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Comment by hulium | Hacker News Reader

You can create a hotspot and start a HTTP server. Scan a QR code to connect to the hotspot, then a QR code for the file URL. It's easy and works with any device with Wifi access.

For the server, on Android I use "Share via HTTP". On desktop running a lightweight HTTP server is easy too.

Edit:

Apparently that sounded complicated, here is how I can share a file from my phone to any other phone in the same Wifi.

- Click Share -> Share with HTTP.

- The app opens and shows a QR code.

- Other person scans the code. Their browser opens the file and they can do whatever they want with it.

If you have no Wifi:

- Open QR code for hotspot

- Other person scans QR code for hotspot, then for file.

If you still think it is too complicated, surely there is an opportunity create a simpler UI! From a technology perspective it does not have to be complicated.

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Yeah! Just like Dropbox can trivially be replaced by FTP, FUSE mounts and CVS……

> here is how I can share a file from my phone to any other phone in the same Wifi.

This will not work on many public and corporate networks. A common place where you’d want to share.

> surely there is an opportunity create a simpler UI!

It’ll still suck compared to Airdrop. Apple has gone to a lot of trouble to make that work as well as it does. Trying to setup something relying on temporary hotspots will be sub par UX. (And a nonstarter for Apple devices - user apps can’t touch the WiFi settings).

I did this in public networks and it did work, but I am not an expert in how they are set up. When do you think it would not work?

Wireless Client Isolation.

Here is but one vendor doc. https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Firewall_and_Traffic_Sha...

It is standard practice to enable this these days in public networks and it is so common that even consumer grade shit router now come with an option to enable.

I'll just tap share -> person

Can't agree more. Users don't want to run a server or figure any of that out. There is a person near them and they want to share a file quickly.

I am not sure you understand. You click share, then Share via HTTP, the other person scans the QR code, they have the file. Setting up the server is no effort at all.

Only if you are outside without Wifi you have to do another step, setting up a Wifi hotspot, but that is not hard. And in most situations I have been in both devices were in the same network anyways.

But that's 80% of why AirDrop is so great. Exchanging files/photos/videos when you're not home and sometimes with strangers / acquaintances.

> Setting up the server is no effort at all.

This assumes that the user has a level of technical knowledge that most people don’t have.

Which of the steps that I described required advanced technical knowledge?

Edit: Ah maybe you thought setting up the server is an additional step. It is not. Share via HTTP is the server. It runs directly on your phone. The URL points directly to your device.

And the remote user's authentication is handled, how? And the routing, NAT, and discovery of your server's private IP address is handled?

None of that is necessary because you are not exposing anything to the internet. We are still talking about local sharing. Android does not have a firewall so there really is nothing to configure. But if you think it cannot be possible, try it for yourself.

You seem confidently oblivious of security concerns, almost as if you're just here to shill for a janky app.

Ok, let's paint this picture:

You scan a QR code to connect to someone's wifi.

All your traffic can now be captured. DNS requests will be logged. Some traffic might be redirected. When will the connection be closed? What if someone shows you a different QR code, and you're not that tech-savvy. For example a phishing webpage which asks for the user's password. Many many many people will still just enter their single-password-for-everything. What if the QR code is a deeplink to an app.. for example to a conversation on or whatever. Or maybe someone was previously logged in into some account.

Let me just teach my mum how to run a HTTP server and generate QR codes to send me photos of our lunch /s

It's literally click in the share icon and choose "Share over QR".

The device then will do the "run a server with the file, create the QR Code for access, display it". Your mum has no need to learn how to run it, just how she doesn't need to know anything about how airdrop works to use it.

An app like "Share via HTTP" does that for you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.MarcosDiez...

It's the same difficulty. They used techy terms because we know that's what's happening, but your mom doesn't need to know those terms or anything like that.

Thank you, I think I didn't get the idea across properly.

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