How it works
Three steps. Zero setup.
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01
Open
Open Poftim on the device holding the files. A fresh code appears straight away — nothing to install, and nothing to sign in to.
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02
Scan or share
When the two devices are together, point the other one's ordinary camera at the code and the transfer page opens by itself. When they are apart, use Share connection instead to send a one-time link by message or email — anything a shared link connects travels through the encrypted relay, so neither device has to be reachable from the other's network.
Either way, both devices then show the same short phrase, so you can see at a glance that you are connected to the right one.
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03
Send
Drop in files, or pick them. Either side can send. Files travel directly whenever possible, or through an encrypted relay when a direct connection cannot be made. The connection disappears when you close it.
Privacy in plain English
Private by design
The pairing secret is not included in the request sent to Poftim’s server. It is read locally by the receiving browser and authenticates the encrypted connection. The two devices then derive fresh session keys that protect the files.
- File contentsNot received in readable form
- File names and typesEncrypted
- Encryption keysNot sent to the server
- Account or emailNot requested
- IP addressVisible to connection infrastructure
- Timing and approximate volumeMay be visible when relayed
- Third-party scripts, ads or trackersNone on the transfer page
Because Poftim is a web application, you must still trust the code delivered by poftim.app. A compromised page, browser or extension could access secrets or plaintext while they are in the browser. Read the full security architecture.
Setting
“Hide my network address”
This setting controls whether the other device can learn your network address. It does not change who you should trust.
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
The connection is forced through the relay, so the other device does not receive a direct network route to you. It is slower because the data takes a longer path. The relay infrastructure still processes both devices’ IP addresses, while file contents and metadata remain encrypted.
Turn this on when you do not want the other device to learn your network address. It does not verify the other person or make an incoming file safe to open. Choose it before the other device scans your code.
Measurement
What is counted
One question is worth measuring: does a transfer that somebody starts actually finish? It is answered in two different ways, because the transfer page and these explanatory pages are not the same thing.
On the transfer page
Nothing third-party runs there at all. That page holds the pairing secret, the session keys and your files in readable form, so no outside code is allowed to execute beside them — the security policy served with the page refuses every external origin, rather than us simply choosing not to include one.
Instead it sends five plain counts to poftim.app itself: a code was created, a code was scanned, a transfer started, a transfer finished, a transfer failed. Alongside them go only whether the device was sending or receiving, whether it paired by code or by shared link, and how many files were in the transfer. There is no cookie, nothing is stored on your device, and nothing distinguishes you from anyone else — the server keeps running totals and no record of individual visits.
- File names, types and contentsNever sent
- File sizesNever sent
- Session ids, transfer codes and pairing secretsNever sent
- The address of any pageNever sent
- A cookie or any identifierNever set
- Encryption keysNever leave the two devices
On the pages that explain it
These pages carry no session material and no files, so they use Google Analytics to show how people find and read them. Nothing loads and no cookie is set until you have said yes.
Choose “No thanks” and no analytics is ever fetched — nothing is then loaded from any outside origin at all. You can change your mind at any time with the Analytics link at the foot of any of these pages — turning it off again also clears the cookies that were set. Advertising and cross-device features are switched off permanently and cannot be enabled by the choice you make here.
Questions
The things people ask first
Can Poftim remember my devices?
Yes, with Poftim+. After one ordinary QR connection two of your own devices can remember each other, and from then on you tap a name instead of scanning a code — up to five devices. Without it nothing is kept, and that is a design decision rather than an omission: every connection is temporary on purpose, the code dies with the page that made it, and no pairing is remembered. That is still exactly how the free version works, and it is why sending files needs no account at all.
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?
Poftim is designed to work between supported current browsers on iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux. Browser behaviour differs, especially for large downloads and background suspension. See which devices and browsers are supported.
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.
Can I send to someone who isn't with me?
Yes. Choose Share connection instead of showing the code, and send the one-time link that appears by message or email. When the other person opens it the transfer runs through the encrypted relay, so neither device needs to be reachable from the other's network and neither learns the other's network address.
Keep the page open until they arrive. The link belongs to that page, and it expires by itself if nobody opens it.
What happens to files I have received if the other person disconnects?
They stay on screen. Files that have already arrived belong to your device rather than to the connection, so closing the connection cannot take them back. Poftim keeps you on the results screen and reminds you to save them before leaving the page, because leaving is the point at which they are gone.
Where do my files go?
Directly whenever possible. If the devices cannot establish a direct connection, Poftim forwards the encrypted stream through a relay without storing the files.
How big a file can I send?
Files are streamed in pieces instead of loading the complete transfer into memory. Large transfers are supported, but practical limits depend on the devices and browsers involved. Keep both pages open and the screens awake.
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.
Does Poftim scan incoming files?
No. End-to-end encryption prevents Poftim from inspecting the transferred contents. Only accept files from someone you trust, and treat executable or unfamiliar files cautiously.
Do you track what I send?
No. With your agreement, Poftim counts how many transfers are started and how many finish, so it can tell whether the tool actually works. File names, sizes, contents, transfer codes and session links are never part of that. Decline and no analytics code is loaded at all. See exactly what is counted.
Is it free?
Sending files is, and there is nothing to sign up for. There is one optional subscription, Poftim+, which lets your own devices reconnect without scanning a code each time — it changes nothing else, and the pricing page sets out both sides.
Why is it called ‘Poftim’?
Poftim is Romanian for “here you go”—the polite expression used when handing something to another person. That is exactly what the app is meant to feel like.
Open. Scan. Send.