Pharos — Offline QR Transfer

From one iPhone to another, or from any computer: the screen shows QR codes, the camera reads them. No network, no cable, no account.

From screen to camera. No network, no account.

Pharos moves a file from one device to another through light: one screen displays a sequence of QR codes, the other device's camera reads them and puts the file back together. No server in between, no cable, no account — and no connection, because none is needed.

TWO WAYS, ONE CHANNEL

• Between two iPhones with Pharos installed: one switches to SEND, the other stays on RECEIVE. The app does both halves, so either phone can send or receive. • From a computer, or from any device with a browser: open pharos.delivery and transmit from there. Nothing to install, no account.

WHEN IT HELPS

• Two phones that share no network and no compatible cable • Guest networks that block AirDrop and device-to-device traffic • Work computers where you cannot install anything or plug in external storage • A phone with no data, somewhere with no usable Wi-Fi • Machines deliberately kept off any network

HOW IT WORKS

1. On the device holding the file: open Pharos and switch to SEND, or open pharos.delivery in a browser
2. Pick the file and press Send: the screen starts showing QR codes, one after another
3. On the other iPhone open Pharos, stay on RECEIVE, frame that screen and hold still

The percentage climbs as codes are read; at the end the file name appears and you can save it wherever you like.

These instructions live inside the app: the question mark in the top bar reopens the guide at any time, from either mode.

Each code is not a fixed slice of the file but a combination of slices: the phone reads whichever ones it manages to read, in any order, and rebuilds the file as soon as it has collected enough. That is why no back channel is needed — and therefore no connection at all.

WORTH KNOWING BEFORE YOU START

• One file at a time, 10 MB maximum • It is an optical channel, so it is slow: around 19 KB per second at best • It needs line of sight between the two screens, and a steady hand: losing a few codes is normal, the phone catches up on the next pass • The transmitting side keeps its screen bright and awake: the app handles that itself • It does not work through video calls or screen recordings: video compression destroys the codes • No encryption: anyone who can see the screen with the app installed receives the same file

PRIVACY

No data collected, no account, no ads, no analytics, no network requests. The camera analyses frames in memory as they go by: no image is saved or sent anywhere.