Guides
How to move a file from one device to another
Every guide here starts with the problem rather than with Poftim: a photo stuck on a phone, a video too big to email, two devices that refuse to talk to each other because one has an apple on the back and the other does not.
They are written to be followed by somebody who has never used this site before. Each one gives the steps in order, shows what the screen looks like at each stage, and says plainly where the method has limits. If you would rather just try it, open the transfer page — none of this needs reading first.
The guides
Pick the one that matches your problem
- Transfer files from an iPhone to a Windows PC without iTunesiPhone to Windows
- Send files from a phone to a computer, and backPhone to computer
- Send a large video or file without uploading it anywhereLarge files
- Send files between Android and iPhone, including photosAndroid and iPhone
- Transfer files without installing an app on either deviceNo app
- Share files between two computersComputer to computer
- Use an AirDrop alternative that is not limited to AppleAirDrop alternative
Not sure a particular phone or browser is supported? The compatibility page lists what works, what does not, and why.
The short version
Every guide is the same three steps
The details differ by device, but the shape never changes. One device shows a code, the other one reads it, and then files move between them directly.
Nothing is uploaded first and nothing waits on a server for collection. That is why none of these guides ever tells you to delete the file afterwards — there is no copy anywhere to delete.
-
01
Open the page on both devices
Go to poftim.app in the ordinary browser on the device that holds the files. A square code appears immediately. There is nothing to install and nothing to sign into.
-
02
Connect them
If the two devices are together, point the second one's camera at the code. If they are apart, press Share connection instead and send the one-time link by message or email. Both screens then show the same short phrase — check that they match before you continue.
-
03
Send
Drop the files in, or press Choose files. Either device can send, in either direction, for as long as both pages stay open. Closing either page ends the connection and nothing about it is kept.
Why it is set up this way
What these guides deliberately avoid
Most file-transfer advice ends with a copy of your file sitting on somebody else's computer. These guides do not.
- Uploading the file and sharing a link to itLeaves a copy behind
- Emailing a file to yourselfSize limits, and a copy in two mailboxes
- A cable and desktop softwareOnly works for one pair of devices
- Installing an app on both endsTwo accounts, two updates, two sets of permissions
- Opening the page and sendingWhat every guide here does instead
Files are encrypted on the sending device before they leave it, and the keys never reach a server. The security architecture explains exactly what the service can and cannot see, including the parts that are genuinely visible to it.