Snapdrop was the browser AirDrop a lot of people trusted — until it was acquired by LimeWire in early 2025 and the live site started uploading files to LimeWire's cloud. If you came here because snapdrop.net stopped being the peer-to-peer tool you remember, Beamaroo keeps the part that mattered: your files travel directly between the two devices and are never uploaded to or stored on a server.
Beamaroo vs Snapdrop
An honest, side-by-side look. Where Snapdrop wins, we say so.
| Feature | Beamaroo | Snapdrop |
|---|---|---|
| Direct peer-to-peer transfer (WebRTC + DTLS) | Yes — every transfer, always end-to-end encrypted | The classic/self-hosted version and the PairDrop fork are true P2P; the live snapdrop.net now uploads to LimeWire's cloud |
| Files uploaded to or stored on a server | Never — the server only introduces the two devices | Yes on the current LimeWire-run site; files upload to LimeWire servers |
| Works across the internet, not just the same Wi-Fi/LAN | Yes | Original Snapdrop was same-network only; the PairDrop successor added cross-internet pairing |
| Verified delivery (receiver hash-checks the file, confirmation returns to sender) | Yes — 'Delivered, verified on their device' | No — 'sent' does not prove the file arrived intact |
| Human-word pairing code with cryptographic connection verification | Yes — e.g. beam-7-otter-quartz, verified over the DTLS fingerprints | No — paired by auto-discovery on the LAN |
| No account and no install | Yes | Yes on the classic/PairDrop version |
| Open-source and self-hostable | No — not available today | Yes — classic Snapdrop and PairDrop are open-source (GPLv3) and self-hostable |
| Send now, recipient picks up later (offline holding area) | No — it's a live beam; both devices must be online at once | Unclear — the LimeWire cloud version stores uploads on its servers, but whether a recipient can retrieve them later isn't documented; the classic/PairDrop version does not |
Snapdrop built its reputation as the AirDrop-for-browsers: open a page on two devices, drag a file across, done — and crucially, nothing left your local network. That local-only design was the whole privacy pitch. In February 2025, LimeWire announced it had acquired Snapdrop, citing around 1.7 million users. The live snapdrop.net was then reworked: the old device-to-device discovery flow was replaced with an 'Upload Files' button that sends your files to LimeWire's cloud servers, the site nudges you toward limewire.com, and it's bundled with LimeWire's paid AI/hosting tiers and the $LMWR crypto token.
For a lot of long-time users this landed as a bait-and-switch — files that used to never touch a server now do, and several reported the change arrived without clear notice (GitHub issues #651, #655, #663). The original creator had already stepped back from maintenance before the sale, so the classic open-source codebase, while still on GitHub, is effectively unmaintained. The community's answer was to migrate to PairDrop, a maintained fork that kept the true peer-to-peer model.
If your reason for using Snapdrop was 'my files stay off the cloud', that's exactly the guarantee Beamaroo is built around. Files move directly between the two browsers over an encrypted WebRTC channel; the server's only job is to introduce the devices, and it never sees file names, contents, or your code words. When a direct link is blocked, an encrypted relay forwards ciphertext it cannot read — the files still never sit in storage.
When Snapdrop is the better pick
Snapdrop's lineage is still the better pick in a few cases. If you want a tool you can fully self-host and audit, the open-source classic Snapdrop — or better, the actively maintained PairDrop fork — is genuinely peer-to-peer and free to run on your own infrastructure, which Beamaroo does not offer today. If all your devices are on the same Wi-Fi and you just want quick AirDrop-style local transfers, or you want the well-known brand and PairDrop's multi-device rooms and public pairing, that ecosystem is purpose-built for it and battle-tested with a large community. Beamaroo is the right choice when you want a zero-setup beam that works across the internet, proves delivery on the other device, and guarantees your files are never uploaded or stored.
Questions
What happened to Snapdrop?
Snapdrop was acquired by LimeWire, announced in February 2025. The live snapdrop.net was converted from a peer-to-peer, same-network tool into a LimeWire cloud-upload service — files now upload to LimeWire's servers, the site redirects toward limewire.com, and it's bundled with LimeWire's paid tiers and the $LMWR crypto token.
Is Beamaroo peer-to-peer like the original Snapdrop?
Yes. Beamaroo transfers files directly between two browsers over WebRTC with DTLS end-to-end encryption — the same core transport model the original Snapdrop used. The difference is that files are never uploaded to or stored on a server, and Beamaroo works across the internet, not just the same Wi-Fi.
Does Beamaroo upload my files to a server?
No. Your files go directly device-to-device. The server only introduces the two devices — it never sees file names, contents, or your code words. If a direct connection is blocked, an encrypted relay forwards ciphertext it cannot read; the files are still never stored.
Is the classic open-source Snapdrop still usable?
The classic Snapdrop code still exists on GitHub and can be self-hosted, but the original project is effectively unmaintained since its creator stepped back. The community moved to PairDrop, a maintained fork that kept the true peer-to-peer model and added cross-internet pairing.
Do I need an account or an app to use Beamaroo?
No. There's no account to send or receive and nothing to install — it runs in any modern browser. You pair with a one-time human code like beam-7-otter-quartz (or a QR code), and the code cryptographically verifies the connection so a wrong or intercepted code fails.
What can't Beamaroo do that I should know upfront?
Both devices have to be online at the same time — it's a live beam, not a locker, so there's no 'send now, they pick it up later'. Received files are currently held in the browser tab's memory before saving, so very large multi-gigabyte transfers are limited today (stream-to-disk is planned). Beamaroo also isn't open-source or self-hostable, unlike Snapdrop/PairDrop.