One of the big changes in the works for the star messaging app is already within WhatsApp: users will be able to send files to nearby devices without having to chat with those contacts. And we were able to open the search screen for nearby smartphones.
Android has a native file sharing system called Quick Share. The evolution of sharing with proximity, a system that ended up mutating thanks to the collaboration between Google and Samsung, with Quick Share, sending files to another Android is like child’s play. Or almost, because you first have to know that it exists and, then, activate it on both the sending and receiving mobile
WhatsApp would allow easy file sharing between Android and iPhone
Sending any photo, video or document via WhatsApp is not complicated, you just need to open a chat with the person who will receive them. But what if we don’t want to start a conversation? This is where WhatsApp comes in: as we already learned last January, Meta is preparing a tool for share with loved ones. And now we have more information on how it works.
WhatsApp has enabled a feature in the code called “ThunderStorm” which, once enabled, allows detect devices nearby and with file sharing enabled
Searching for nearby devices locates the device to use Bluetooth, a connectivity used to detect nearby mobile phones that are exchanging files (If Bluetooth is disabled, WhatsApp enables it to search). We can configure our user screen so that anyone who wants to share content with us can identify us. And, once the transfer is accepted, WhatsApp will take care of transmitting the files without the application’s chats intervening.
In principle, the Nearby File Sharing feature would be active for both Android and iPhone, so it would open a bridge between operating systems which, thanks to the popularity of the messaging app, will greatly facilitate the exchange photos, videos or documents. with other users. Whatever system they have.
The functionality is currently in testing, although the device’s scanner still has time to develop: the “Lorem Ipsum” in the texts already indicates the experimental status of the tool. Despite this, the rest of the process seems to be working: we don’t think WhatsApp will take too long to finish development and make it available to users with beta versions.
Cover image | Ivan Linares
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