8 non-Chinese file-sharing apps gaining ground after SHAREit ban

File sharing is a serious business. What seems like a casual media transfer between two devices actually amounts to a global market poised to reach $17 billion by 2025, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence.

India, with its affinity for dual SIMs and memory cards, is one of the largest markets for enterprise file sharing and synchronisation (EFSS). It is of no surprise then that the world’s top file-sharing app — SHAREit — found its biggest user base in this country. 

Of its 1.8 billion users globally, over 400 million were in India, according to App Annie. Not only this, but SHAREit was also consistently one of India’s top five downloaded apps, according to the Mary Meeker Internet Trends report.

In 2019, SHAREit ranked third (behind WhatsAppand Facebook) in MAUs in India. In fact, the app was so popular in the country that the company acquired South Indian OTT service FastFilmz to drive community engagement on its platform.

Hence, in June, when the Indian government banned SHAREit (with 58 other Chinese apps) on grounds of national security, a massive void was created in the file-sharing space. However, after the ban, a plethora of apps rushed to fill that void and seize the opportunity. 

YourStory lists the top non-Chinese SHAREit alternatives available in India.

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InShare

InShare comes from the creators of InShot, one of the most popular video editing apps in the market. Launched in 2019, the app went from one million to 10 million installs between February and August 2020, according to AppBrain. 

The last five million downloads came in less than a month. InShare is rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google Play Store, and is the #1 app in the ‘Tools’ category. 

Users can share pictures, videos, audio, games, ebooks, and other media files through InShare. It also allows the transfer of files through QR code scanning and offline sharing. The app supports 30 languages and comes with a built-in file manager for sorting. 

MX ShareKaro

MX ShareKaro calls itself the ‘Indian SHAREit’. It is an India-first product and supports nine local languages besides English. 

Built by MX Media (creator of OTT app MX Player and TikTok-like short video app MX TakaTak), MX ShareKaro launched this July, and has already crossed a million downloads on Google Play Store. At present, it is ranked #6 in the ‘Tools’ category. 

It allows internet-free sending, sharing, and receiving of files. One of the biggest selling points is the small app size (2.8 MB) tailored for low-cost smartphones. Users can also easily share media files between MX ShareKaro and MX Player. 

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JioSwitch

JioSwitch, built by Reliance Industries, is a part of Jio’s diversified app suite. 

What separates this cross-platform app from others is that it allows file-sharing between Android and iOS. Users can transfer all kinds of media without any limits. 

JioSwitch supports file-sharing between PCs and mobiles too. Users need to simply scan a QR code using the webcam. The app also supports offline file transfers. Launched in 2016, it counts over 10 million downloads on Google Play Store. 

Files by Google

Files by Google is a multipurpose utility app, with file-sharing among its key features. It allows users to browse, review, and transfer files offline. Shared files can be automatically backed up on Google Drive or other cloud storage apps.

Offline sharing is secured with WPA2 encryption, enabling a safe transaction between devices. The app allows users to share even app APK in seconds.

Launched in 2017, the Android-only app is available in 90 languages, and has crossed 500 million downloads. It is ranked #3 in the ‘Tools’ category of Google Play Store. 

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SHAREgo

Built by TechProof Apps (India), SHAREgo launched in late-2019, and has notched one million downloads on Google Play Store. It is ranked #9 in the ‘Tools’ category.

SHAREgo lets sharing of files, movies, videos, apps, pictures, documents, and more without the internet. The app also allows them to ‘view/play’ all sent and received files. Users can even download WhatsApp video statuses and GIFs via SHAREgo. 

The simple and clutter-free UI is tailored for users who are new to file-sharing. SHAREgo also comes with a built-in file manager and a software update checker. 

SFT - Swift File Transfer

Swift File Transfer allows users to share files of all kinds across Android and iOS devices (PCs and Macs too) using a local WiFi network. 

The app lets users control the speed of file transfer, and supports multiple connections at the same time. This means that users can transfer files across more than one device simultaneously. 

SFT has notched up over half a million downloads on Google Play Store. Kumi Labs, the creator of the app, is also a NASSCOM Emerge 50 startup. 

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Bhejo 

‘Bhejo’ means ‘send’ in Hindi. Built by Indus, a maker of Indic apps and operating systems, Bhejo is available in 12 Indian languages.  

The Android-only app allows file transfer via hotspot or QR codes, and also supports the instant transfer of heavy files. There are no limitations on shared media. Users can manage all sent and received files under a single tab. 

Bhejo launched this July, and has crossed 1,000 downloads on Google Play Store.

UpSend

UpSend, built by Pixoidlabs India, launched in June 2020, and has crossed 100,000 downloads on Google Play Store. The ‘ultra fast’ app allows file sharing across platforms, including Android phones, PCs, Macs, and JioPhones. 

The app lets users transfer music, videos, apps, games, PDFs, zip files, and more with a single click. Users can also send and receive files by scanning a QR code. UpSend also allows previously connected devices to launch faster media transfers.

Perhaps, the only drawback of Upsend is the presence of ads. Despite the app’s clean and intuitive interface, the ads can often be intrusive.