Sending from PC to iphone

April 17, 2019 9:20 AM

I have a Windows laptop and an iphone 5c. What free app(s) will give me a streamlined way to send a link or a relatively short piece of text between PC and iphone and vice versa? I want something that's less fiddly than emailing myself & not limited to sharing links.
posted by needs more cowbell to Technology (20 answers total)

twitter - it's great for stuff like this.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:22 AM on April 17, 2019

Google hangouts?
Skype chat?

Essentially any chat service that has both a desktop or Web client and an ios app will work.
posted by some chick at 9:23 AM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

I use Evernote for this most of the time, so I can find it from wherever later.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:27 AM on April 17, 2019 [4 favorites]

Telegram.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:30 AM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Google Keep has an iPhone app.
posted by JamesBay at 9:33 AM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ideally I'd like something that's not a chat or social media service, especially things where there is "being online/being offline" like skype et al. (Something that's more akin to texting myself would be fine.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:34 AM on April 17, 2019

You can use the Iphone 'notes', with a gmail or other email service that supports notes. That's private, not exactly on-line, and easily accessible on many devices without much work and or much to install. I don't think it supports pictures, but certainly text.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:53 AM on April 17, 2019 [2 favorites]

I use both Google Keep and Microsoft OneNote for this purpose. OneNote has more options and control over the format, while Keep is less resource intensive for quick and dirty notes.

The best description I got from somewhere online (just found it in my OneNote btw): Keep is a memo pad while OneNote is a notebook.
posted by fjom at 10:04 AM on April 17, 2019

For links you could sync Chrome tabs, but for general snippet-sharing I'd suggest finding a text editor app you like that works across all your devices. I use iA Writer for syncing notes, in my case between Apple devices via iCloud but it also works with Windows and Dropbox.
posted by malevolent at 10:08 AM on April 17, 2019

Google Docs? Just leave a document open on both and type/paste into it from either.
posted by flabdablet at 10:19 AM on April 17, 2019

Seconding Pushbullet, pretty perfect for what you're asking for.
posted by BlackPebble at 10:24 AM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Google Keep is not social and has no online or offline settings. It is just like sending a text or email but less fiddly. It works for text and pictures and you can add checkboxes at any time. I really like that feature since I often want to paste in a list and then add the checkboxes after.
posted by soelo at 11:31 AM on April 17, 2019

Do you use Dropbox? Short, single-purpose text files in a dedicated folder within Dropbox are portable, archival, and will continue to work across platforms, device upgrades, migrations, etc.

I really recommend plain text!
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:23 PM on April 17, 2019

(And before committing to a solution from Google like Keep or Hangouts or even Docs, cast a skeptical eye over the Google Cemetary.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:25 PM on April 17, 2019

I just used Google Keep for this very purpose. I manage a group Instagram account. A new participant was having trouble logging in on her phone. She wasn't aware that she needed to send a notification code to an email to get access.

So, I took a screenshot of the verification page on my phone, shared to Keep, opened Keep on my computer, grabbed the image and replied to her email query.

(I am also now leery over how much I have invested in Google, though)
posted by JamesBay at 4:13 PM on April 17, 2019

I second evernote.. It syncs to everything, automatically.. Syncs to an older amazon fire, syncs to window, syncs to iphone, even syncs to a blackberry (!) i use it for the purpose you describe all the time. Also great for screen shots and scanning docs
posted by elgee at 8:45 PM on April 17, 2019

I too use Evernote for this purpose. However, another method is to log in to Apple’s iCloud.com in your PC with the same Apple ID as your phone, and use the Notes app on the web.

You can use either Evernote or Apple Notes on the web, without needing to install anything in your PC.
posted by applesurf at 9:40 PM on April 17, 2019

Simplenote is perfect for this, very fast syncing
posted by mrbenn at 10:39 PM on April 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've used Google keep for notes I want to keep around but the interface IMO is too heavy for simple messages back and forth between devices. I used to use text messages and Messages for Web to transfer simpler things but that only works when I have cell service.

Signal (iPhone, Windows) though works over wifi and it has a notes to self section that is updated across devices. And it allows encrypted messaging between users. It's open source and free.
posted by Mitheral at 6:01 PM on April 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Signal would be another fine option, I agree.
Telegram offers 'notes to self' as well, simply by writing a message to no one and saving it. They will appear on your other devices.
And if you don't have any contacts, you are not visible to anyone as 'online'.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:26 AM on April 19, 2019