How to send a link from Android to a Mac and open a phone tab on the computer

If you use Chrome on both your Android phone and your Mac, signed in to the same Google Account, you already have this. In Chrome on the phone tap More, then Share, then Send to your devices, and pick the Mac. The page opens in Chrome on the Mac. Firefox has the same idea under the name Send Tab. If your Mac's browser is Safari or anything else, or you use different browsers on each device, you need a tool that does not care about the browser: KDE Connect for free, or The Relay, which opens the shared page in the Mac's default browser.

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 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

How do I send a tab from Chrome on Android to Chrome on a Mac?

These steps are from Google's help page, Share tabs in Chrome, which has a version for Android and one for computers.

Before you start, Google says: "Sign in to the same Google Account on both devices."

1. On the phone, open Chrome and go to the page you want.
2. Tap More (the three dots), then Share.
3. Tap Send to your devices.
4. Choose the Mac from the list.

Google's page says the tab "will also open automatically in Chrome on your chosen device".

It works the other way too. On the Mac, the computer version of the page says to select More, then Cast, save, and share, then Send to your devices, or to right-click the tab or page and choose the same item. When you send to a phone, Google says, "if you're sharing your tab with your phone and your notifications are turned on, you will get a notification that a tab was shared."

If both of your devices run Chrome with the same account, stop here. This is free and built in, and there is no reason to add anything for links alone.

How do I open a tab from my phone on the Mac without sending it?

Chrome also lists what is open on your other devices. Google's page Get your bookmarks, passwords, and more on all your devices gives the steps on a computer: open Chrome, select More, then History, and on the left select Tabs from other devices. You need to be signed in to Chrome with your Google Account on both.

This is the route for "I was reading something on the train". You do not have to remember to send it. Open the list on the Mac and click the page.

How does Firefox do it?

Mozilla's Firefox sync page says: "The Send Tab feature in Firefox lets you send pages from Firefox on one device to other devices (such as an iPhone, iPad or Android device)." It needs a free Mozilla account, which syncs your data "everywhere you use Firefox". Mozilla adds that the synced data is "encrypted on our servers so we can't read it".

So the Firefox rule matches the Chrome rule: the same browser on both ends, signed in to the same account. Mozilla's support site has the tap-by-tap steps for the current versions.

What about a QR code?

Chrome can turn any page into a QR code. Google's page lists it under the same Share menu: tap More, then Share, then QR Code. That is built for the opposite direction, though. A phone scans a code on a computer screen easily, and holding a phone up to a Mac's camera is awkward. For the Mac to the phone it is a handy trick with no accounts involved. For the phone to the Mac, use one of the other routes.

What if I do not use the same browser on both?

This is the common snag. Plenty of people use one browser on the phone and Safari on the Mac. Chrome's feature opens the page in Chrome on the Mac, per Google's page, and nowhere else. Apple's own answer, Handoff, is closed to Android. Apple's Handoff page requires that "each device is signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account", and shows a Dock icon on the Mac for the app you were using on the iPhone. An Android phone never appears there.

Three ways round it.

KDE Connect (free)

KDE Connect lists "Files and links. Shared between devices." on its home page, and its download page has a stable release for macOS. Its wiki describes the Share plugin from the computer's side: links get an "Open on phone" option and "will automatically open your phone's default browser on the chosen website". Sharing from the phone goes through the KDE Connect app, and the wiki has the current steps. Both devices need to be on the same network. How the macOS version handles a received link is something to try for yourself, since KDE's pages do not go into macOS detail.

The Relay

With The Relay you share a page from the phone and it opens in the Mac's default browser. It works the other way round as well. The phrase that matters is "default browser": the link opens in Safari if that is your default, or in whichever browser you set in macOS, and the phone can be using any browser at all. Nothing needs to be signed in to the same browser account on both sides.

The Relay is installed on both devices and paired by scanning a QR code shown on the Mac. The devices talk over your own Wi-Fi network, with Bluetooth as a fallback. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later and costs $19.99, paid once, from the download page. Link handoff is one feature of several. The app also syncs the clipboard both ways, which is another way to move a link: copy the address on the phone, paste it on the Mac.

Send it to yourself

Email the link, drop it in a notes app, or message it to yourself in a chat app you keep open on the Mac. It needs nothing installed. It takes more taps, and the link ends up buried in a thread.

Which should I use?

The last row is where the browser features beat The Relay. Google and Mozilla name a shared account as the requirement, not a shared network. The Relay needs the phone and the Mac on the same network or within Bluetooth range. If you send links home from the train, the browser's own feature is the right tool.

And if links are the only thing you want to move, do not buy The Relay for that alone. Switch to the same browser on both devices and it costs nothing.

Why is my Mac not in the list on the phone?

If the Mac still does not appear, Google's help page for your version of Chrome is the place to look. We have not tested its edge cases.

Questions people ask

Does Send to your devices work with Safari on the Mac?

No. Google's page says the tab opens in Chrome on the chosen device. To land a link in Safari from an Android phone, use a tool that hands the link to macOS itself, such as The Relay, which opens it in the Mac's default browser.

Can I see the tabs open on my Android phone from my Mac?

Yes, in Chrome. On the Mac, open More, then History, then Tabs from other devices, while signed in to the same Google Account on both.

Is there Handoff for Android?

Not from Apple. Handoff requires devices signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account. The closest matches are the browser features above and The Relay's link handoff. We compare them in Handoff for Android and a Mac.

Does it work with a Samsung Galaxy or a Pixel?

Chrome's and Firefox's features depend on the browser and the account, not on the phone's maker. The Relay works with any phone on Android 8.0 or later.

Do both devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi?

Google and Mozilla ask for the same account on both devices and do not mention a shared network. For KDE Connect and The Relay, yes: they connect the two devices directly on your local network.