Send large files without uploading them

Open this page on the laptop, choose "I have the files" or "I was sent a code" depending on which way the file is going, and scan the QR code with your phone camera. That connects the two devices in a browser tab each, with no cable, no app and no account. On the same Wi-Fi it runs at local network speed, so even large videos move quickly.

Yes, in any combination. AirDrop only works between Apple devices and Quick Share only within its own ecosystem, which is why sending from an Android phone to a MacBook, or an iPhone to a Windows laptop, is usually awkward. This runs in the browser, so the operating systems on either end do not have to agree on anything.

There is no limit set by the tool. Because the file is never uploaded to a server, there is no storage quota to run into. What actually limits you is the slower of the two internet connections and the free space on the receiving device. People move multi gigabyte video and disk images through it routinely. On a phone, keep an eye on free storage, since the received file has to fit.

Yes, and this is the one real trade off. The file goes straight from one browser to the other, so both tabs have to be open together, the same way a call needs both people to pick up. If you need someone to collect a file tomorrow, this is the wrong tool and email or a shared drive is the right one. What you get in exchange is that no copy of your file sits on anyone else server waiting to be collected.

Yes. The connection uses DTLS, which is the same encryption family that protects HTTPS, and the keys are negotiated directly between the two browsers. Nobody in between can read the contents, including your network operator and including us. The verification code shown on both screens lets you confirm that for yourself rather than taking it on trust.

It is calculated from the encryption keys the two browsers agreed on, so it depends on who is genuinely at each end. If someone managed to insert themselves in the middle of the connection, the two devices would be showing different numbers. Read the six digits aloud or compare them on screen. If they match, the connection is direct. It is the standard check used by encrypted calling apps and it takes about two seconds.

Only the handshake. To connect, each browser has to tell the other how it can be reached, which is a couple of kilobytes of technical description that includes IP addresses. Our server passes that between the two devices and deletes it as soon as the connection opens. It never receives a filename, a byte of file content or any message text, and it does not write any of the handshake to logs or to disk.

The design removes most of the surface those laws are concerned with. We are not a data controller for file contents, because we never receive them, so there is no storage, no retention period and no breach exposure covering what you transfer. The handshake data does include IP addresses, which counts as personal data under GDPR and the DPDP Act. We process it only to deliver the connection you asked for, hold it in memory for seconds, never log it and delete it on completion. No cookies or device storage are used, so ePrivacy consent does not arise, and there is no profiling, tracking or advertising anywhere in the tool.

We cannot, and that is deliberate. There is no copy of your file passing through us to inspect. It also means the responsibility for what you transfer sits entirely with you and the person you are sending to. Use it for lawful purposes and for material you have the right to share.

A small share of networks block direct connections between devices. Strict corporate firewalls and some mobile carrier networks are the usual culprits. If it fails, the quickest fixes are to put both devices on the same Wi-Fi, switch one of them off the corporate VPN, or have one side tether to a phone. On ordinary home and office networks it connects almost every time.

Compress it into a ZIP first and send that. It is one file to keep track of, it preserves the folder structure, and it usually transfers faster than the same content as loose files. Our archive converter can build one for you if you need it.

The transfer stops and is marked as failed rather than saving a half written file. Nothing partial is handed to you as though it were complete. Every file is also checksummed as it goes, and the receiving side compares the result before offering the download, so a file that arrives damaged is reported rather than saved.

Plenty of people do, particularly for material they would rather not put on a third party server: design masters, raw footage, database dumps, legal bundles. Two things to keep in mind. Both people need to be at their machines at the same time, and you should still follow whatever your own agreements say about handling client material.

Those services copy your file onto their servers, then give the other person a link to pull it back down. That is why they cap the free tier, usually around 2 GB, and why the file sits on someone else infrastructure until it expires. Here the file makes the trip once, straight to the other person, so there is no cap and no stored copy. The trade is that they have to be there to receive it, where a link works whenever they get round to it.

None of the three, on either end. It is a web page. The person receiving does not sign up, install anything or give you an email address, which is usually the sticking point when you need to send something to a client or to someone outside your company.

On the same Wi-Fi or office network it usually runs at local network speed, which is far quicker than uploading to a server and downloading again, because the file only travels once instead of twice. Across the internet it is limited by the slower of the two connections, normally the sender upload speed. There is no queue and no throttling on our side, because we are not carrying the data.

It is free with no account, no size cap and no watermark, and there is no paid tier to upsell you to. It costs us almost nothing to run precisely because we never store or carry your files, so there is no bandwidth or storage bill to pass on. We build custom software for a living and these tools are how people find us.

Yes, and it is often the right answer when a product needs to move large files without the cost and liability of storing them. The same approach works for secure internal transfer, device to device sync and browser based remote support. We build that kind of thing at Techliphant, so if you are weighing it up for your own software, talk to our team.