How Pear works
Private by design. No accounts, no servers, no traces. Here is what actually happens when you share a file or start a call.
Everything goes peer-to-peer
When two people use Pear, their browsers connect directly to each other using WebRTC — the same technology powering Google Meet and Discord. Your files and video travel along that direct connection. Pear's server is only ever involved for one brief moment: helping the two browsers find each other.
The server is a blind matchmaker
To establish a direct connection, browsers need to exchange a small handshake (called an SDP offer and answer). Pear relays these messages through Ably, a WebSocket service. The messages contain no file data or video — just enough information for the two browsers to punch through firewalls and connect. Once they're connected, the server is out of the picture entirely.
The key never touches the server
Every room URL looks like this: pear.app/room/abc123#Xk9mQ... — notice the # part. That fragment is the AES-256 encryption key, encoded in base64. By design, browsers never include the URL hash in HTTP requests. So even if someone intercepted your network traffic, they would see the room ID but never the key. Your files are encrypted in your browser before they leave, and decrypted in the receiver's browser after they arrive.
File transfer, step by step
- 1You pick a file. Pear generates a random room ID and a fresh AES-GCM-256 key using your browser's built-in Web Crypto API.
- 2You share the link. The key is embedded in the URL hash — your contact's browser extracts it locally.
- 3Your browsers connect via WebRTC. The server relays only the handshake.
- 4Pear reads your file in 16 KB chunks, encrypts each one with a unique nonce, and sends them through the WebRTC DataChannel.
- 5The receiver's browser decrypts each chunk and reassembles the file. A download starts automatically when the last chunk arrives.
Video calls
Calls work the same way. Both browsers connect via WebRTC, this time sending live audio and video streams instead of file chunks. WebRTC enforces DTLS-SRTP encryption on all media streams by default — meaning the call is encrypted regardless of anything Pear does on top. Screen sharing replaces the outgoing video track mid-call without dropping the connection.
What Pear never does
- Stores files, even temporarily
- Logs video or audio
- Requires an account or email
- Tracks who connects with whom
- Stores encryption keys