Android’s Quick Share feature has helped Android users fill the AirDrop-shaped void caused by Apple, but it can be tricky to get it working if you’re in a rush. Now, though, this recent change will allow you to share files and other data faster.

Google has just announced a new neat change to Quick Share. Now, instead of having to change around your settings or add people as a contact every time you want to share something, you can now just generate a QR code. The other person will be able to scan that very QR code to instantly initiate the actual file transfer, without the other user having to change their existing settings, verify devices, or do anything else.

This can come in handy if, for one, you want to share a file with someone you don’t have in your contacts. Instead of having to spend a couple of minutes getting everything working so the Quick Share app can pick them up to share, you can just generate an easily-scannable QR code that the other person will then be able to scan with their camera app to instantly start sharing.

It’s a simple way to share files, and brings it closer to AirDrop in terms of simplicity. Of course, the preferred way would be to properly go through all the steps so the person you want to share a file with is just a tap away in the Quick Share panel, but this is good for one-time file transfers.

This is part of a larger effort by Google to actually make Quick Share a useful, widely-used feature on Android phones. The feature, formerly named Nearby Share, recently got merged with Samsung’s Quick Share, adopting the latter’s name. The feature is also available for Windows computers to share files back and forth with Android phones, and it recently got updated to be faster, too.

This addition is rolling out now, but it can take a few weeks to fully show up for everyone.

Source: Google