# SMBDrop: full product description

> SMBDrop is an iPhone app that sends original photos, videos and files straight to your own SMB network shares and imports files back. £2.99 once on the App Store. No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases, no account, no cloud. Requires iOS 17 or later. Made by indie developer Isaac Griffiths in London, UK.

- Website: https://smbdrop.com/
- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/smbdrop/id6804501930 (App Store id 6804501930)
- Support: https://smbdrop.com/support
- Privacy policy: https://smbdrop.com/privacy
- Guides: https://smbdrop.com/guides/
- Issue tracker: https://github.com/isaacgriffiths/SMBDrop/issues

## What it is

SMBDrop moves photos, videos and files between an iPhone and SMB shares you own: a NAS, a Windows or macOS shared folder, or a Samba server on Linux. Transfers go directly from the iPhone to your server over your network. There is no account to create, no cloud service in the middle, and nothing for the developer to see.

## Price and requirements

- £2.99 one-off purchase on the App Store. No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases.
- iPhone with iOS 17 or later.
- An SMB server reachable from the iPhone, plus its address, a share, and a username and password.

## Compatible servers

Any server that speaks SMB2 or SMB3, including:

- Synology (DSM)
- QNAP (QTS / QuTS hero)
- TrueNAS
- UGREEN NAS
- Unraid
- Windows file sharing (Windows 10 and 11)
- macOS File Sharing with SMB enabled
- Samba on Linux

## Features

### Sending

- Pick photos and videos from your library, or drag to select a range.
- Pick any file through the iOS Files picker.
- Share extension: send from any app via Share → SMBDrop.
- Originals are sent untouched: no recompression, no conversion, metadata kept.
- Live Photos keep both halves (the still photo and its video).
- Background transfers: sending continues after you leave the app.
- Durable retry queue: failed items wait to be retried; nothing is lost silently.

### Connecting

- You enter the server's address (IP or hostname) and your sign-in; Find Shares then lists the shares that server exports, so you don't have to type share names. There is no automatic network discovery: you need the server's address.
- Works on your home network, or away from home over a VPN such as Tailscale.
- Custom ports are supported (default SMB port is 445).
- Credentials are stored only in the iOS Keychain. Deleting a share deletes its password.

### Importing

- Browse a share's folders and pull files onto the iPhone.
- Every import is verified byte-for-byte and never overwrites a local file.
- Imported files live in an imports library: preview, share, save media to Photos, or send them on to another share.

## Privacy

- No account, no analytics, no tracking, no advertising in the app.
- The only data the app sends to the developer is the optional Request a Feature form in Settings: the message, an optional reply email, and the app and iOS version, relayed by a Cloudflare Worker to the developer's email. Nothing is sent unless the user submits it.
- Files travel directly between the iPhone and your SMB server; no third-party server is involved.
- Passwords live only in the iOS Keychain.
- The website (smbdrop.com) may use Google Analytics 4 in a cookieless configuration to count visits. This is separate from the app.

## FAQ

### Does SMBDrop need an account or subscription?
No. It's £2.99 once. There's no account, no subscription, no ads and no in-app purchases.

### Does it compress or convert my photos?
No. SMBDrop sends the original files from your library. HEIC stays HEIC, videos are not transcoded, and metadata is kept. Live Photos are sent as both the photo and the video.

### Does it work with my NAS?
If your NAS or computer can share a folder over SMB2 or SMB3, it should work. That covers Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, UGREEN, Unraid, Windows, macOS and Samba on Linux.

### Does it keep going if I leave the app?
Yes. Transfers continue in the background after you leave the app, within the limits iOS places on background work. Anything interrupted waits in a retry queue that survives the app closing, so you can retry it rather than losing track of it.

### Can I get files back from my NAS onto my iPhone?
Yes. Browse a share, pick files, and import them. Imports are verified byte-for-byte and never overwrite existing files on the iPhone.

### Does it work over the internet?
SMBDrop connects to whatever SMB server your iPhone can reach. Away from home, that means using a VPN back to your network, such as Tailscale: see https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-to-nas-over-tailscale. Exposing SMB directly to the internet is not recommended.

### Does it find my NAS automatically?
No. There is no automatic network discovery. You enter the server's address (IP or hostname) and your username and password; Find Shares then lists the shares on that server so you can pick one instead of typing its name.

### Is my data sent to the developer?
Only if you send feedback. The app has no analytics and no server of its own in the transfer path; files go from your iPhone to your server only. The optional Request a Feature form in Settings sends the message you type (plus an optional reply email and the app and iOS version) to the developer, and only when you tap Send.

### Who makes it?
Isaac Griffiths, an independent developer in London, UK.

## Guides

- [Best ways to back up iPhone photos to a NAS (2026)](https://smbdrop.com/guides/best-iphone-to-nas-photo-backup-apps)
- [How to back up an iPhone without iCloud](https://smbdrop.com/guides/back-up-iphone-without-icloud)
- [How to back up iPhone photos to a Synology NAS](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-photos-to-synology)
- [How to send iPhone photos and files to Unraid or TrueNAS over SMB](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-to-unraid-truenas-smb)
- [How to copy files from an iPhone to a Windows shared folder](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-to-windows-shared-folder)
- [SMBDrop vs PhotoSync](https://smbdrop.com/guides/smbdrop-vs-photosync)
- [The iPhone Files app's Connect to Server: what it can and can't do](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-files-app-connect-to-server-limitations)
- [Live Photos and original iPhone files on a NAS](https://smbdrop.com/guides/live-photos-and-originals-on-a-nas)
- [How to back up iPhone photos to a QNAP NAS](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-photos-to-qnap)
- [How to back up iPhone photos to a UGREEN NAS](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-photos-to-ugreen-nas)
- [How to send iPhone photos and files to a Mac shared folder](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-to-mac-shared-folder)
- [How to free up iPhone storage by moving photos to a NAS, safely](https://smbdrop.com/guides/free-up-iphone-storage-nas)
- [How to copy iPhone videos to a NAS without compression](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-videos-to-nas-without-compression)
- [How to send iPhone photos to your NAS over Tailscale, without opening ports](https://smbdrop.com/guides/iphone-to-nas-over-tailscale)
- [SMBDrop vs Synology Photos](https://smbdrop.com/guides/smbdrop-vs-synology-photos)
- [SMBDrop vs the iPhone Files app](https://smbdrop.com/guides/smbdrop-vs-files-app)
- [PhotoSync alternatives for backing up iPhone photos to a NAS (2026)](https://smbdrop.com/guides/photosync-alternatives)

## Press

- [Press kit](https://smbdrop.com/press/): one-line, short and long descriptions, a fact sheet, the app icon and screenshots