Are you looking for a quick and easy solution to share your screen without going through the usual gas plants? That's good, because I found youe Bananasa small program that will save you precious time.

And the best part is that you won't even need to create an account or register for anything!

So yes, I know, there are tons of screen sharing solutions, but this one has something special that caught my eye: it works directly in peer-to-peer (P2P). In short, your data passes directly from one computer to another, without going through intermediary servers and for privacy freaks like you and me, this is the Holy Grail!

What really makes Bananas special is its functionality multiple sliders. You know, like in Google Docs where you see your collaborators' cursor? Well, it's the same, except that it works on your entire screen! Your colleagues can point precisely to the elements they are talking about, as if they were physically sitting on your knees next to you. The function of ping even allows you to temporarily mark important areas of the screen to attract attention. No more playing the game of “you see the button there, not that one, the other one…”

The operation is disconcertingly simple. You launch the application (available on Mac, Windows and Linux), it generates a Unique URL that you share with your colleagues (via Slack, email or your favorite messaging system), and boom!

Your participants don't even need to install anything, everything happens in the browser.

Under the hood, Bananas uses technology WebRTCthe same one that runs video calls on your browser. This is what allows for a direct and secure connection between participants. Thus, the only servers involved are those necessary for the initial establishment of the connection (STUN/TURN), but once that is done, all traffic is P2P.

For developers reading this, here's an interesting detail: the system is so minimalist that there isn't even a server-side database. Each session is ephemeral and sharing URLs are generated uniquely. It's clean, stylish and secure.

Now let's talk about use cases, because there are several very relevant ones. First scenario: remote technical support. No need to laboriously explain over the phone where to click, you show your interlocutor directly and they can even guide you with their cursor.

Second case: design or code reviews. When you present your work to colleagues, they can point directly to elements that need to be changed or areas that raise questions. It's much more effective than a series of hastily annotated screenshots.

Third use: distance training. You can easily show complex manipulations to your learners and they can tell you exactly what they don't understand. The ping function is particularly valuable in this context for marking key points in an explanation.

A little tip now to maximize security: treat sharing URLs like passwords and only share them via secure channels and only with the appropriate people. And if you're done with your session, simply close the app so the URL is no longer active.

I still have to warn you about something: like any P2P solution, the quality of the transmission depends a lot on your internet connection. If you or your participants have an unstable connection, you might experience some stuttering… But that's the price you pay to have a truly private and secure solution.

For fans of free software, know that Bananas is open source and available on GitHub. So you can check the code yourself or even host it on your own servers if you're the really careful type.

Enjoy!

Test Bananas for yourself


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