microsoftximMicrosoft today debuted Xim, a free app that makes it easier for folks to share images on their smartphone with others.

Created inside the Microsoft Research Fuse Labs, Xim lets you create photo slideshows that can be shared across multiple devices at the same time. The app, available for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, allows users to pull up to 50 photos from your phone or cloud service and packages them into a slideshow.

Only one person needs to have the Xim app, and that user can share a slideshow link to others via phone number or email address. Anyone with access to the slideshow can change photos, pan and zoom, or add comments — these actions are synchronized for all users accessing the Xim so everyone is looking at the same thing.

Those with the Xim app can also add their own photos to any slideshow. Images shared with Xim expire after a “little while” for those concerned about privacy or storage.

The idea is to provide a better way for people to share images with friends and family without having to huddle around one device, or an alternative for those that don’t want to post certain photos to a social media service.

This is one of the few times Microsoft has turned a research project into an actual product. Check out the video below to learn more about how Xim works:

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