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Photo Transfer App for Mac

Receive photos and videos on your Mac from any device over local WiFi. Mac App Store app. Apple Silicon and Intel.

Download on the Mac App Store

Built for Mac

What makes Photo Transfer feel native on Mac — and what you can do here that you can't anywhere else.

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Mac App Store, signed and sandboxed

Distributed through Apple's curated store. Sandboxed, notarized, and trusted by Gatekeeper out of the box — no third-party installer, no admin password prompt at install time.

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Drag & drop into Finder

Drag received photos straight from the app window into any Finder folder, any USB drive, any network share. Drag files in the other direction to send them out.

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Apple Silicon & Intel

Runs on M1, M2, M3, and M4 Macs as well as Intel Macs at full speed. No Rosetta, no emulation, no compromise on battery life.

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Save anywhere you want

Pick the destination folder once or per transfer. Received photos land exactly where you choose — not hidden inside an app container you can't find later.

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No cables, no iTunes, no Apple ID

Your iPhone connects to your Mac over local WiFi, not Lightning or USB-C. Nothing to sync, nothing to sign in to, no Apple ID sharing required between devices.

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Receives from anything

Works with iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows PCs, and any device with a web browser. All over the same local WiFi.

How it works on Mac

Three steps. No cables, no cloud, no account.

  1. 1

    Install from the Mac App Store

    Free download. One click from the Mac App Store — Gatekeeper and notarization handled automatically.

  2. 2

    Open the app on both devices

    Launch Photo Transfer on your Mac and on the other device. As long as they share a WiFi network, they discover each other automatically.

  3. 3

    Transfer at full quality

    Send or receive photos and videos at their original resolution. EXIF, GPS, Live Photo data, and RAW information all preserved end-to-end.

System requirements

macOS version
macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
Architecture
Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and Intel Macs
Network
Local WiFi network shared with the other device
Permissions
Local Network access — no account, no cloud storage required
Price
Free on the Mac App Store. Optional PRO unlock for unlimited transfers and cloud backup.
Languages
English

Frequently asked

Common questions from Mac users.

Do I need iTunes or a cable to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac? expand_more
No. Photo Transfer replaces the iTunes / Finder sync workflow entirely. Your iPhone and Mac communicate over local WiFi — no Lightning or USB-C cable, no iTunes or Finder involvement, no Apple ID sign-in required.
Does it run natively on Apple Silicon? expand_more
Yes. Photo Transfer runs directly on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and Intel chips — no Rosetta translation, no performance penalty.
Can I drag photos from the app into a Finder folder? expand_more
Yes. Drag from the Photo Transfer window straight into any Finder folder, the Desktop, an external drive, or a network share. Dragging the other way — from Finder into Photo Transfer — lets you send files back out to a phone or tablet.
Does it work with my iPhone's iCloud Photos? expand_more
Yes. If a photo is stored optimized in iCloud and only a preview is on your iPhone, Photo Transfer asks iOS to download the original before sending. The transfer itself stays local over WiFi.
How is this different from AirDrop? expand_more
AirDrop is great for small ad-hoc shares between Apple devices. Photo Transfer is built for larger, structured workflows — whole albums, thousands of photos, with progress, destination folder control, and support for Android, Windows, and web browsers (not just Apple devices). It also preserves EXIF and GPS consistently, which AirDrop can strip in certain workflows.
Does the free version have any limits? expand_more
The free version transfers up to 5 items per batch. PRO removes the item limit and unlocks cloud backup to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Flickr. PRO is available as a monthly, yearly, or lifetime purchase.

Guides for Mac

Step-by-step walkthroughs for the most common transfer scenarios.

phone_iphone
Transfer iPhone photos to Mac arrow_forward
tablet_mac
Transfer iPad photos to Mac arrow_forward
android
Transfer Android photos to Mac arrow_forward
laptop_mac
Send photos from Mac to iPhone or Android arrow_forward
cloud_upload
Back up to Dropbox, Drive, or OneDrive arrow_forward
language
Use Photo Transfer from a web browser arrow_forward

Your photos belong to you.
Move them freely.

Join over 3 million users who transfer photos and videos the fast, private way — no cables, no cloud, no hassle.

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