Bittorrent Released Secure Analog of Dropbox for Android OS

The company BitTorrent – developer of the popular torrent client uTorrent – released a client Sync for the Android operating system. The new program enables secure synchronization of files between devices and is available for smartphones and tablets.

The principle of working of BitTorrent Sync is the same as that of Dropbox, Google Drive or “Yandex.Disk": the user himself creates a "magic" folder that can be accessed from any device connected to the Internet. The new service has a number of notable advantages over other "cloud" systems.

The Sync uses the same technology as Bittorrent with the difference that personal files are not available for other people. All traffic will be encrypted so that only the owner of the folder has access to the content. Access will be granted only through a unique key.

Another advantage of Sync is that it doesn’t share any information with remote servers in another countries – content will be secure stored on own PC. Additional feature is that users are able to share files without size limits, as the most "cloud" services usually set a limit to 2.3 GB per file.

To start using the application, you need to install the Sync Bittorrent client on your PC first. It can be downloaded from the company‘s official website. The platforms Windows (XP SP3 or later), OS X (from 10.6), Linux and FreeBSD are supported. After completing the installation, you will need to select the folder on your computer. This folder will be used for uploading of files from your smartphone. The next step will be to specify the folder to sync with your mobile device and to enter a secret key into the appeared application’s window. After you’ve completed the configuration, files in both folders will be synchronized, very similar to Dropbox.

Because BitTorrent Sync works in the background, its main disadvantage is that the application uses not low power of your PC. It’s possible to turn off the automatic synchronization when the battery level drops to a predetermined level. You can also allow the Sync to connect over 3G. By default the whole process will be done through Internet connection.

The application has three modes of operation. The „Sync”, that was mentioned above, provides viewing, downloading and uploading of files from your personal "cloud" folder on the computer. The “Send” is responsible for direct exchange of files between two mobile devices. This feature is useful if you wish, for example, to share with few MP3 tracks with your friends without any third-party "cloud" system required. The third mode, called “Backup”, allows you to create a backup folder. All the files located in your folder will be duplicated on your PC.

Before the new release of BitTorrent Sync for Android the service was available only through the web interface. The developers promise to release an application for i-deviced very soon.