Aktar
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Aktar feature

Scan a link, or scan your whole setup

Aktar uses QR codes in two ways. Any upload can be shown as a QR code to open it on a phone. And Share to Another Device moves a destination, keys included, to Aktar on your other Mac, PC or phone: scan the code, type a short transfer code, done.

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Free · Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad & Android · No account

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Updates arrive the day they're released. Windows may warn you, since the app isn't signed yet. How to install

Available in
  • Mac0.12.0
  • Windows0.5.0
  • iPhone & iPad1.4.0
  • Android1.4.0

Typing long things on small screens

Opening a link from your computer on your phone means sending it to yourself first. Setting up the same bucket on a second device means copying an endpoint, a bucket name and two long keys, one character at a time if it's a phone.

A QR code skips both. The camera reads it, and nothing travels through a chat or an email you'd rather not use for keys.

How it works

  1. 1

    Open the QR code

    For a link, right-click an upload and choose Show QR Code. For a destination, open its menu in Settings › Destinations and choose Share to Another Device.

  2. 2

    Scan it

    With your phone's camera for a link, or with Import from Another Device in Aktar on the other device for a destination.

  3. 3

    Type the transfer code

    For a destination, type the 12-character code shown next to the QR code. It's saved with its keys and tested right away.

What you get

  • Any link on your phone

    Show any upload as a QR code. When the destination uses temporary links, the code holds a fresh one.

  • Copy or save the image

    Copy Image and Save Image put the code in a slide, a document or a printout.

  • Keys stay encrypted

    The destination and its keys are encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a key made from the transfer code, which is never in the QR code or the link.

  • Kept off screen recordings

    The share window is left out of screenshots, screen recordings and screen sharing, and closes itself after 10 minutes.

  • Tested on arrival

    An imported destination is saved right away with its keys in the Keychain or Credential Manager, and Test Connection runs on its own.

  • Update or add a copy

    If the destination is already there, choose Update Existing or Add as Copy, with a warning if the bucket would change.

Set up once, scan everywhere

Every Aktar app uses the same transfer format, so a destination set up on the Mac moves to Windows, an iPhone, an iPad or an Android phone, and back. It carries the endpoint, bucket and keys, the upload settings, Use For and hooks, the Thumbnails setting and short link settings.

Can't scan? Copy Transfer Link can go through chat or email on its own while the code travels another way, since the link is useless without it. Transfer links expire after an hour, and every opening makes a new code.

Same file, same link

Upload a file that's already in the same destination and Aktar copies its existing link instead of sending it again, after checking it's still in the bucket. It compares the SHA-256 of the contents, so a renamed copy counts too. Turn it off with Reuse links for duplicate files in Settings › General.

Questions

Is it safe to send a transfer link over chat?

On its own, yes: without the 12-character transfer code it can't be decrypted. Send the code another way, for example by reading it out, and the link expires after an hour anyway.

Does the QR code for a private bucket work?

Yes. When a destination uses temporary links, the QR code holds a freshly signed one. See presigned URLs.

Can I move a destination from Mac to Android?

Yes. Every Aktar app reads the same format: Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android.

Does the transfer go through an Aktar server?

No. The QR code or link carries the encrypted destination itself. Aktar has no servers to send it through.

Release notes

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