In a shock transfer, Google on Thursday introduced that it has up to date Fast Share, its peer-to-peer file switch service, to work with Apple’s tools AirDrop, permitting customers to extra simply share recordsdata and pictures between Android and iPhone units.
The cross-platform sharing characteristic is at the moment restricted to the Pixel 10 lineup and works with iPhone, iPad, and macOS units, with plans to broaden to further Android units sooner or later.
So as to switch a file from a Pixel 10 cellphone over AirDrop, the one caveat is that the proprietor of the Apple machine is required to ensure their iPhone (or iPad or Mac) is discoverable to anybody – which might be enabled for 10 minutes.
Likewise, to obtain content material from an Apple machine, Android machine customers might want to modify their Fast Share visibility settings to Everybody for 10 minutes or be in Obtain mode on the Fast Share web page, in keeping with a help doc printed by Google.
“We constructed Fast Share’s interoperability help for AirDrop with the identical rigorous security requirements that we apply to all Google merchandise,” Dave Kleidermacher, vice chairman of Platforms Safety and Privateness at Google, mentioned.
On the coronary heart of the longer term is a multi-layered security method that is powered by the memory-safe Rust programming language to create a safe sharing channel that Google mentioned eliminates whole courses of reminiscence security vulnerabilities, making its implementation resilient towards assaults that try to use reminiscence errors.
The tech large additionally famous that the characteristic doesn’t depend on any workaround and that the information will not be routed by a server, including it is open to working with Apple to allow “Contacts Solely” mode sooner or later.
“Google’s implementation of its model of Fast Share doesn’t introduce vulnerabilities into the broader protocol’s ecosystem,” NetSPI, which carried out an unbiased evaluation in August 2025, mentioned.
“Whereas it shares particular traits with implementations made by different producers, this implementation in all fairness safer. In actual fact, the method of file alternate is notably stronger, because it does not leak any data, which is a typical weak spot in different producers’ implementations.”
That mentioned, its evaluation uncovered a low-severity data disclosure vulnerability (CVSS rating: 2.1) that might allow an attacker with bodily entry to the machine to entry data, equivalent to picture thumbnails and SHA256 hashes of cellphone numbers and electronic mail addresses. It has since been addressed by Google.
The event comes as Google mentioned it blocked in India greater than 115 million makes an attempt to put in sideloaded apps that request entry to delicate permissions for monetary fraud. The corporate additionally mentioned it is piloting a brand new characteristic within the nation in collaboration with monetary providers like Google Pay, Navi, and Paytm to fight scams that trick customers into opening the apps when sharing their screens.
“Units operating Android 11+ now present a outstanding alert if a person opens one in every of these apps whereas display sharing on a name with an unknown contact,” Evan Kotsovinos, vice chairman of privateness, security, and security at Google, mentioned. “This characteristic supplies a one-tap choice to finish the decision and cease display sharing, defending customers from potential fraud.
Lastly, Google mentioned it is also creating Enhanced Cellphone Quantity Verification (ePNV), which it described as a brand new Android-based security protocol that replaces SMS OTP flows with SIM-based verification to enhance sign-in security.
