Is Android File Transfer safe to use on a Mac?

The app itself was made by Google, and if it is already on your Mac and opens normally, there is no reason to panic. The risk today is in the download, not the design. As of 26 October 2026, no Google page we could open offers the Mac app, so every copy you can find now sits on a site that is not its maker. You cannot check such a copy against an official one, and nobody is accountable for what the file contains. This page gives you a short checklist that works on any Mac download, not only this one.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 26 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

We have not examined any particular mirror site or file, and we are not saying any named site is unsafe. The point is that nothing available lets you prove one is safe.

Where does Google's own page point now?

Start here, because it is the fastest check. Google's old address, android.com/filetransfer, now opens a page about Quick Share for Windows, with a Windows installer and no Mac download. Google's USB transfer help lists a Windows computer and a Chromebook in its steps and gives none for a Mac.

So the honest answer to "which is the official file?" is that there is none to compare against. If a site says "official Google download" or "verified", the claim is the site's, not Google's. The background is in what happened to Android File Transfer.

What is the safe-download checklist?

Run through these in order. Stop at the first one that fails.

1. Is the maker's own page the source? For a tool that is still maintained, go to the maker, not to a search result. OpenMTP, for example, names three official sources on its site: its own site, its GitHub page, and its Homebrew cask page. Its GitHub page warns that "there are copycat websites that use the OpenMTP name, logo and content".
2. Does the page say how it is signed? OpenMTP's FAQ says "Releases are signed and notarized by Apple". That is a claim about the file you should find consistent with what macOS shows on first launch.
3. Does macOS open it without a warning? See the next section.
4. Is there a checksum from the maker? See the section after that.
5. Does the installer ask for more than an app should? A file-transfer utility rarely has a reason to ask for your Mac password during setup, to install extra "recommended" apps, or to add a browser extension.

What does macOS tell you when you open the file?

Apple's page on safely opening apps says macOS includes Gatekeeper, "designed to ensure that only trusted software runs on your Mac". It says an app notarized by Apple "indicates that Apple checked it for malicious software and none was detected". It also says "running software that hasn't been signed and notarized may expose your computer and personal information to malware", and that if macOS detects known malware it says the app cannot be opened and moves it to the Trash.

In practice:

• Opens normally, or with the standard "downloaded from the internet" confirmation. That is a good sign, not a guarantee. Notarization is a check for known malware at the time Apple scanned the app.
• Says it cannot verify the developer or check for malicious software. This is where a copy of an abandoned app tends to land. Apple's page says you can override this for an app you trust, and that the app is then saved as an exception. For an app nobody maintains, whose source you cannot confirm, we would not override.
• Tells you the app is damaged or malware, and offers the Trash. Accept the Trash.

One honest nuance: some legitimate free projects are not notarized. NearDrop's GitHub page says its app "isn't notarized" and that the first launch may need a right-click and Open. That is a developer's disclosure on the maker's own page, and the choice is yours. It is a different situation from a file on a mirror site with no maker's page to check.

Is a checksum worth checking?

Only when the maker publishes one. A checksum is a fingerprint of a file. You compute it on your Mac and compare it with the maker's number. In Terminal, shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/the-file.dmg prints the SHA-256 value. The Apple pages we opened do not cover this command, so treat it as a general method.

The limit matters. A checksum shown on the same page as the download proves nothing about safety, because whoever can swap the file can swap the number. And for Android File Transfer there is no maker's number to compare with. OpenMTP's releases page, when we looked, did not show digests for its files, so for that tool the signed-and-notarized statement and the official-source test do the work instead.

What should you not install?

• A "downloader" or "installer wrapper" that you run first, which then fetches the real app.
• Any page that tells you to turn off Gatekeeper, or to open Terminal and paste a command, to get a file transfer app running.
• Several file-transfer apps at once. OpenMTP's connection guide says only one app can use a phone over MTP at a time, so a pile of apps can stop each other from working.

What if you already installed something doubtful?

Quit it, drag it to the Trash, and empty the Trash. Check System Settings > General > Login Items for anything you do not recognise. If you gave a password during the install, change that password from a clean state. If you are worried, ask a trusted person or a professional; we cannot promise any outcome from a checklist.

What should you use instead?

A maintained tool from its own page. OpenMTP is free for a cable and MacDroid has a free tier; Android File Transfer alternatives for Mac compares them, and Android File Transfer free options covers cost.

Where does The Relay fit?

The Relay is not a copy of Android File Transfer. It is downloaded from gettherelay.app/download, which links the Mac app and the Android app's Google Play listing, and the phone app comes from Google Play, where billing is handled by Google. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later, has no USB mode, and has no account with The Relay. Your clipboard, files, texts, and notifications travel directly between your phone and your Mac over your local network and are not uploaded to The Relay's servers; the privacy policy has the detail. It is one subscription through Google Play that covers your phone and your Mac, with a 7-day free trial.

Questions people ask

Is Android File Transfer a virus?

We know of no official source that calls the app malware. The uncertainty is about copies on other sites, which no one can vouch for.

Is it safe to download Android File Transfer from a mirror site?

We cannot say for any named site, and we have not examined one. Use the checklist above. If the file triggers a macOS warning you cannot resolve, do not use it.

How do I know a Mac app is notarized?

macOS runs the check when you first open a downloaded app. Apple's page says that if the app cannot be checked, you are told so before it opens.

Is OpenMTP safe?

Its own FAQ says its releases are signed and notarized by Apple, and the project is open source under the MIT licence. The condition is that you download it from one of its three official sources.