Before you begin
Check the obvious path first: both devices need the website, the signaling service and a reachable local network. Turn off mobile data as a test only if you can do so safely and reconnect the phone to the intended Wi-Fi. Guest networks and corporate access points may deliberately prevent clients from talking. Matching Wi-Fi labels or public IP addresses do not override that policy.
A practical workflow
Try a known working private network with the owner’s permission and compare the result. A VPN can alter discovery or reachability; follow your organisation’s rules rather than disabling required protection. Share refuses an unverified automatic connection instead of guessing that it is local. The optional verification node is for an administrator-approved LAN and is not a tool for bypassing network restrictions.
Strict LAN verification
A shared public IP alone is never enough. Without a LAN-node attestation, automatic verification requires a direct connection using local host candidates. A configured LAN node provides a separate device-bound proof of LAN membership.
Questions that matter
How does it know that devices are on the same LAN?
In automatic mode, a shared public IP only makes two devices candidates. Share verifies a WebRTC path using local host candidates — private, link-local or mDNS addresses — without STUN or TURN, and re-checks that path while connected. As a separate option, an administrator-run LAN node can attest devices with short-lived signed tokens. For those attested peers, configured STUN and non-relay candidates may be used; TURN relays are always refused.
What happens if my network cannot be verified?
Share shows an explicit message and does not connect you to anyone automatically. Common causes are guest networks with client isolation, VPNs, mobile data, or corporate networks that block peer-to-peer traffic. You can try another network or use an optional LAN verification node.
What is a LAN verification node?
An optional small program you run on an always-on computer inside your network. Each browser visits its private address once and receives a short-lived signed token bound to that device. Devices holding tokens from the same node are grouped together even when the browser alone cannot prove the local path.
Open the page. That is the whole setup.
OKYA Share uses only standard browser technology, so there is nothing to install or configure.
- Join the same network: Connect your devices to the same Wi-Fi or wired LAN, then open share.okya.app in a modern browser.
- Devices verify each other: A lightweight signaling service introduces candidates. Automatic mode verifies a local host-candidate path; devices attested by a configured LAN node use a separate verification path.
- Share freely: Once verified, files, messages and screens flow directly between devices. Close the tab to stop sharing.
Connection and privacy
Messages and files are sent over WebRTC DataChannels, which are always encrypted (DTLS). TURN relays are disabled by design, so content can never be forwarded through a server.
If automatic local-path verification fails, Share shows a clear message instead of guessing. An optional administrator-run LAN node can attest devices separately; those attested connections may use configured STUN, but never a TURN relay. Network restrictions can still prevent a connection.