11 Secure File Sharing Services to Send Data Privately

The wider availability and use of the Internet bring convenience to the table, but it also welcomes threats of different sorts.

You might have heard security breaches and losses every now and then where businesses and people have to incur tremendous losses due to Internet vulnerability. Cybercriminals are out there waiting like hawks to attack whenever they find some weak spots.

Modern-day businesses need to share large files digitally, and in doing so, there always remains a security threat if not done through secure channels. However, not all businesses understand the gravity of the situation as to how fragile the Internet is until they learn it the hard way.

According to statistics, more than 4 billion records were exposed globally due to data breaches in mid-2019. Therefore, regulations such as PCI Data Security Standard and HIPAA guide organizations by providing a framework for storage, handling, and safeguarding of their sensitive information.

Why send files through a secure channel?

Imagine your client urgently wants to see the results you have come up with, but he/she is based miles away from your place. Going digital is the best way for you at this moment. Now, if the file size is too large or sensitive in nature, would you still risk sending it through the mail?

How can you be assured of its confidentiality?

One way of achieving it is to use file-sharing services. Its benefits are:

Size is not the issue

Businesses have endless data and files ranging from graphics, video, audio, presentation documents, spreadsheets, and so on. These files can be large, and sending them by email seems frustrating.

Thanks to modern file-sharing services where file size is hardly an issue. You can easily send multi-gigabyte files without any hassle. You can avail of their free or paid version as per your requirements, but they may come with size limitations while their paid versions do not.

Security blanket

Data security has become a crucial aspect more than ever, due to increasing cybercrimes. Hence, in order to safeguard your intellectual property, trade secrets, marketing plans, highly sensitive information, financial information, and so on, file sharing services are there at your disposal.

It is because they help in lowering down the odds associated with a data breach through proper encryption of your files in transit and high-end password protection between both the parties. They can also offer additional security levels for your mobile devices through authentication and authorization.

Track record

Another benefit of using file-sharing services is that you can keep a track record of all the shared data, including the date and time, to whom it was sent, what the size of the shared file was, whether it was successful or not, and so on.

File sharing services provide a useful data audit for people working in varied time zones and locations. Everyone in-sync with the remaining team with access to the file-sharing service can see the records entered in it to give a unified sharing experience.

Faster transmission

Sharing files using a secure file-sharing service is a reliable and fast process. You can share different types of files like graphics, video, audio, etc. no matter if they are large or small. You can easily share those files with your colleagues or clients relatively faster.

As a result, the overall speed of work also accelerates with less possibility of errors associated. So, you can save time to perform other important duties.

Let’s explore the private file sharing solutions.

OnionShare

OnionShare is one of the best file-sharing services which allows sharing your files anonymously yet with security through the Tor network. It is an open-source platform where an onion address is created, and people can visit this address through Tor Browser to access the data you wish to share.

Unlike other services such as Google Drive or email, when using OnionShare, you are not giving any access to your files to the company. As long as you keep sharing the anonymous web address securely, you, as well as the person with whom you are sharing the file, can only access the data.

Lufi

Lufi is a file hosting platform that lets you share your files easily. When you upload files on the Lufi instance, they are encrypted before being uploaded to the server. Hence, the server administrator cannot view the content of the files but can see the name, size, and type of file like video, audio, text, and so on.

For sharing your files through this hosting software, you are not required to register yourself. However, it stores your IP address for legal reasons when you share your files, which is a normal case.

KeyBase

When it comes to security, KeyBase is considered as one of the best file-sharing and messaging platforms. It secures your files through end-to-end encryption that make sure you send the files to the right person. With the help of public-key cryptography, all your messages remain private, and the server administrator cannot even read any of your chats.

This platform is perfectly safe not only for businesses but also for families. Apart from this, you can connect with different communities like Reddit, Twitter, etc. It is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, and even for iOS as well as Android.

Datash

Datash helps you in sending or receiving a file or text through the browser between two devices. It does not require you to register or login on its interface. All the files that you share through Datash are secure because it leverages end-to-end encryption using 1024bit public or private key.

Before sending the files, Datash encrypts data with the public key of the recipient. As a result, it ensures the files are sent to the desired destination. For sending files,

• Visit datash.co and let the recipient do the same
• Enter text or choose the files you want to share
• A recipient ID will be generated on the recipient’s device; you need to enter it.
• Now, start sending the files by hitting the button, “send securely.”

Tresorit

Tresorit is an advanced yet free file sharing platform. You can trust it for sending even your confidential files.

Using Tresorit, you can better control your files after sharing them as well. The secure and reliable file sharing platform lets you share files up to 5 GB and offers you benefits such as:

• End-to-end encryption
• SWISS Privacy
• GDPR Compliance
• Access logs
• Password protection
• Revoke link
• EU servers

SafeNote

SafeNote is a great option for sharing temporary files anonymously. It offers a free platform where privacy, simplicity, and anonymity are focused on providing you with reliable data sharing experience.

You can upload your files, share its link with people to whom you want to share, and when they download the files, you can delete it. In addition, you can also set a specific expiration time on the files so that it can get deleted automatically.

When you upload a file, it generates a secure link that you can copy and share it with the recipient so that he/she can download the files and then the file self-destructs.

FilePizza

FilePizza is an open-source web service helping you share your files online efficiently through WebTorrent and WebRTC. It is effortless to use and requires no file uploads to 3rd-party servers. Instead, it utilizes in-browser peer-to-peer (P2P) file transfers.

The speed, privacy, and security of FilePizza are commendable. Because using P2P technology, it involves no intermediary servers where your data can be stolen. Another great thing about this application is that it does not set any file size restrictions, unlike other tools. Hence, you can share large files with one or multiple recipients.

To start sharing files, all you need is to open its official website and drag the file you wish to share. Next, you could see a link that you need to send to the recipient, who can use the link to fetch the file from your end.

Instant.io

Instant.io is a decent file transfer platform utilizing WebTorrent. It is an online torrent client, meaning it lets you download torrents directly instead of using another program to perform the downloads.

It is 100% open-source and free software that works fine with Firefox, Opera, and Chrome. You can even find its source codes on GitHub.

Start sharing your files by choosing from your device, or you can drag and drag files as well to start seeding. Instant.io is simple to use, and you don’t need to make an account for it. Additionally, it also supports streaming media files.

There is no file size limit, and you can monitor the uploading and downloading speed of the torrent and download them as ZIP files. It also lets you share a torrent through a URL, including an info hash or magnet link.

ToffeeShare

ToffeeShare is a safer and faster file-sharing option that always maintains a direct route from a sender to the receiver. One of the interesting aspects of this platform is that you can send files with no size limit depending upon how much your browser or device can handle.

To value the integrity and privacy of your files, ToffeeShare uses the latest industry-standard practices for data security. It currently uses DTLS 1.3, and your data remains encrypted end-to-end so that you and the recipient can only access the data.

After sharing the data, it permanently gets deleted and is no longer available on the Internet. It uses peer-to-peer (P2P) communication where there is no intermediate or third party server. Hence, all your data is perfectly secure.

WeTransfer

One of the popular file-sharing platforms, WeTransfer, is free and requires no registration. It is known for its simplicity and ease of sharing files with people around the globe.

For sharing the files, you can select the files, and then you just need to enter the email addresses of the recipient as well as the sender. If you want, you can even customize a message for the recipient for his/her convenience for a better interpretation of the data or any instructions that you may want to add.

DocSend

DocSend is a secure file-sharing platform that everyone can utilize. This platform is trusted by more than 12,000 companies all across the globe, including Ericsson, Gusto, BuzzFeed, and many more.

Using this platform, it is effortless to share, manage, and track your files. You can even protect your files with email verification and passcodes. Furthermore, if you want, you can turn off its access in order to take back the document control.

For business needs, you can also leverage their eSignature features which let you sign the documents electronically.

Conclusion

Using a secure file sharing service can be hugely advantageous for your professional, social as well as personal endeavors. Anyone having a computer or mobile device with an internet connection can easily view the files easily and faster. So, all you need is to select a secure file-sharing service and then start sharing with your colleagues or clients.

If you need to send smaller files regularly, then you may consider using secure email services.

Happy sharing!