It is no secret that Google’s AirDrop-like feature “Nearby Share” will come to Chrome on macOS and Windows. Google has already open-sourced the code for Nearby Share.

The Canary version of Chrome now has a chrome://nearby page, setting the stage for Nearby Share for desktop platforms.

chrome://nearby

The latest version of Google Chrome Canary on my Mac has a chrome://nearby page. It is only a placeholder at the moment. It might take a while before we see it working.

However, this page give us a sneak peek into what is coming to desktop version of Google Chrome.

Here is how this page looks like now:

The Doggo.jpg is a placeholder for nearby devices. When the page is functional, we will see the available devices here. Select a device and click Next to proceed.

That may not be the only workflow though. We might see an option to share using Nearby Share when you right-click files in the file manager. That’s how Nearby Share currently works on Chromebooks.

In case you are unable to read the text at the bottom of that page, here it is:

“Make sure both devices are unlocked, close together (within 1 ft), and have Bluetooth turned on. If you’re sharing with a Chromebook make sure Nearby Share is turned on from quick settings.”

Based on this text, we will soon see quick settings toggle on the system tray of Chrome OS soon.

chrome://nearby-internals/

Similar to many other Chrome and Chromebook features, we also get a page to debug. In this case, the debug page is at chrome://nearby-internals/.

This page is currently functional from what I can see:

Now, we wait. Wait and refresh chrome://nearby every time there is an update to the Canary channel of Chrome.

When I find something, you’ll see an article here with the good news. So, stay tuned.