Questions about Carrio

It moves the YouTube video you're watching between your Windows PC and your Android phone. Tap your phone on an NFC sticker, or press Open on phone in the app, and the YouTube video in Chrome on your PC carries on in the YouTube app on your phone, right where you were. Going the other way, share a YouTube video to Carrio on your phone, and Chrome on your PC opens it. A Current tab tag sends the page in Chrome's front tab to your phone.

Yes. Both apps are free to download and use, and there's no account to make.

A PC running Windows 10 (version 2004 or newer) or Windows 11, with Chrome, and an Android phone on Android 7 or newer. Both need to be on the same home network. You only need NFC for tags, and the camera only for scanning the pairing code, which you can type in instead.

No. Open on phone is a button in the app (or tap the video's card), and going from your phone to your PC is your phone's Share menu. Tags make it one tap without opening the app first, and a couple of things live on tags for now, like Current tab and Smart. I'd grab a pack, but you can try the main thing without one.

Not yet. I'm getting Windows and Android right first. iPhone is on the list for later, but there's no date yet.

Not yet. On the PC, Carrio reads Chrome only, and the actions are YouTube and Current tab. More apps are on the list, and tags you write today will keep working when they arrive.

Fair question. If you're signed in on both devices with watch history on, YouTube usually remembers roughly where you were, and that's handy. Carrio is about the moment you switch. One tap opens your PC's video on your phone straight away, at the point you're at, and pauses your PC. You don't have to find the video, and you don't need to be signed in on your PC.

From your PC to your phone, very close. It opens where you were, sometimes a second or two earlier, because YouTube decides exactly where playback starts. From your phone to your PC, a shared video starts at the time in its link if it has one, and from the beginning if it doesn't.

Yes. Click Pair another phone in Carrio on your PC, or Pair a phone in the tray menu. Either side can unpair whenever you like.

Yes. Switch off "Pause here after Open on phone" in Carrio's settings on your PC.

No. Your phone needs to reach your PC on the same network, usually your home Wi-Fi. That's also why there's no account or server: the two just talk to each other.

The handoff itself happens on your home network. YouTube needs the internet, of course. Carrio also uses it to load video thumbnails and to check for updates.

Two things: what Windows says is playing (the title, and how far into it you are, as Windows' own media controls show it) and the address of the tab at the front in Chrome. It doesn't read page content or your other tabs, and that information only goes to the phones you've paired.

Nothing about what you watch or share. Your phone and PC talk directly on your home network, with no Carrio server in the middle. The only things that go online are YouTube itself, video thumbnails and the apps' update checks. The privacy page has the full list, including what this website counts.

A YouTube video, from the YouTube app or from a YouTube page in Chrome. Your phone sends its link to your PC, and Chrome opens it there. Other pages are coming, but for now Carrio tells you it can't send them yet. Photos and files don't work.

Not the version on this site. It doesn't ask for it, and sharing a video to your PC doesn't need it. The Play Store version will ask, because it's the only way Android lets one app see what another app is playing, and that's what Open on PC needs. It'll only look at the YouTube and YouTube Music apps: the title, the channel and how far into the video you are. Android's warning sounds scarier than that, but Carrio won't read your notifications.

That only happens with Open on PC, which comes with the Play Store version. YouTube doesn't tell other apps which video it's playing, only the title and channel, so your PC looks it up, and if it can't be sure, it opens the results so you can pick. Sharing a video never does this, because the link says exactly which video it is.

Search for NTAG215 stickers: they're the easiest to find, and on Amazon a pack of 30 to 60 costs about $5 to $10. NTAG213 and NTAG216 work too, as stickers, cards or key rings. If it's going on metal, like a PC case or a metal desk, get on-metal tags, because normal ones struggle there. The NFC page has where to buy them and what they cost.

No. They're passive, so your phone powers them for the split second it reads them. Stick one down and forget about it.

Yes. Carrio never locks a tag, so you can write it again with a different direction or action whenever you like. Tags written by older versions of the app keep working too.

Most Android phones do. Search for NFC in your phone's Settings. If it's there, switch it on and you're set.

Yes. Any Android phone with NFC can write tags with Carrio, so you don't need a separate writer app or gadget.

Yes. It only holds a short link that says what to do, like carrio://tap?dir=pc-phone&action=youtube&v=1. There's no personal data on it, and it only does something on a phone that has Carrio paired with a PC.

Check NFC is on in your phone's settings, and that the screen is on and unlocked. Then move the tag around the back of the phone, because the reader is usually somewhere near the middle or the cameras. Thick or metal cases can block it.

Only install it from this site. If you like being careful, check the file's SHA-256 against the one on the download page. Android will ask you to allow installs from your browser, and after that it should install like any other app. If Play Protect stops to ask about it, the help page says what that means. A Play Store version is coming later.

For now, yes. Windows shows it for apps without a paid signing certificate, and the Windows app doesn't have one yet. That costs money every year, so it's planned before a wider launch. Click More info, then Run anyway, but only for a file you downloaded from this site.

When it's ready, honestly. It's designed and researched, but it isn't built yet. The soundboard page has the plan, and if you'd like a heads-up, send me an email and I'll let you know.

That's the plan. The APK beta comes first so I can fix things quickly, then the Play Store. The Play Store version will also see what's playing on your phone by itself, so Open on PC and Phone → PC tags work without sharing.