Visibility and background
Decide when nearby devices can see your computer, and keep NearShare ready to receive without its window open.
Turn visibility on or off
The Visible to nearby devices switch at the top of the window controls whether other devices can find you.
| Switch | What others see | Line under the switch |
|---|---|---|
| On | Your computer, under its name, in their share sheets | Visible as your name — nearby devices can send you files |
| Off | Nothing | Hidden — you can still send to nearby devices |
NearShare starts with visibility on. When visible, your computer appears to everyone on the same network with Quick Share open; there is no contacts-only mode. Turn visibility off on networks you do not trust, such as public Wi-Fi.
Use a keyboard shortcut
GNOME has no tray icon, so the quickest way to switch visibility is a shortcut that runs nearshare toggle. It switches visibility and shows a notification, Visible to nearby devices or Hidden from nearby devices. If NearShare is not running, it starts it.
- PPA package: select Finish setup in the NearShare window to bind Ctrl + Alt + N.
- Snap: the snap cannot change GNOME's keyboard settings. Add the shortcut yourself, as below.
Open GNOME Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts, then View and Customize Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts.
Select + to add a shortcut.
Enter a name, such as
NearShare: Toggle Visibility, the commandnearshare toggle, and press the keys you want, such as Ctrl + Alt + N.Select Add.
Bluetooth discovery
While visible, NearShare sends out a small Bluetooth Low Energy signal that tells nearby Android phones that something here speaks Quick Share. That is what makes your computer appear in a phone's share sheet straight away. The signal carries no name or identity.
NearShare also listens for the same signal from phones. If you are hidden and a phone nearby opens its share sheet, NearShare shows a notification offering to make you visible.
If Bluetooth is not available, because there is no adapter, BlueZ is not running or the snap's bluez permission is not connected, the window shows Bluetooth discovery unavailable with the reason. NearShare still sends and receives, but a phone only sees your computer while its own Quick Share screen is open and searching.
Running in the background
Closing the window does not quit NearShare, so devices can still send to you. The first time you close it, a dialog explains this: choose Keep Running or Quit Now.
To quit completely, open the main menu (≡) at the top of the window and select Quit NearShare.