Inspiration
Over the past few summers, I have had the pleasure of using a Macbook Pro as my laptop for my internships. One of the features I love most about it is its capability to share files between any other Apple device. However, I prefer the more open platforms of Android and Linux on my personal devices. To fill this void in the space, I have developed Drop: an open-source cross-platform peer to peer file sharing system.
How I built it
Drop is a web application that takes advantage of WebRTC, a free and open project that aims to provide Real-Time communication between browsers. I developed a custom signaling server to create and maintain the connection between two devices. However, all data transfer is performed peer to peer and does not pass through any centralized server. This increases privacy, security, and speed. Drop also has the capability of working offline, unlike any other centralized file sharing platform. Most importantly, Drop is open-sourced and cross-platform!
What's next for Drop?
Although this is a start, Drop has a long road ahead before it can be the all-encompassing replacement for Airdrop. One big improvement is to develop a method of maintaining the WebRTC connection without the use of a signal server through Bluetooth and/or WebSockets. This would make Drop truly decentralized and platform agnostic. Drop will also be getting Electron apps for desktops and laptops on Mac/Windows/Linux and apps for both iOS and Android to help create a seamless integration between the operating system and Drop. Finally, Drop will be getting a much-needed makeover!
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