Shareit is completely free to use on Windows, macOS and Android, which is definitely one of the major plus points about the service.

In terms of permissions on mobile, Shareit asks for access to the camera (for scanning QR codes) and your phone's storage, as well as your location, your contacts and your microphone – some of those seem like a bit of a reach, especially the microphone one (you can of course block these permissions if you're not happy with them). It would be a difficult system to crack into without having physical access to the devices, but there are no advanced security features like PINs or passwords, and transferred data isn't encrypted. The only real security you've got for your files is the Shareit network – if you've made your device discoverable through the app, then anyone can send files to you or receive files that you're sharing. These are only available on Android though, and it seems the developers have been able to cram much more into the Android app than the iOS one. The integrated music and video players both work as advertised, enabling you to play anything already stored on your phone, but they seem like odd extras in a file sharing app like this. You can see other devices with Shareit installed in a cool radar-style interface, and connecting usually works well in our experience – we did see file transfers fail a couple of times though, so it's far from an infallible app.

It's all a little bit too overwhelming and too separated from the core functionality, which is sharing: when it comes to the actual sharing, the mobile apps don't do a bad job. The iOS app is simpler, but still has the ads. You'll also probably be met with an ad or two as you scroll as well.

Over on Android, Shareit looks more like the Google Play Store than a file sharing app: you're immediately met with a plethora of apps, games and other content that you might (but probably don't) want to enjoy on your phone. On desktop and laptop computers, you're essentially dealing with a single window showing a QR code – and once that is recognized by the mobile app, you can start transferring files. The Shareit interface is very basic when it comes to PC and Mac, and very cluttered when it comes to Android and iOS.

Scan qr code shareit