Open this page on another device

Devices on the same wifi appear here by themselves. On a different network, pair them with a code.

You are connecting

Tap a device to send it files, or drop files onto it. Right-click or long-press a device to send text.

Image Drop

Send photos and files between your phone, laptop and PC in the browser. They go device to device and never touch a server.

Send Photos from Your Phone to Your PC Without a Cable

Image Drop is the missing AirDrop: open this page on both devices and they see each other. Tap the other device, pick the photos, and they arrive on the other screen a moment later at full quality - no cable, no app to install, no account, and nothing uploaded to the cloud on the way. It works between anything with a browser: iPhone to Windows, Android to Mac, phone to laptop, laptop to phone, or two phones side by side.

Devices on the same wifi find each other automatically. A phone on mobile data and a laptop on wifi can still be joined with a six-character code. Once connected, the files travel straight from one device to the other over an encrypted peer-to-peer link, so a 40 MB photo takes as long as the wifi takes and the transfer never touches a server.

How to Transfer Photos Between Devices

  1. Open imageonline.io/image-drop on both devices. Each shows up on the other as a named circle - "Amber Fox", "Silver Heron" - with a phone or computer icon so you know which is which.
  2. Tap the device you want to send to and choose the photos or files. On a computer you can also drag files straight onto the circle.
  3. The other device asks whether to accept. Accept, and the progress ring fills as the files arrive.
  4. Photos show a preview with a Save button; a single file saves itself. On a computer, Save all puts the whole batch in the downloads folder at once.

To send a link or a note instead of a file, right-click a device (or press and hold on a phone) and type it. It appears on the other screen with a Copy button.

Different Networks: Pair with a Code

Devices only see each other automatically when they share a connection - the same home or office wifi. A phone on 4G, a laptop on a hotel network, a work PC behind a VPN: none of those share anything, so they never appear on each other's radar. That is what Pair with a code is for. Press it on one device to get a code, type that code on the other, and both join a private room that works across networks. The pairing is remembered for a day, so a phone and a PC you use together only need it once, and Leave ends it whenever you like.

The code room is the answer to the two questions that come up most often. "Why can't I see my other device?" - it is on a different network, or the wifi isolates its guests from each other, which many public and hotel networks do; pair by code. "Can I send from the office to home?" - yes, as long as both pages are open; the files still go device to device, the code only introduces them.

Full Quality, No Compression, No Size Limit

Messaging apps recompress every picture they carry, and emailing a photo to yourself both shrinks it and leaves a copy on a mail server. Image Drop sends the file exactly as it is on the sending device: a 12 MP JPG arrives as the same 12 MP JPG, byte for byte, and a RAW, a PNG, a video or a PDF goes through the same way - it is a photo tool by name, but it moves any file. There is no upload quota because there is no upload; the practical limit is the memory of the receiving device, which comfortably handles a few hundred megabytes at a time.

Speed is set by the local network, not by an internet connection. Two devices on the same wifi typically move a large photo in a second or two, and a batch of a hundred phone pictures in well under a minute. The transfer runs over WebRTC, the same technology video calls use, with its built-in encryption; nothing on the way between the two devices can read the files.

Private by Design

Nothing you send is stored anywhere. The only thing our server ever sees is the introduction: which devices are in the same room and the small messages they exchange to open a direct connection. The files themselves never leave the two devices, which is why a transfer between a phone and a laptop on the same wifi works even when the internet connection is slow. Your device is identified by a random name that changes when you close the tab, not by an account, and a device on a public wifi has to accept a transfer before a single byte is sent to it, so nobody can push files onto your screen uninvited.

Image Drop is one of the tools on this site, alongside the image compressor if you need a smaller copy before sending it on, the image resizer, and the converter for changing the format once the photo is on the other device.

Frequently Asked Questions About Image Drop

How do I send photos from my phone to my PC without a cable?

Open this page on the phone and on the PC while both are on the same wifi. The PC appears on the phone's screen; tap it, pick the photos, and accept on the PC. They land in the downloads folder at full resolution. No cable, no app, no account.

Does it work between iPhone and Android, or iPhone and Windows?

Yes. It runs in the browser, so any two devices with a browser can send to each other: iPhone to Windows, Android to Mac, iPad to a Chromebook, or two phones. It is the AirDrop that does not care what the other device is.

Why can't I see my other device?

The two devices are not on the same network. Mobile data and wifi are different networks, and many public, hotel and office networks keep their users apart on purpose. Press Pair with a code on one device and enter the code on the other; that joins them across any network.

Are my photos uploaded to a server?

No. The files travel directly from one device to the other over an encrypted WebRTC connection. Our server only introduces the two devices to each other and relays the handful of small messages needed to open that connection; it never sees the contents of a transfer.

Is there a file size limit?

There is no upload limit because nothing is uploaded. Files are held in the memory of the receiving device until you save them, so a few hundred megabytes at a time is comfortable; for a much larger batch, send it in parts.

Are the photos compressed?

No. The file arrives exactly as it left, byte for byte - the same resolution, the same metadata, the same size. That is the difference from sending pictures through a messaging app, which recompresses them.

Is this a Snapdrop alternative?

Yes, and it works the same way: devices on the same network see each other and send files directly. Image Drop adds pairing by code for devices on different networks, previews for received photos, and text messages, and it runs on our own infrastructure so it stays up.

Can I send a link or a note?

Right-click a device, or press and hold on a phone, and type the text. It appears on the other device with a Copy button, and any links in it are clickable.