Google Quick Share Adds Tap-to-Share Mode for Android Devices

Google is upgrading Quick Share with a new tap-to-share mode that lets compatible Android users exchange contact information, photos and videos by bringing their phones together.

The feature was announced alongside the Pixel 11 lineup at Made by Google. It expands Quick Share, Google’s existing system for transferring files between nearby Android devices, with a faster option for in-person exchanges.

Quick Share adds tap-to-share transfers.

For contact sharing, users can bring two compatible Android phones close together to begin what Google describes as an instant, two-way exchange.

Photos and videos work slightly differently. Users first select the content they want to send from thephone’ss Share Sheet and then bring the devices together to start the transfer.

The experience brings Android closer to Apple’s NameDrop feature, introduced with iOS 17. NameDrop similarly allows users to bring supported Apple devices together to exchange contact information, while Apple’s broader proximity-sharing features can also initiate transfers between nearby devices.

Pixel 6 and newer phones get the feature first

Google is beginning the rollout with the Pixel 6 and newer Pixel devices. The company says support will subsequently be available for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, and Galaxy Z Flip8.

More Android devices are scheduled to gain support by the end of the year, although Google has not provided a complete list of compatible models.

The update does not replace Quick Share’s existing transfer options. Instead, it adds a more direct way to exchange information when two people and their devices are already next to each other.