Setting Up Pushbullet
Start by downloading the Pushbullet Android app to your smartphone or tablet. To sign up for Pushbullet, you need to connect it with your Facebook or Google profile; there’s no option to create a unique login. Once you’re signed in, the app walks you through its features, including sending text messages from your desktop, managing notifications, and sharing links and files between devices. Download For:
Pushbullet on Chrome and Other Browsers
Once you have a login, you can install a browser plug-in for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or a desktop client. It’s your choice whether to install both the plugin and the desktop app or just one; Pushbullet works either way. On the desktop app or browser plugin, you can see a list of all of your connected devices. You can change the names to your preference, such as “Lifewire’s Phone” instead of “Galaxy S9.”
Pushbullet Notifications
Notifications appear in the lower-right corner of your screen. If you have a browser plugin, you can see a count of the notifications awaiting your response next to the Pushbullet icon in the upper-right corner. When you dismiss a notification on your desktop, you’re also dismissing it on your mobile device. When you get a text, you’ll see that notification on your smartphone, tablet, and desktop. You can reply to messages from any of these devices and send new ones, too. It’s possible that you’ll get too many notifications through Pushbullet. In this case, you can mute desktop notifications on an app-by-app basis by going into the settings. For example, you might mute notifications that you get on your desktop. Whenever you get a notification, there’s an option to mute all notifications from that app in addition to dismissing it.
Transferring Files and Links
Another great feature is the ability to transfer files and links. If you often start reading articles on one device and then switch to another, you can’t stop emailing yourself links. With Pushbullet, you can right-click a web page, choose Pushbullet from the menu, and then the device you want to send it to or even all devices. On mobile, tap the menu button next to the URL box. That’s it. To share files from your desktop, drag and drop files into the app. From your mobile device, select the file you want to share and choose Pushbullet from the menu. If you enable it, you can also access the files on your mobile device from the desktop app. Pushbullet is convenient when signing into websites that use two-factor authentication. (That’s when you need to input a code sent to your smartphone via text message for an added layer of security over your username and password.) Being able to view and copy the text message on a desktop saves time and patience. All of these features are great, but you might be concerned about security. Pushbullet offers optional end-to-end encryption, which means that it can’t read the information you share between devices. This feature must be enabled in settings and requires you to set up a separate password.
Premium Pushbullet Features
Pushbullet is a free service, but you can upgrade to the Pro plan and access a few extras. You can opt to pay $39.99 per year/$3.33 per month, or you can go month-to-month for $4.99. There’s no free trial, but the app offers a 72-hour refund period. You can pay by credit card or PayPal. One of the coolest features of Pro is mirrored notification action support. Some Android notifications are called rich notifications, where you get more options than opening the alert or dismissing it. For example, if an app lets you snooze notifications, you can select snooze from the Pushbullet notification. If you have a free account, you’ll see these rich notification options; choosing one prompts you to upgrade, which can be annoying. Possibly cooler is what Pushbullet calls universal copy and paste. With it, you can copy a link or text on your computer, then pick up your phone and paste it into an app. You need to enable this feature on all your devices first, and it requires downloading the desktop application. Other upgrades include unlimited messages (vs. 100 per month with the free plan), 100 GB storage space (vs. 2 GB), and the ability to send files up to 1 GB (vs. 25 MB). You also get priority support, which presumably means your emails are answered faster than free members.
