A cross-device application invoking method, applied to a first electronic device, wherein the method comprises: in response to a first operation performed by the user on target data, sending, by the first electronic device, indication information of a file type of the target data to one or more electronic devices, wherein the first electronic device determines the file type of the target data based on a file extension name of the target data, wherein the one or more electronic devices does not comprise the first electronic device, and wherein the one or more electronic devices comprises a second electronic device, and wherein a distance between the one or more electronic devices and the first electronic device is less than a preset distance threshold; receiving, by the first electronic device, icons of a plurality of applications from the one or more electronic devices, wherein the plurality of applications are applications that are in the one or more electronic devices related to the target data in the one or more electronic devices, wherein the plurality of applications comprise a first application that is not installed in the first electronic device, wherein the icons of the plurality of applications comprises an icon of the first application sent from the second electronic device, and wherein the second device determined, based on the file type of the target data, that the first application installed on the second electronic device is an application that can process the target data; displaying, by the first electronic device, a first interface on the first electronic device, the first interface comprising the icons of the plurality of applications; and sending, by the first electronic device, a first message to the second electronic device in response to a second operation performed by the user on the icon of the first application in the icons of the plurality of applications, wherein the first message comprises the target data, and the first message is used to indicate the second electronic device to process the target data by using the first application. in response to a first operation performed by the user on target data, sending, by the first electronic device, indication information of a file type of the target data to one or more electronic devices, wherein the first electronic device determines the file type of the target data based on a file extension name of the target data, wherein the one or more electronic devices does not comprise the first electronic device, and wherein the one or more electronic devices comprises a second electronic device, and wherein a distance between the one or more electronic devices and the first electronic device is less than a preset distance threshold; receiving, by the first electronic device, icons of a plurality of applications from the one or more electronic devices, wherein the plurality of applications are applications that are in the one or more electronic devices related to the target data in the one or more electronic devices, wherein the plurality of applications comprise a first application that is not installed in the first electronic device, wherein the icons of the plurality of applications comprises an icon of the first application sent from the second electronic device, and wherein the second device determined, based on the file type of the target data, that the first application installed on the second electronic device is an application that can process the target data; displaying, by the first electronic device, a first interface on the first electronic device, the first interface comprising the icons of the plurality of applications; and sending, by the first electronic device, a first message to the second electronic device in response to a second operation performed by the user on the icon of the first application in the icons of the plurality of applications, wherein the first message comprises the target data, and the first message is used to indicate the second electronic device to process the target data by using the first application.