How it works
Three steps, and none of them is setup
-
01
Open
Open Poftim on the device holding the files. A fresh code appears straight away — there is no account, no sign-in and no device list to search through.
-
02
Scan
Point the other device's ordinary camera at the code. The transfer page opens by itself. Both devices show the same short phrase, so you can see at a glance that you are connected to the right one.
-
03
Send
Drop in files, or pick them. They stream directly from one device to the other. Either side can send, and the connection disappears when you close the page.
Security
What Poftim never sees
The QR code is not a room number. It carries a one-time key that is generated on your device and travels in the part of a link that browsers never send to a server. That key is what encrypts your files — which is why we cannot read them, even in principle.
- File contentsNever
- File names, sizes and typesNever
- Your encryption keysNever
- An account or email addressNever asked for
- A history of your transfersNot kept
- Third-party scripts, ads or trackersNone on the page
Setting
“Hide my network address”
Leave this off unless you have a reason to turn it on. Here is what it actually changes.
Off — the default
Your two devices work out the shortest path between them and send the files along it, without the data passing through us. To do that, each device has to learn the other's network address (its IP address). Between your own phone and your own laptop that is normally fine, and it is much faster.
On
Everything is routed through our relay instead, so the two devices never see each other's address. Use it when you are sending to someone you do not know. It is slower, because the data takes a longer path — and the relay still cannot read anything, because the files are encrypted before they ever leave your device.
The setting applies to the next connection you make, so choose it before the other device scans your code.
Questions
The things people ask first
Do I need to install an app?
No. Poftim runs in the browser on both devices. You can add it to your home screen if you use it often, but that only makes it open faster — it is the same tool either way.
Can I send files from an iPhone to an Android phone?
Yes, and to and from Windows, macOS and Linux too. Anything with a current browser can take part, which is the point: no matching app on both ends, no ecosystem to belong to.
Do both devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi?
No. Being on the same network makes the transfer faster because the data can take a direct path, but Poftim will connect across different networks as well.
Where do my files go?
Straight to the other device. Nothing is uploaded to cloud storage and no copy is kept. If the two devices cannot reach each other directly, the encrypted stream passes through a relay that cannot decrypt any of it.
How big a file can I send?
Files are streamed in small pieces rather than held in memory, so several gigabytes is fine. Keep both pages open and the screen awake while a large transfer runs.
What is the short phrase both devices show?
It is a fingerprint of the key your two devices just agreed on, turned into something a person can compare at a glance. If both screens show the same phrase, you are talking to the right device. If they differ, something is wrong and you should not continue.
Is it free?
Yes, and there is nothing to sign up for.
Why is it called Poftim?
Poftim is Romanian for “here you go” — the word you say as you hand something to someone. It seemed a better name for this than another arrangement of the words file and share.