Google finally launches the anticipated Tap to Share. Contacts and files can be shared by bringing phones together

Sharing between Android phones has just shrunk to a single motion: you bring two devices close to each other, and contacts or photos are exchanged automatically. After months of leaks, Google has now officially launched its NameDrop equivalent, called Tap to Share, but for now, only on its own Pixels.

Share by bringing phones together

Transferring a contact or photo between two mobile phones long meant opening the share menu, selecting an app, and clicking through. Google is now shortening this to a single motion, as announced on its blog: on the home screen, simply bring two compatible phones together, and an instant, two-way exchange will occur between the devices. This is most useful for quickly exchanging a business card.

For contacts, you have control over the transfer – in the card, you select which fields you want to send, or you can choose to only receive data. Photos, videos, files, and links can be initiated from the Share menu, and then you connect the phones. You’ll know the transfer is in progress when both devices display a confirmation animation (see image above). Completed files can then be found in the Files app in the Quick Share folder.

So how do the phones communicate? NFC here serves only as a trigger, so sometimes it helps to place the phones back-to-back – the chip is often in a different place on each model. The actual data transfer, according to current information, will be handled by faster Wi-Fi. Furthermore, the feature is enabled by default (except for devices with managed accounts); if it bothers you, you can turn it off in Settings under Google → Quick Share.

Google took inspiration from Apple

Apple was the first to come up with the idea – its AirDrop has been handling wireless file transfers between devices for years, and the newer NameDrop does exactly this: you bring two iPhones close and exchange contacts.

Google finally launches the anticipated Tap to Share. Contacts and files can be shared by bringing phones together Adam Kurfürst News Adam Kurfürst News

That something like this would arrive was no surprise. We wrote about the upcoming feature and its leaks already in the spring, and later it also became clear how Google would integrate it directly into the Contacts app. What was found in the code is now an official new feature.

Currently only on Pixels

The feature is heading first to Pixel 6 and newer devices running Android 17 and later, but you won’t be able to use it with a corporate profile. Google also promised that it will soon arrive on Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8, and Flip8 foldables, and is expected to expand to other Android phones by the end of the year.

Would you exchange contacts just by bringing phones together?

Sources: Google