It’s quick and easy to send attachments via email, but what about when those files get too big?
Many email clients place restrictions on the size of files that can be sent, and even those that are delivered can clutter the recipient’s inbox. The good news is that there are several ways to share large files with colleagues, clients, or friends without paying a dime.
Send files with a file transfer service
The most obvious way to send a file that is too large to email is to use a dedicated file transfer site, of which there are many. These allow you to upload a file to a website so that your recipient can download it, either from an email or through a link you can share with them.
WeTransfer is the best known of these sites. It’s free, you don’t need to sign up, and you can send up to 2GB at a time. You can upload and send files as often as you want, and up to 20 people at a time.
The download link is sent by email and is valid for seven days. Downloading files can be a little slow during peak times, so the company recommends sending files in the morning or after work to avoid peak internet congestion.
If you need to send something larger than 2 GB, Send Anywhere is a similar service, but lets you share up to 10 GB via a link, or unlimited file sizes using its default system that requires recipients to plug in a 6-digit key to gain access. their papers.
If you want something a little safer, consider Hightail. Formerly known as YouSendIt, this requires you to sign up for a free account, which makes it more complicated than WeTransfer and MailBigFile for one-time transfers. Each file is also limited to 100MB on the free plan, so it won’t be suitable for larger transfers.
However, Hightail offers secure data encryption, receipt verification, and access to mobile and desktop apps. If you’re worried about particularly sensitive files, this might be the one for you.
All of the above lets you send files for free, but also offers paid plans that typically allow for larger files, long-term file storage, and other benefits.
Send larger files using cloud storage
If none of these appeal to you — or if file size limitations are an issue — it might be easier to just use a cloud storage service to share your files.
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Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive all allow you to share files you’ve uploaded and don’t require the recipient to have their own account, although you do need an account to send them.
All offer some level of free storage, although Google is the clear winner here with its 15GB free plan – you’re limited to 5GB with OneDrive or 2GB with Dropbox.
All three offer web access and apps for desktop, iPhone, and Android, so there are plenty of ways to upload and share files, and no restrictions on individual file sizes as long as you’re within the limit. global storage.
All three also offer paid plans if you find those storage limits not enough and the prices are often surprisingly low.
Even Apple’s iCloud gets in on the action and actually offers its own dedicated file sharing tool: Mail Drop.
Integrated into the Mail app, it works by using iCloud to upload the file to the web and generating a link that the recipient can use to download and access the file. Even if the recipient doesn’t use Mail or doesn’t even have an Apple device, they will still be able to access the file.
If the recipient is using Mail, the file will automatically download as an attachment on the email and they won’t even notice anything different from a normal attachment. Check out our sister site Macworld to learn more about Mail Drop.
