You no longer need to download Android applications. You can send them

For more than a year, Google has been working hard on the Nearby Share feature, which allows users to share files or contacts with nearby devices. The Google Play Store receives an update that allows you to share apps and updates using this feature.

The news was discovered by the 9to5Google portal in September, Google officially confirmed it in December, and is now finally available in version 24.0 of the Google Play application.

How Nearby Share works in the Google Play store

You can find the feature in the “My Apps and Games” section of the Google Play store, where you should see a few tabs at the top. One should contain the word “Sharing.”

Click to see the “Send” and “Receive” options. No matter which option you choose, you’ll need to give the Play store access to your location to be able to find devices near you.

Click “Submit” to see a list of your installed apps. However, not all can be shared. While testing the feature, I was able to submit only one of the four apps I wanted to share. Also, it’s not possible to share apps that are paid, unofficially installed, or those that aren’t publicly available in the Google Play store.

After selecting one or more applications to send, you need to search for the receiving device. You will need to select “Accept” in the “Sharing” section of the Play Store. You will then see a pairing request on both devices.

Once paired, sharing will begin, and when done, the recipient will have the option to install each application separately or use the “Install All” button to install them all at once.

While one of the devices clicks the “Disconnect” button, both devices remain connected and can continue to send applications to each other.