Android's Quick Share will now let you transfer photos and videos using QR codes

Quick Share is a feature Google recently borrowed from Samsung. It was previously named Nearby Share, but since the transition, it has gained more powerful capabilities for sending and receiving files between nearby devices. Now, Google is borrowing yet another Quick Share feature from Samsung by letting Android users transfer photos, videos, and more using QR codes.

We previously reported about QR code sharing in Quick Share back in May, when we managed to enable it on a non-Samsung phone using a beta version of the Google Play Services app. Google is now rolling out QR code sharing widely to all Android users. It’s unclear how far back the support runs, but if you’re on a recent version of the operating system, you should get it soon.

If you want to transfer files using Quick Share’s new QR code feature, you can simply select the media file you want to share, tap the QR code, and have others scan it for a secure transfer. This removes the need to add them as contacts, verify devices, or change your sharing settings.

While the feature is now official, it may not be available on your Android devices immediately. You might have to wait for a server-side update from Google or a Play Services update that brings the feature along.