No-cost interactive guide · Info-Typers 03

Puente: send photos from your phone to your computer over Wi‑Fi, no cables, no cloud

Install Puente on your computer, open it on your phone, and send photos and videos straight to the right folder. Tick each step as you go: your progress is saved in this browser.

By the Typers teamOct 19, 20267 steps · Windows, macOS, Linux · iPhone and AndroidCurrent as of October 2026

Start the mission ↓Download Puente →View the code on GitHub →

Step 0 of 7

0 of 7 done

First, what Puente is

From your phone to your project folder, exactly as you shot it

In short

If you edit video, make content or build things with AI, you know the drill: the chat app hands you a different version of your file, the cloud makes you upload and download, the cable sometimes isn't even recognized, and everything ends up as IMG_4821, lost in Downloads. Puente is an open-source tool we built at Typers: tap Gallery or Camera on your phone and the file travels over your Wi‑Fi to the folder you picked, not re-compressed, named by date and time, and without GPS location.

Who it's for: video editors, content creators and anyone building with AI assistants such as Claude Code. Snap your circuit, your 3D print or your whiteboard, and it's already in the folder where your assistant can see it.
You get the file, not a lighter copy: images are not re-compressed. The only thing removed is the location.
Tidy names by date, time and project, for example 2026-10-19_193438_MyProject_01.jpg.
No GPS: location is erased on arrival from JPG, HEIC, PNG and WebP photos and from MOV and MP4 videos.
iPhone HEIC photos get a JPG copy next to the original. Send the same photo twice to the same folder and it isn't stored again.
On Windows you get a notification when files arrive ("Received 3 photos · MyProject › images"); click it to open the folder.

Puente runs on your computer and you open it in your phone's browser. No account, no cloud, no internet: both devices just need to be on the same Wi‑Fi.

Try it · myth or fact?

“A photo can store the place where I took it.”

Fact. If the camera has location access, the photo stores latitude, longitude and altitude inside the file.

“Anyone who has the file can see that location.”

Fact. That's how INCIBE explains it: with location turned on, whoever has the image can tell where and when it was taken.

“To move photos without cables I have to upload them to the cloud.”

Myth. Puente and other open tools like LocalSend work inside your Wi‑Fi, with no internet.

“Puente lowers photo quality so they transfer faster.”

Myth. The image isn't re-compressed: you get the same file. The only thing removed is the location.

Based on Puente's documentation and the sources listed at the end.

Step 1 of 7

See what your photos say about you

Every photo carries hidden data called EXIF: date and time, phone make and model, camera settings and orientation.
If the camera has location access, it also stores GPS coordinates: latitude, longitude and altitude. Anyone who has the file can read them.
Puente erases them on arrival. If you send photos some other way, here's how to remove them without Puente:

Android

In Google's Pixel Camera app, open the camera settings and turn off Save location. Other brands name it differently: look in the camera settings.
What you share from Google Photos (albums, links and conversations) doesn't include location, according to Google, except partner sharing.

iPhone

To stop new photos from storing where you were: Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera and choose Never.
To send a photo without its location: in Photos tap Share › Options and turn off Location.
To remove it from a photo you already took: open the photo's info and tap Adjust Location › No Location.

Heads up: Location is saved when the camera has location access. Check that permission: it says the most about you.

Common mistake

Thinking a photo is just the picture: the file can also carry where and when you took it.

See what your photos say about you

Step 2 of 7

Install it on Windows

Install Python 3.9 or newer from python.org. During setup, check "Add python.exe to PATH".
Hit Download in this guide and unzip the file, for example into Documents › Puente.
Double-click Instalar en Windows.bat. It installs what's needed, creates shortcuts, offers to allow Puente through the firewall on your home network only, and starts it.
The first time, it asks which folder to share, for example your projects folder. From your phone you can pick any folder inside it.
Puente lives in an icon next to the clock. Click it to see the QR code and the PIN. Right-click it to open recent folders or stop it.

Heads up: If Windows asks about the firewall, tick Private networks only.

Common mistake

Installing Python without checking "Add python.exe to PATH": Puente's installer won't find it.

Install it on Windows

Step 3 of 7

Install it on macOS or Linux

Download and unzip Puente. Open Terminal inside that folder.
Run the first command to install what's needed: python3 -m pip install --user -r requirements.txt
Run the second one to start it: python3 puente.py
A page with the QR code and the PIN opens in your browser.
It shares your Pictures folder by default. To share another one, create config.local.json as the README explains.

Heads up: The icon next to the clock is Windows-only for now. Install ffmpeg (optional) to get video thumbnails.

Common mistake

Running the commands outside Puente's folder: Terminal can't find the files.

Install it on macOS or Linux

Step 4 of 7

Connect your phone

Your phone and your computer must be on the same Wi‑Fi.
Point your phone's camera at the QR code on the computer and open the link.
Type the PIN shown on the computer. That phone stays signed in.

Heads up: Your PIN is yours and differs from one computer to another. Don't share it or show it in screenshots.

Common mistake

Being on mobile data or on a different network at home: the phone can't find the computer.

Connect your phone

Step 5 of 7

Send your photos to the right folder

Tap Gallery to pick photos and videos, or Camera to take a new one. Send several at once, each with its own progress bar.
To change the destination, tap Change, browse to the folder you want and tap Save here. You can also create a new folder.
Your recent folders are one tap away.
Files arrive named by date, time and project, without GPS location.

Heads up: Generic folders such as "images" or "photos" are skipped when naming, so the project name shows up.

Common mistake

Dumping everything in the top folder and sorting later: pick the project folder before you send.

Send your photos to the right folder

Step 6 of 7

Add it to your home screen

Android

Open Puente's address in Chrome.
Tap Chrome's menu (three dots) and choose Add to Home screen.

iPhone

Open Puente's address in Safari.
Tap Share › Add to Home Screen. You get a Puente icon that works like an app.
Optional: with the Shortcuts app you can send from the Share button in any app (Photos, WhatsApp, Files). The steps are in the repository, in docs/shortcut-iphone.md.

Heads up: HEIC to JPG conversion applies to iPhone photos. On Android, photos arrive in their own format.

Common mistake

Trying it from another browser on iPhone: use Safari.

Add it to your home screen

Step 7 of 7

Keep it safe: home network only

Puente is built for a home or office network you trust. It refuses anything that doesn't come from your local network.
It asks for a PIN. After 5 wrong tries it locks that address out for 10 minutes; after 20 across the network, nobody gets in for 10 minutes.
It only accepts real photos and videos: it checks the file's contents, not its name. And it never saves outside the shared folder.
Never expose it to the internet: no port forwarding on your router, no tunnels.
By default it uses plain http on your network, so someone on your same Wi‑Fi could see what travels. With a password-protected Wi‑Fi and people you trust, that's usually fine. If not, turn on HTTPS (optional, see SECURITY.md).
Share a folder that holds only what your phone should reach: anyone with the PIN can save to any visible folder inside it.

Heads up: Lost your phone? Change the PIN (or delete the shortcut key) and restart Puente. Every phone gets signed out.

Common mistake

Using it on café or airport Wi‑Fi: it's for your network, not public ones.

Keep it safe: home network only

Take it with you

The same guide, to save or print

The 7 steps to install and use Puente, the hidden data in your photos, security in plain words and other options, in a PDF made for reading on your phone.

Download the PDF →

Why remove location from your photos

Anyone with the file can read it. INCIBE, Spain's national cybersecurity institute, puts it simply: with GPS on, anyone who gets the image can find out where it was taken, plus the date and time.

The case the U.S. Army tells. In 2012 the Army wrote that in 2007, in Iraq, geotagged photos posted online revealed where some helicopters were parked, and they were later attacked. That's the Army's official account.

It's not about fear. It's about choice. When you decide which photo carries a location, nobody pulls it out of a file you sent for something else.

Other options, honestly

Puente isn't the only way to move photos without a cable. Each option is good at something different:

LocalSend: open-source app (Apache-2.0 license) for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Works without internet or third-party servers. Great for sending files between any two devices.

PairDrop: open source (GPL-3.0 license), runs in the browser on your local network. It started as a fork of Snapdrop.

AirDrop: for sharing between nearby Apple devices.

The cable: Apple explains how to import from iPhone to Windows with a USB cable, the Apple Devices app and the Windows Photos app. iCloud for Windows also lets you download your iCloud photos to a PC.

Microsoft Phone Link: iPhone-to-PC file sharing is, as of 2026, only for the Windows Insider program. And Intel Unison reached end of support on January 1, 2026.

What makes Puente different: it's built for project work. You pick the folder from your phone, names come out sorted by date and time, and location is erased on arrival.

Download it or read the code

Download The published release on GitHub, as a ZIP.

View the code on GitHub MIT license. The code is in Spanish because Puente was born in Colombia; contributions are welcome in English or Spanish.

Found a security issue? Please don't open a public issue: use the private "Report a vulnerability" button in the repository's Security tab.

Quick glossary

Term	What it means
EXIF	Data the camera stores inside the photo: date and time, phone model, settings and, with permission, location.
GPS	The coordinates of where the photo was taken: latitude, longitude and altitude.
HEIC	The photo format recent iPhones use. Smaller files, but not every program opens it, so Puente keeps a JPG copy.
Local network	The devices connected to the same Wi‑Fi or router at your home or office.
PIN	The number code Puente asks for the first time you open it on a phone.
Port forwarding	A router setting that exposes a program at home to the internet. With Puente, never.
HTTPS	An encrypted connection between your phone and your computer. Optional in Puente.
Open source	Software whose code anyone can read, use and improve under its license. Puente uses the MIT license.

What this guide doesn't promise

That Puente works away from home: it's for your local network, not the internet.
That it's the only option: there are other open tools, and each one fits a different need.
That other apps do or don't remove location: they don't document it, and we won't claim it without testing.
This guide summarizes Puente's documentation and official Apple, Google and Microsoft help pages as of October 2026.

Sources

Everything in this guide comes from Puente's documentation and official sources:

How we do it at Typers

Puente came out of our own work: at Typers we build AI-powered tools so teams waste less time. If you run a business and want something like this for yours, our no-cost diagnosis looks at your case. See how we build websites and apps.

FAQ

Quick answers

Does Puente cost anything?

No. It's open source under the MIT license: download it, use it, and read or improve the code.

Do I need internet?

No. It works on your local network: your phone and computer just need to share the same Wi‑Fi. No cloud, no accounts.

Do my photos lose quality?

No. Images aren't re-compressed: you get the same file, with a tidy name and without GPS location.

Does it work with iPhone and Android?

Yes. Open it in Safari on iPhone and in Chrome on Android. The JPG copy of HEIC photos applies to iPhone photos.

Can Windows open iPhone HEIC photos?

Puente leaves a JPG copy next to each HEIC, so you can open it without installing anything. To open the HEIC itself, Microsoft says Windows 10 needs both the HEIF (no cost) and HEVC (USD 0.99) extensions.

Is it safe?

On your home network, yes: it asks for a PIN, refuses anything outside your network and never saves outside the shared folder. Never expose it to the internet. If you want an encrypted connection, turn on HTTPS.

Can I use it at the office or a café?

At the office, if you trust that network. On public Wi‑Fi, no: it's made for trusted networks.

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