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Best way to transfer files and messages between Android phone and linux laptop locally (no cloud)? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 23 hours ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/55097116

Hi everyone,

I currently use Telegram to send photos, PDFs and text messages between my Android phone and my Debian laptop. It works, but everything goes through a third-party server, and I would like a fully local, privacy-friendly alternative.

What I need: Send photos, PDFs and other files in both directions (phone ↔ laptop) Send short text messages or clipboard content Works locally

Thanks for any advice and experience!

all 15 comments

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[–] 20 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

KDE Connect, for clipboard sync.
SyncThing for my own machines.
LocalSend for others.

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  • [–] 5 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

    Is Syncthing on android still trustworthy? The main developers abandoned the project, now it's a 3rd party that maintains the fork. I know it's open sourced, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's safe now.

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    • [–] 12 points 23 hours ago (1 child)

    LocalSend?

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    • [–] 4 points 20 hours ago

    LocalSend. Quick and easy to set up, just be sure to unblock the ports needed if you have a firewall running.

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    [–] 3 points 23 hours ago

    Syncthing

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    [–] 3 points 23 hours ago

    If it's the occasional file, I really enjoy kdeconnect

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    [–] 3 points 22 hours ago

    I run syncthing in the background to a folder in nextcloud, but when I need something instantly i use localsend

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    [–] 2 points 23 hours ago

    I use Syncthing but a USB-C thumb drive will do the trick.

    Here are a couple of sources that should help.

    https://www.howtogeek.com/keep-linux-pc-and-android-phone-synced-with-gsconnect/

    https://linuxiac.com/how-to-set-up-and-use-syncthing-to-sync-files/

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    [–] 2 points 15 hours ago (1 child)

    KDE Connect if you're on Plasma, Syncthing for anything ongoing, and LocalSend for one-off files. All three stay on the LAN. I'd skip anything that wants an account.

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    • [–] 1 point 22 hours ago

    I still use Bluetooth Share. For some reason it never works on Linux until I systemctl --user enable bluetooth.service? (obexd something something) Doesn't need a WiFi connection and works with my company laptop.

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    [–] 1 point 21 hours ago

    I use FX.

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