A PairDrop alternative that checks the code for you

Beamaroo is a PairDrop alternative that keeps what PairDrop gets right (files go straight from one browser to the other, with nothing uploaded) and changes what happens around it. To reach a device on another network, you share a one-time code instead of pairing devices or joining a public room. The code is checked automatically, and the sender gets a receipt once every file is verified on the other end. PairDrop is still a very good open-source tool, and for same-Wi-Fi sharing or self-hosting it's often the better pick. If both devices sit on one network, LocalSend and snapdrop.me are covered below too.

Why people look for a PairDrop alternative

If you're searching for a pairdrop.net alternative, you've probably hit one of these walls. We checked each one against PairDrop's docs, its code and the App Store on 31 October 2026:

• The other device doesn't show up. Unpaired devices only appear automatically when they reach PairDrop's server from the same public IP address (server code). Put one device on mobile data, a VPN or iCloud Private Relay and they no longer match, so you have to pair them or share a public room.
• Its own FAQ says you have to trust the server. “Still you have to trust the PairDrop server,” says the PairDrop FAQ. Encrypted signalling and device verification are planned in issue #180, open since October 2023.
• iPhones are awkward. There's no official App Store app, several apps borrow the name, and each send to an iPhone is capped below 200 MB.
• It isn't moving fast. The latest release, v1.11.2, is from February 2025, and the last commit, in April 2026, updated a link (releases). The site at pairdrop.net is still up and runs v1.11.2.

A security number you compare vs a code that's checked for you

PairDrop does have a check. Once two devices connect, it derives a 16-digit security number from both ends' encryption fingerprints, meant to be compared on both screens. But it only appears as a tooltip on the sender's name in the incoming-file dialog (ui.js). You have to know it's there, the sending device only sees one when a file comes back the other way, and tooltips are hard to reach on a touchscreen (MDN).

Beamaroo makes the check automatic. The code words never reach Beamaroo's server; a share link carries them after the #, which browsers don't send. Once the encrypted connection is up, each device proves it holds the same words with a tag bound to that connection. A typo, a stranger trying their luck or a misrouted connection fails, the session ends and the code is burnt, all before any file moves.

Both tools still rely on a server to introduce the two devices, so neither removes the need to trust that server. The difference is that Beamaroo's check runs every time, without anyone having to remember it. Here's how Beamaroo's pairing code works.

What the sender sees when the files land

PairDrop tells the sender “File transfer completed” as soon as the receiving browser has all the bytes, then the receiver checks the file's name and size (network.js).

Beamaroo waits for proof. The receiving device builds a SHA-256 fingerprint of each file as the pieces arrive and compares it with the sender's. Only when every file matches does the sender see “Delivered ✔ — verified on their device”. It confirms every byte arrived intact, not that they've opened it.

PairDrop on iPhone: no official app, and a 200 MB cap

PairDrop has no App Store app. Its FAQ says to open pairdrop.net in Safari, tap the share icon, then Add to Home Screen. Apps called PairDrop, PairDrop Global and PairDrop Pro come from other developers, not the project, and some sell weekly or lifetime plans. If you want PairDrop, use the website.

PairDrop also refuses any send of 200 MB or more to an iPhone (“Sending files to iOS is only possible up to 200 MB at once”). A batch of photos can go in smaller groups, but a single file of 200 MB or more can't reach an iPhone through PairDrop at all. Beamaroo runs in Safari too and is bound by phone memory as well: it's comfortable up to a few hundred MB and warns above 300 MB. Keep the screen on until the receipt arrives, since locking the phone can stall a transfer and there's no resume. For other ways to move files between an iPhone and a computer, see iPhone to PC file transfer.

Other PairDrop alternatives: LocalSend and snapdrop.me

Two other free tools also send files directly, with different trade-offs:

LocalSend: native apps on one network

LocalSend is a free, open-source (Apache 2.0) app for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. It works across your local network with no internet at all, which neither pairdrop.net nor Beamaroo can do, but its FAQ says it doesn't work over the internet. Here's LocalSend compared with Beamaroo.

snapdrop.me: the original Snapdrop

PairDrop began as a Snapdrop fork, and the classic Snapdrop now runs at snapdrop.me, which its creator Robin Linus has linked from his GitHub since 14 September 2026. It only works on the same network and has no relay. Don't confuse it with snapdrop.net, now a LimeWire upload service (what happened to Snapdrop).

PairDrop vs LocalSend

It comes down to app versus browser. LocalSend is a native app and needs no internet. PairDrop stays in the browser and can reach other networks through pairing or public rooms. Beamaroo sits closer to PairDrop: nothing to install and any network, with a one-time code instead of pairing or rooms. For more options, see our Snapdrop alternatives.

Beamaroo's limits, plainly: both devices must be online at the same time, with an internet connection. One code serves one receiver. Received files are held in memory until they're saved, so phones are comfortable up to a few hundred MB and computers up to about 1–2 GB. Folders need zipping first, and an interrupted transfer can't be resumed.