Found it on the train, watch it on the way home: send the link from anywhere, let the Mac download, keep it on the iPhone
One day, one loop
| When | Where | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Morning commute | On the train, cellular | You find a talk or an episode. Share → Vidnip, pick video or audio and the quality, done. |
| During the day | Mac at home, running | The Mac receives the link and downloads it. Nothing to confirm; a notification tells you it's there. |
| Evening | Home Wi‑Fi | The iPhone shows the new video. Stream it on the sofa, or tap Download to iPhone for tomorrow. |
| Next morning | Anywhere, no signal needed | The copy plays offline and starts where you stopped last night. |
Set it up once, at home
- Pair. On the Mac, open Vidnip, click iPhone in the sidebar, turn on Allow iPhone to connect over the local network and click Show Pairing Code. On the iPhone, pick the Mac under Nearby Macs and enter the 6‑digit code. This is the ordinary same‑Wi‑Fi pairing, no account involved.
- Turn on Remote Receive. On the same page, turn on Let paired iPhones send links to this Mac from anywhere. It is off by default. Once the phone has connected at home after this, remote send is available on it — away from home, the phone shows the Mac as reachable for remote send.
- Keep the Mac awake enough. Links can't be received while the Mac sleeps — they wait and are picked up when it wakes. For a Mac that's always ready, keep Vidnip running (launch at login is an option) and turn on Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off in System Settings › Energy.
Send from wherever you are
- In any app, tap Share and choose Vidnip. Pick video or audio and the quality — these choices go with the link, and the Mac downloads exactly that, without asking again.
- No signal at that moment? The link waits on the phone and goes out when there is one.
- The Mac downloads it like any other item: the first 3 downloads are free, remote ones included. If the link can't be downloaded, the Mac tells you in a notification.
Get it onto the phone for the ride
Back on the home Wi‑Fi, open Vidnip for iPhone. Mac › Videos lists what the Mac downloaded, with a Continue Watching row on top (new in Vidnip for iPhone 2.0).
- Download to iPhone copies the file over Wi‑Fi — verified with SHA‑256 — so it plays with no connection at all. Do this in the evening; it doesn't touch your cellular data.
- Stream plays it from the Mac right away; the player's Keep Offline on iPhone turns the stream into a saved copy while you watch.
- Both start where you stopped, on either device, and your position goes back to the Mac when the phone next sees it — so an episode half-watched on the train is half-watched on the Mac too.
Music for the same ride
Vidnip for Mac has a Music section: audio-only downloads land there as proper songs with cover art, and you can drag in your own audio and video files. On the iPhone, songs sync over Wi‑Fi for offline listening with scrolling lyrics; turn on automatic sync and every connection at home tops the phone up with what's new. Remote Send works for audio too: share a link, pick audio, and the song is on the Mac by the time you're home, ready for the music library.
Common questions
Do I have to be on the same Wi‑Fi as my Mac to send a link?
Not with Vidnip 2.0. After pairing at home once and turning on Remote Receive on the Mac, the iPhone can send links over cellular or any other network. The link is end-to-end encrypted on the phone and relayed to your Mac; Vidnip's servers only ever see ciphertext. Copying or streaming the finished video still happens on your home Wi‑Fi.
Does the Mac download a remote link without asking?
Yes. You choose video or audio and the quality on the phone when you share, and the Mac downloads exactly that as soon as it receives the link. Links sent while you are on the same Wi‑Fi work as before: the Mac finds the videos and you confirm on the phone.
What if my Mac is asleep when I send the link?
The link waits on the relay, encrypted, for up to 7 days and is picked up when the Mac wakes. To have it downloaded right away, keep Vidnip running and stop the Mac from sleeping automatically while the display is off.
Will the video use my cellular data?
No. Remote Send only carries the link. The video is copied to the iPhone or streamed over your home Wi‑Fi. A copy made with Download to iPhone plays with no connection at all.
Does the iPhone remember where I stopped?
With Vidnip for iPhone 2.0 and Vidnip for Mac 2.0, yes. Streamed and copied videos both start from your last position, and the position syncs back to the Mac the next time the phone connects to it. With an older Mac the phone plays without tracking positions.
Can I take music along the same way?
Yes. Songs in the Mac's music library sync to the iPhone over Wi‑Fi for offline listening, with lyrics; automatic sync copies new songs every time the phone connects at home. Audio-only downloads, including ones sent remotely as audio, can be added to the music library automatically.
Tomorrow's commute, downloaded today
Share a link from anywhere, let the Mac download it, and take it with you on the iPhone. The iPhone app is free; on the Mac the first 3 downloads are free.
Download Vidnip for MacGet the iPhone app