Frequently Asked Questions

The basics

What is RelicBeam?

RelicBeam is a browser-based way to hand files, text, links, and codes to other people without creating an account. Rooms are for groups. Quick Beam is for one-to-one handoffs. Beam Link turns one uploaded file into a temporary direct-download link. Device Portal groups Remote View and Remote Files for temporary end-to-end-encrypted access between devices. Convert provides local image and PDF tools.

What's the difference between a Room and Quick Beam?

Room is one-to-many: create one Room, show its QR or spoken code, then publish files/text to everyone who joins. It also includes presentation controls for live sessions.

Quick Beam is one-to-one and defaults to two-way sharing, so either device can send files or text. Optional direction controls can limit it to send-only or receive-only.

Do I need an account or app?

No account is required. The website works in a browser. On supported platforms, RelicBeam can also be installed as a PWA for convenience.

Is it free?

Yes. RelicBeam is currently free to use.

What's the maximum file size?

The current limit is 500 MiB per file (about 524 MB in decimal units). Rooms can contain up to 25 items; Quick Beams can contain up to 10 items. These limits may change as the service evolves.

Rooms

How do people join without scanning?

Every Room also has a short spoken code such as ember-52. A guest can enter that code from the RelicBeam homepage instead of scanning the QR.

Can I choose a custom Room code?

Yes. Room creation has an optional custom-code setting, useful for a recurring meeting or classroom. The Room itself is still temporary; reusing a code does not make the files permanent.

What does “Show everyone” do?

It brings the selected file to the top of every connected guest's screen. Supported images/video can appear inline and PDFs can open in the viewer, which is useful during a live presentation or workshop.

Can I remove something after publishing it?

Yes. The host can remove an item at any time and it disappears from connected guest views immediately.

Can a guest upload a file to a Room?

Yes, if the host grants that specific guest temporary upload access. Guests are identified with a Room-local label such as Guest 2 and can optionally add a display name. Upload permission does not grant host controls. After malware scanning, the guest gets one last Send to host or Remove choice; the host does not see that contribution until the guest sends it. The host then still chooses Add to room before it becomes visible to everyone. The host can revoke upload access at any time. Permission is tied to that Room and browser device, so a temporary mobile file-picker disconnect does not remove it.

What happens if I accidentally refresh the host page?

RelicBeam keeps temporary host recovery state in that browser session. If the Room still exists, refreshing the same host tab can restore host control and resync the Room.

What happens when the Room ends?

The Room state and its shared files/text are deleted. There is no recovery feature. We have tested the server-side cleanup directly; this behavior is intentional.

How long can a Room stay open?

Up to 6 hours. It can close earlier when the host ends it or after everyone has been gone for about a minute.

Quick Beam

What are the Quick Beam direction options?

Quick Beam defaults to two-way, so both devices can send and receive. If needed, Direction options can limit the session to Send only or Receive only.

Can I paste a copied image or file?

On browsers that expose file/image clipboard data, yes. Copy the file or screenshot and paste it into an active Quick Beam. Normal text paste still works in the text field.

Can I use Android's Share menu?

On supported Chromium/Android PWA setups, an installed RelicBeam can appear as a system share target. Choose Share → RelicBeam and RelicBeam will open a Quick Beam for the handed-off item. This feature depends on browser/OS support and may not appear in Firefox or Safari/iOS.

Why does a Quick Beam file disappear after download?

Quick Beam is meant to be a single handoff. Once the intended recipient genuinely downloads a file, RelicBeam deletes that file. A supported preview does not count as the final download.

Is Quick Beam text end-to-end encrypted?

Yes. Quick Beam text, links, codes, and passwords are encrypted in the sender's browser and decrypted on the other device. RelicBeam's server relays and temporarily stores only encrypted Quick Beam text payloads; it does not receive the session's text-decryption key.

What does “Sending a password?” do?

Quick Beam text is end-to-end encrypted whether or not this toggle is enabled. Password mode adds visual masking while typing and on the receiving device, plus reveal/copy controls, so a password is not left openly visible on screen.

How long does a Quick Beam last?

At most 2 hours, usually much less. It can close earlier when the participants leave, and individual files are removed after their intended download.

Device Portal

Is Device Portal end-to-end encrypted?

Yes. Remote View and Remote Files use WebRTC connections encrypted between the connected browsers. RelicBeam may relay encrypted WebRTC packets through its TURN server when a direct path is unavailable, but the TURN relay does not terminate the peer connection or receive the Remote View screen/audio stream or Remote Files file contents as plaintext server files.

Remote View

What does Remote View do?

Remote View lets one person see a screen chosen by the other person. It is view-only: no mouse or keyboard control is provided. The sharer must explicitly approve the request, then the browser asks whether to share an entire screen, a window, or a tab. Once the secure connection is live, the sharer can turn display/tab audio on or off when the browser and selected source provide an audio track.

Which devices can use Remote View?

Desktop and laptop browsers can both share a screen and view someone else’s screen when the browser supports screen capture. Phones and tablets are viewer-only because current mobile browsers do not expose the whole-screen capture API Remote View needs. On a mobile device, RelicBeam hides the Start Remote View action instead of showing an unsupported-browser error.

Can I share my phone or tablet screen?

Not from the browser. You can use a phone or tablet to view a Remote View session, but starting screen sharing requires a desktop or laptop browser.

Can Remote View include audio?

Yes, when the sharing browser and selected screen/tab provide a display-audio track. The sharer gets an Audio control after the secure connection is live. Audio starts off and can be enabled or disabled without stopping the screen share. RelicBeam does not request microphone access for Remote View. A viewer may still receive and hear shared audio even when that viewer's browser cannot itself capture screen audio. Browser and operating-system support varies, so some shares remain video-only.

Does RelicBeam record the remote screen?

No. Remote View uses encrypted WebRTC. The browsers connect directly when possible; if the network blocks a direct path, RelicBeam can relay the encrypted WebRTC traffic through its TURN server. RelicBeam does not record or store the screen/audio stream.

Does Remote View always connect directly?

No. Remote View prefers a direct WebRTC connection. If NAT, a firewall, or another network restriction prevents that, it can fall back to RelicBeam's TURN relay automatically. Some highly restrictive networks may still block WebRTC entirely.

Remote Files

What does Remote Files do?

Remote Files lets you choose one folder on a device and temporarily let multiple approved devices browse, search, preview/stream supported media, and download files at the same time. Each viewer is approved separately and gets its own WebRTC connection. The normal session uses the same QR/code style as other RelicBeam live sessions and is capped at 2 hours. Away Access can be enabled independently for any approved device for 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, or 7 days while the host computer and RelicBeam tab stay online.

Can more than one device connect to Remote Files?

Yes. Multi-device access is the normal Remote Files behavior. Each phone, tablet, or computer requests approval separately and receives its own encrypted WebRTC connection. The host can revoke one approved device without ending access for the others.

Can I access my files later when nobody is near the host computer?

Yes, if you prepare it first. Connect and approve the viewer device, then enable Away Access for 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, or 7 days. That same authorized browser can reconnect later without another approval. Away Access is configured per device, so different approved devices can have different expiry times. The host computer must remain awake and online, the original RelicBeam tab must stay open, and the browser must retain permission to the selected folder.

Can Remote Files download files larger than 500 MB?

On browsers with suitable temporary disk storage, yes. RelicBeam writes incoming chunks to browser-managed temporary disk storage rather than keeping the whole file in JavaScript memory, and an interrupted in-session download can resume from the last committed byte after reconnecting. Browsers without that storage path retain a conservative 500 MB buffered-download limit. Remote Files uploads remain limited to 500 MB.

Can the other device change my files?

Not by default. Remote Files starts read-only. It has no remote delete, rename, move, or overwrite controls. On browsers that support safe directory write permission, the folder owner can optionally turn on Allow uploads. That permits adding a new file only; if the same filename already exists, RelicBeam rejects the upload instead of overwriting it.

Are Remote Files stored on RelicBeam?

No. The selected folder stays on the host device. The folder manifest and requested file bytes travel over an encrypted WebRTC data channel between the paired browsers. A direct peer connection is preferred; RelicBeam's TURN server may relay encrypted traffic when necessary, but the transfer is not written into RelicBeam's normal server file storage.

Why don't I see Allow uploads?

Remote uploads into the exact shared folder require a writable directory handle from the host browser. Chrome and Edge can provide that capability on supported desktop platforms. Firefox and Safari currently fall back to read-only folder sharing, so browsing and downloading still work but the host cannot enable uploads into that folder. This is a host-side limitation: Firefox or Safari can still be the viewing/uploading device when a compatible host has enabled uploads. RelicBeam shows a read-only notice instead of silently hiding the limitation.

Are Remote Files uploads malware-scanned?

No. Remote Files uploads travel end-to-end encrypted over the WebRTC data channel directly to the selected folder and do not pass through RelicBeam's normal server upload/ClamAV pipeline. Only enable Remote Files uploads for a connected device/person you trust.

Large uploads and downloads

How do large uploads work?

Large files are sent in resumable 8 MiB chunks. This keeps each network request small and lets RelicBeam continue from server-confirmed progress instead of restarting the entire file after a temporary interruption.

What happens if my internet drops mid-upload?

The active chunk is stopped, RelicBeam waits for the browser to come back online, checks how much the server actually received, then resumes automatically from the confirmed position. You can also pause, resume, or cancel manually.

Does cancelling clean up the partial file?

Yes. Cancelling removes the upload session and its temporary data. Abandoned resumable uploads are also cleaned after roughly an hour of inactivity, and orphaned chunks are cleaned after a server restart.

Why does a file sometimes show a different “MB” size on my phone?

Different systems display binary MiB and decimal MB differently. For example, a 499 MiB test file is about 523 MB in decimal units even though the byte count is unchanged.

Beam Link

What is Beam Link?

Beam Link is the fastest asynchronous sharing mode: choose one file, choose standard malware-scanned sharing or optional Private E2EE, then copy a temporary link. Standard links download directly; Private E2EE links decrypt the file in the recipient’s browser first. Beam Links expire at the duration chosen by the creator (currently 1 hour, 6 hours, 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days), or earlier if the creator deletes them.

Are Beam Link uploads malware scanned?

By default, yes. Standard Beam Link uploads follow RelicBeam’s temporary malware-scan and encrypted-at-rest storage path. If you turn on Private E2EE before uploading, the file contents are encrypted in your browser instead; RelicBeam stores only ciphertext and cannot malware-scan the contents.

Convert

What can Convert do?

The Convert page includes PNG/JPG/WebP conversion, HEIC/HEIF to JPG or PNG, images to PDF, PDF to images, PDF annotation, PDF merge, page extraction/splitting, page reordering, and rotation.

Does Convert upload my files?

No. Convert runs locally in your browser. The file being converted is not uploaded to the RelicBeam server.

Can I add my name or a date to a PDF?

Yes. Choose Annotate PDF in Convert. You can add text or insert today's date with Quick Date, drag it into place, and export a new PDF. The additions are written into the exported PDF page content, while your original PDF stays unchanged.

How do I choose PDF pages to extract?

Use commas for individual pages and hyphens for ranges. For example, 1,3,5-8 means pages 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Does HEIC conversion work everywhere?

RelicBeam includes client-side HEIC/HEIF conversion support, but browser/device differences can still affect decoding. Keep the original image if the conversion matters.

Safety and privacy

Is RelicBeam end-to-end encrypted?

It depends on the feature and the mode you choose. Quick Beam text, links, codes, and passwords are always end-to-end encrypted in the browsers. Quick Beam files and Beam Link files use malware scanning by default, but you can turn on Private E2EE before sending a file to encrypt its contents in the browser instead. Rooms remain malware-scanned. Remote Files and Remote View are already end-to-end encrypted between connected browsers.

Are files scanned for malware?

Standard server-backed file sharing is. Room files, standard Quick Beam files, and standard Beam Link files are scanned with ClamAV before becoming available. Files identified as infected are blocked and deleted. Private E2EE files in Quick Beam or Beam Link are not scanned because RelicBeam cannot decrypt their contents. Remote Files transfers are also not server-scanned because they travel end-to-end encrypted over WebRTC. A clean scan reduces risk but is not a guarantee that a file is safe.

Can I use end-to-end encryption instead of malware scanning?

Yes, for Quick Beam and Beam Link. Turn on Private E2EE before the file is sent. The file contents are then encrypted in the browser, RelicBeam stores only ciphertext, and the server cannot malware-scan the contents. Standard Quick Beam and Beam Link keep malware scanning on by default. Rooms remain malware-scanned. Remote Files and Remote View are already end-to-end encrypted.

What does the operator/admin dashboard see?

Operational metadata only: active Room/Quick Beam codes, ages, device/item counts, active Beam Link counts, server health/storage/upload state, and anonymous aggregate counters. It does not expose filenames, file content, shared text, passwords, or user activity histories.

Does RelicBeam use analytics or trackers?

RelicBeam does not run advertising trackers, Google Analytics, or tracking cookies. It does keep anonymous aggregate operational counters such as Rooms created, bytes transferred, malware blocks, and rate-limit hits. Those counters are not tied to a user, IP address, device ID, filename, or Room history.

Troubleshooting

Why do images or PDFs behave differently on iPhone/iPad?

Safari/iOS often opens images and PDFs in its own viewer instead of presenting the same download behavior as desktop browsers. Use Safari's Share/Save controls from that viewer when needed. Other file types may download differently.

My camera won't scan the QR code

Use the spoken code instead. Go to the RelicBeam homepage, choose Join with a code, and enter the Room, Quick Beam, or Device Portal code.

Why isn't “Share → RelicBeam” in my phone's Share menu?

The Web Share Target feature depends on platform/browser support and normally requires RelicBeam to be installed as a PWA. It is mainly useful on supported Android/Chromium setups and is not something Firefox/Safari can be forced to support where the platform does not expose it.

Why does Quick Beam say another device is already there?

Quick Beam intentionally permits only the expected one-to-one participants. Multiple tabs from the same browser are recognized as the same device; a genuinely different extra device is rejected.

Still stuck? Email [email protected].