How do I send large files for free?
25.11.2022
Everyday we’re creating hundreds of GBs of content. But what is the point in creating if we don’t have ways of sharing it. Most content can be shared on social media platforms, or via email, but sometimes files are just too large. As a general tip, it’s a good idea to limit your email attachments to 10 MB as anything larger runs the risk of not being delivered. 25 MB is generally the maximum upper limit.
So let’s say you’ve got a video, spreadsheet or document that is 30 MB, how can you send large files like for free? There are a number of ways, and all of them are simple.
File Transfer Services
WeTransfer is one of the most popular services. Its free version lets you send files up to 2 GB to anyone who has an email address. You simply add the files you want, pop in your friend’s email address, add a message and hit send. It’s simple, secure and fast. You can also generate a link that you can send in your own email.
Hightail is an alternative to WeTransfer and works in much the same way. It is aimed more for business use, but its free version lets you send files as large as 250 MB with an additional 2 GB of online storage available.
Sending files like this is great, but it should be noted that the link your friend will receive will expire. This means if they wait over a week, you’ll probably have to send the files again. One way around this is to use online folders instead. It’s also worth noting that any link you send can be forwarded to anyone, so don’t send files to anyone you don’t 100% trust.
Online Cloud Storage Services
Dropbox is really easy to use and lets you create a folder for you and your friends to share files. Following a simple sign up procedure, you get 2 GB free to start and you can earn up to 16 GB additional space for referring friends. It also links to your mobile, so you can add photos and videos wherever you are.
Google Drive is very similar, and is linked to your Google account. It lets you keep 15 GB of material across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. Even though it’s from Google, it still works on iPhone and Macs, so it could be a very good option.
OneDrive from Microsoft gives you 15 GB of storage, and you can increase this by 5 GB if you refer your friends. As with Google Drive, files are stored online and you access them by PC, Mac or mobile.
We would recommend the online storage option if you have a lot of things to share, such as photos from a vacation. This way you can just send a link whenever you want. The file transfer is probably better if you’d just like to send things to one or two people who need to receive your files immediately.
Email Specific Options
While the above options are all great, they may not always be necessary. Some email clients have their own file sharing services built in.
If you’re using email services such as Apple Mail, Gmail, and Outlook will automatically upload your files to a relevant file sharing system (iCloud, Google Drive, and OneDrive respectively) if you attach a file that is too large to email directly.
Also, some smaller email providers such as HEY have their own file sharing systems.
We hope you’ve found this guide useful, but if you have more questions, just ask!
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