the file to a relay server and hand you a code or link to download it. The limitation: your photo is uploaded to someone else's server, there is an upload-then-download wait, and you land with a saved file rather than a ready-to-paste image.
Why Camera to Clipboard beats Quick Share for reaching a computer
Quick Share and the file-based tools are great for what they do, but if your goal is to get one photo you actually want to use onto a PC or Mac, they all make you save a file and then go open it. Camera to Clipboard skips that step entirely.
- Reaches a Mac too. Quick Share and Phone Link do not; Camera to Clipboard sends to Windows and Mac.
- Ready to paste. The image lands on your clipboard, not in a Downloads folder you then have to open.
- Nothing uploaded. The photo goes directly over your local Wi-Fi, never to a cloud server.
- Full resolution. No compression, unlike email or chat apps.
- Works on a hotspot. The transfer stays on your local network, no internet required.
| What you want to do | Camera to Clipboard | Quick Share / others |
|---|---|---|
| Send an Android photo to a Windows PC | ✔ | ✔ |
| Send an Android photo to a Mac | ✔ | Quick Share and Phone Link cannot |
| Photo lands ready to paste | ✔ | Saves a file first |
| No cable needed | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nothing uploaded to a cloud | ✔ | Cloud tools upload |
| Full resolution, no compression | ✔ | Varies by tool |
| No account needed | ✔ | Phone Link needs a Microsoft account |
| Works over a phone hotspot | ✔ | Cloud tools need internet |
| Free to try | ✔ | ✔ |
Which method should you use?
- Android to Android: Quick Share. It is built in and works just like AirDrop.
- Android to a PC or Mac, one photo you want to use: Camera to Clipboard. Snap, paste, done.
- Android to Windows, whole files and folders: Phone Link.
Common questions
Does Android have AirDrop?
No. AirDrop is Apple-only, so it does not exist on Android. Android's built-in equivalent is Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share) for Android to Android and Android to Windows. For a photo straight into a PC or Mac clipboard, Camera to Clipboard gives the closest AirDrop feeling.
How do I AirDrop from Android to a PC?
You cannot use AirDrop itself because it is Apple-only, but you can get the same instant result. Camera to Clipboard sends a photo from Android straight into your PC or Mac clipboard over local Wi-Fi, ready to paste, with nothing uploaded. For whole files to a Windows PC, Quick Share for Windows or Phone Link also work.
What is the Android equivalent of AirDrop?
Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share) is Android's built-in AirDrop equivalent, for Android to Android and, via the Windows app, Android to Windows. It saves a file rather than dropping to the clipboard. To reach a PC or Mac with a photo that is instantly ready to paste, Camera to Clipboard is the closest match.