Microsoft Launches Xim Photo-Sharing App for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone

Microsoft on Wednesday has released a new photo-sharing app called Xim for Android, iOS (coming soon) and Windows Phone devices. The Xim app by Microsoft is free and allows users to share photos (or Xims, as Microsoft calls it) to other devices even if they don't have the Xim app installed.

How does it work? A user with the Xim app installed can share images saved on their device or the cloud (with support for OneDrive, Dropbox, Facebook, and Instagram) as a slideshow with multiple friends from their contact list, or email, or phone number, and the end user will receive the sharing notification as message with a link that will redirect them to the Web client if they don't have the app installed.

The Xims are viewable in browsers, and the selected images in the slideshow will be synchronised for all viewers. Any viewer with the Xim app installed can add more images or participants to the shared Xim, and it also lets them comment on photos during the preview with the group chat feature, as Microsoft explains in the video.

Microsoft says that users will not have to worry about storage as "Xims expire after a little while," also partially alleviating privacy concerns.

"Perfect for moments like dinner with friends, Microsoft Xim is simply a better way to share because you don't have to pass your phone around to people. When you Xim, the photos will appear synchronously on everyone's devices even if they don't have the app" notes Microsoft Research.

The company adds that with the Xim app users can avoid mistakenly sharing a personal image while letting friends huddle around the phone for a slideshow. The Xim app can be downloaded from Google Play and the Windows Phone Store.