Android’s Nearby Share feature has been renamed to “Quick Share”

In an unexpected move, Google appears to be rebranding Nearby Share, a competitor to AirDrop for Android, to “Quick Share.”

Initially, Nearby Share was an easy way to send files between Android devices, but it has expanded to support Chromebooks and even Windows PCs (Mac not yet supported). Like AirDrop, it’s easy to send files to yourself or your friends, while there’s also the option to receive files from anyone.

For whatever reason, it appears that Google is preparing to ditch the “Nearby Share” tag that the company has used since 2020. This news comes thanks to Kamila Wojciechowska on Twitter/X.

After installing the latest Google Play Services beta update (version 23.50.13), a notification appeared informing you of the rebranding. Along with the new “Quick Share” name, the service has also been given a new icon consisting of two arrows pointing at each other with semicircular tails. The new icon also appears in the quick settings panel on Android devices. The previous symbol looked like two opposing arrow heads/arms woven together.

Nearby Sharing is now Quick Sharing

Find your new name and icon to share with nearby devices

This change appears to be a visual change only, otherwise the service still works exactly as it did before.

However, it is interesting that Google has chosen to use the name “Quick Share”, which is the moniker that Samsung currently uses for its file sharing tool on Galaxy phones. It’s currently unclear whether Samsung’s Quick Share feature has anything to do with Google’s renaming of Nearby Share.

Since this change is currently only appearing in the Play Services beta, it will likely be a few more weeks before the Nearby Share feature is widely renamed to Quick Share on Android devices.