Answers to Your Questions
Your files themselves are never sent to or stored on our server — only the connection setup passes through it. The server briefly relays a handshake between two devices so they can find each other, and only shows devices to each other when they're on the same local network. Once that handshake completes, files transfer directly, peer-to-peer.
Yes, your data is safe. Since LocalShare doesn’t upload your files to the cloud and only operates within your own network, your information remains private. No files are stored on our servers, and connections are secured with HTTPS. However, ensure your network itself is secure (e.g., with a strong Wi-Fi password).
The fastest way to share files is through LocalShare’s local network connection. Unlike cloud solutions, which require uploading files to an external server and then downloading them — a process that’s significantly slower, especially for large files — LocalShare sends your data directly between devices on your network. For the best performance, particularly with large files, we recommend connecting one or more devices via an Ethernet cable instead of using Wi-Fi. This reduces latency and maximizes speed.
Yes, LocalShare works across all major platforms — iOS, Windows, macOS, and Android — as long as you’re using a modern web browser like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. Since it’s a web-based application, there’s no need to install additional software. Simply access the site from your device’s browser while connected to the same local network, and you’re ready to share files.
Both devices need to be on the same local network — the same Wi-Fi, or wired into the same router. LocalShare deliberately only shows you devices on your own network, so a phone on mobile data or a laptop on a different Wi-Fi network won't appear, and neither will devices outside your home or office. If two devices are on the same router but still don't see each other, check they're not on a guest network — many routers isolate guest Wi-Fi from the main network on purpose.
Most home connections also give each device two kinds of address, IPv4 and IPv6, and each browser picks one. If one device ends up on IPv4 and the other on IPv6, LocalShare can't tell they share a network. On the device using IPv4, tap the address next to the device count, enter the four-character join code your other device shows, and tap Allow on that other device. The link covers only that one device, lasts one hour, and nothing is linked unless the other device approves.
72 hours. After that, a shared file automatically stops being offered to other devices — it never sat on our server to begin with, so nothing needs to be deleted, the listing just expires.
No hard limit is enforced. Files transfer directly between browsers in small chunks, so in practice the limits are your device's memory and how patient you are — very large files (many GB) will take a while and depend on both browsers staying on the page for the duration.
Reload the page on the receiving device and start the download again — LocalShare doesn't currently resume a partial transfer, it restarts it.