AirDrop: File Transfers, Sharing, And More
With the amount of file sharing methods out there, I feel AirDrop is one of the most convenient and secure when two people are using an Apple device in the same location.
Let’s start out with some basics. What is AirDrop? It's a wireless peer to peer direct file transfer which is end to end encrypted. This means you don't need to be on the same Wifi Network, or directly connected to the person you want to send files to via Bluetooth for this to work. AirDrop in my opinion is a feature that should resonate for the majority of Apple enthusiasts. Why you ask -- well for the most part, “it just works”.
To enable your device to receive an AirDrop on iOS, swipe up to your control center in iOS if you have an iPhone 8 or earlier. If you’re using iPhone X swipe from the upper right part of the screen. Then force touch into the first box to enable AirDrop. Now here you have the option to enable this for contacts only, or everyone. To give this a test let’s select “Everyone”.
To enable AirDrop on macOS navigate to your Finder, select AirDrop from the sidebar on the left, click on “Allow me to be discovered by” and select “Everyone”.
Cool, now that we have that enabled on your device, let’s think about a situation when we would actually use AirDrop. I use it a lot when I’m sending a picture to someone who is in the same vicinity as my device. Open the Photos app, select the photo, tap the action button bottom left, and now here is where you will find the AirDrop enabled devices around you. The name under the avatars are being pulled from the device name of the device, or directly from the contact that is in your phone. In this situation it’s displaying the name of “Tiffany” as she is of course one of my contacts. Find the person who you want to share this photo with and select them. You’ll see a “Waiting...” dialog under their name until they either accept or decline.
The experience is very similar if you’re sending someone a file from the Mac. Launch your Finder, select AirDrop from the sidebar on the left, find your file that you would like to share, and drag and drop the file onto the person or device shown. This is a great feature used when you want to simply transfer a file from iOS to macOS device and you don’t want to be logged into a syncing service on that computer.
If you’re the person receiving the AirDrop on iOS, the experience would work a bit like this. You’ll be presented with a pop up dialog box. You will either Accept or Decline. If you do accept this photo, your device will automatically place it in the Photos App and launch it for you when the transfer is complete.
Same deal for the Mac with the only difference being in iOS the file will be automatically placed in the appropriate App on the device. Now on the Mac you have a bit more control as to where this AirDrop will be living and you can either open the photo with the Photos App or place the file in the “Downloads” folder. This folder is located in your Home folder \User\Downloads via the Finder.
So the next time you’re in a situation where you need to transfer a picture, video, contact, or even a web page from one device or person to another, why don’t you give AirDrop a try. It’s a powerful feature that can be a very quick, easy, and secure way to share files in your personal life and in business. Always remember when you are done with AirDrop for that specific time, turn your receiving off on your devices. If you don’t turn this feature off and you have your AirDrop preference on for “Everyone”, the next time you’re in a public place your device will show up on other Apple devices around you as ready to receive an AirDrop. I usually keep my AirDrop preference to “Receiving Off” and turn it on when necessary.
Be well my friends.
