Easily share your large files by hosting them on secure services specializing in large file sharing.
Sharing the latest photos of your evening with friends or your latest vacation video with your loved ones can quickly become complicated both for you and for the people to whom you want to send your data.
Rather than storing your documents on a USB key or hard drive that will have to be run in the hands of all the protagonists, the simplest solution is undoubtedly to have your large files pass through a dedicated online service.
Free cloud storage services are legion but do not all offer the same benefits or the same guarantees, especially when it comes to security. The editor has selected five free online services for you to send large files.
SwissTransfer
As the name suggests, Swiss Transfer is a service based in Switzerland. Offered by the Infomaniak host, it allows you to send up to 25 GB of files at once, all free of charge and without the need to register. All the files sent are stored for around 30 days before being deleted from the servers.
On the security side, all items stored on Swiss Transfer are protected by an encryption system. For each upload, the user can configure password protection, the expiration time (1,7,15 and 30 days), as well as the number of downloads allowed (1, 20 and 60).
The platform offers two possibilities for sharing: either by e-mail directly, or by generating an access link that you will then have to share manually.
Using Swiss Transfer (Free)
TransferNow
Based in France, and more particularly in the Paris region, TransferNow is a file transfer service offering several offers, one of which is free. Accessible from a PC as well as from a mobile web browser, it will allow you to easily send files and directories of up to 4 GB with an availability of 7 days.
All file formats except executable (.exe) and hidden files can be transferred to the platform. Items sent by TransferNow can be password protected, and all transfers made are secured by an HTTPS connection.
In its free version, TransferNow offers to activate or not the notifications related to the transfer. It is thus possible to be alerted when a sent file has been downloaded, but also to receive a reminder before the stored elements expire. The platform also allows you to choose whether or not to activate the preview of the sent files. For guest use, you can perform up to 3 transfers per hour.
Use TransferNow (Free)
Smash
Smash is a French service, based in Lyon, which allows you to share your files without any weight limit. The service does not require any registration and works as soon as it is loaded in your browser. After dragging and dropping your files, Smash lets you choose how to share your files: by email, by generating a link, or directly on Slack.
For each share initiated on Smash, you will be able to customize the design and content displayed on your recipients’ download page. It is also possible to choose the validity period of your choice (7 days by default), to add a protection password for your files, to activate or not a preview of the shared elements (photos, videos) but also turn off download notifications.
Files hosted on Smash are protected using 256-bit AES encryption and are stored on Amazon Web Services servers. Therefore, the files are located in the USA and Europe.
Using Smash (Free)
WeTransfer
Undoubtedly the best known of all, WeTransfer offers, in its free version, to send up to 2 GB of files at one time. The service can be used free of charge without registration and without connection and allows you to share your files with a simple drag and drop. You can choose to directly send the sharing link accompanied by a message to your loved ones, or generate a link that you will have to share manually.
WeTransfer protects all stored files with encryption and allows sending a maximum of 20 files at one time. The platform does not allow you to configure a limit on the number of downloads or duration. All data stored on the service is automatically deleted after 7 days.
Use WeTransfer (Free)
Download WeTransfer for Android (Free)
Download WeTransfer for iPhone (Free)
FileMail
In its free version, FileMail allows you to transfer up to 50 GB of files. The data remains accessible online for a week for an unlimited number of downloads. All files transferred securely with encryption.
In addition, the user has the possibility of creating a protection password, mandatory to download the file. Filemail offers to share files by email, but is also able to generate a link. It is possible to transfer complete directories and to configure or not, an alert each time your files are downloaded.
If you frequently use Filemail, the service has desktop applications, but also extensions for Outlook as well as mobile applications.
Use Filemail (Free)
Download FileMail for Windows (Free)
Download FileMail for macOS (Free)
Download FileMail for Android (Free)
Download FileMail for iPhone / iPad (Free)