What Is Quick Share in Samsung Galaxy Phones

Quick Share is a file-sharing feature available on Samsung Galaxy devices that allows you to share photos, videos, PDFs, and other documents with other users in original quality. You can use Quick Share to share single or multiple files quickly and easily from any app that supports sharing, for instance Gallery, File Manager, etc. It can be rightly called Samsung’s version of AirDrop, and you can find it in the Share menu while sharing files on your Galaxy phone. Quick Share was launched in 2020 on select Samsung Galaxy phones but it’s now available on all Samsung Galaxy devices running Android 10+ or One UI 2.0+. What’s more, Quick Share also works on Samsung laptops running Windows.

Types of Quick Share

Quick Share works in two ways – you can send files to nearby people or to users anywhere in the world.

Share to Nearby Galaxy Devices

This method allows you to share files with people who are nearby. This is possible using Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth technology where the sender device looks for a nearby Samsung Galaxy device and then initiates a transfer. You don’t need to be connected to an internet connection or a Wi-Fi router. However, Wi-Fi must be turned on to share files. Furthermore, this method works between Samsung Galaxy devices only. You cannot use it to send files to non-Samsung phones. You must be wondering how is this methods different from a regular Bluetooth transfer. Quick Share is definitely faster than a Bluetooth transfer both in terms of data transfer and connecting the devices as Quick Share doesn’t require you to pair devices together beforehand. Moreover, just like Bluetooth, Quick Share is quite secure as you won’t receive files without accepting them. Recap: use this method when the recipient is near you and owns a Samsung Galaxy device.

Secondly, Quick Share lets you share files with people anywhere in the world using the link sharing feature. The sharing method was earlier available as a separate feature but Samsung merged it with Quick Share. So, if link sharing is missing on your phone, you must look for it under Quick Share.
The link sharing feature works on all devices and platforms, be it non-Samsung Android phones like OnePlus, Google Pixel, etc., or even iPhone. The only requirement is that the sender must have a Samsung Galaxy device. The selected file is first uploaded to Samsung Cloud for three days before being automatically deleted. Meanwhile, a unique link for the file is generated, which you must share with the recipient. Within three days, the recipient can download the file at any time. This method allows you to transfer up to 5GB. Recap: use this method to share files when the receiver is not nearby, is using a non-Samsung phone, or cannot download the files right away.

How to Share Files With Nearby Galaxy Devices

Tip: You can enable Quick Share from “Quick Settings” panel as well.

To send your files as a link, follow these steps:

To see the history of sent and received files via link sharing method, go to “Settings→ Advanced features→ Quick share→ Link sharing history”. Here you will see the list of files along with their expiration date. Please note that the files will be deleted from Samsung Cloud only and not from your phone.

How to Stop Sharing a File

If you accidentally sent a link of a wrong file to someone, you don’t need to delete that file from your phone. You can simply stop sharing the file by turning off its link.

You can use the Quick Share feature to send images as links instead of MMS in regular messages. The receiver would need to tap on the link to see the image you sent. Pro Tip: Tap on the same cloud icon to turn link sharing off in the Messages app. All screenshots by Mehvish Mushtaq.