Transferit
How to send large files from an iPhone
To send a large file from an iPhone, don't attach it: turn it into a link. Mail stops at about 20 MB, WhatsApp shrinks photos and caps videos, and AirDrop only reaches Apple devices in the same room. A transfer link works for any file size, with anyone, on any device, and you decide how long it lasts. Here is what each option can do and when to use it.
Why the obvious ways fail
Mail tops out around 20 MB. Above that, iPhone offers Mail Drop, which uploads to iCloud and sends a link that expires in 30 days. It works, but only if you send from Apple Mail, and the person receiving gets a plain link with no password and no way for you to see whether it was opened.
WhatsApp and Messages make photos smaller and videos blurrier so they send faster. For a holiday snap nobody minds. For the photos a client is paying for, or a video you edited for hours, it is the wrong tool. Both also refuse very large files outright.
AirDrop sends the original at full quality, but only to an iPhone, iPad or Mac that is in the same room with you. It’s the best option when the other person is sitting next to you and useless when they aren’t.
iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox links work at any distance and any size. The catch is at the other end: the person opening the link is often asked to sign in or install something, and sharing a folder tends to share more than you meant.
Send a link instead
A transfer app does one thing: takes the files you pick and gives you one link. You send the link however you like, by text, email or chat. The other person taps it and downloads, on any phone or computer, with no app and no account. The files are exactly what left your phone, full size.
In Transferit, the first screen asks what you want to send: Files for anything on your phone, or Photos & videos for your camera roll. You can also send from inside Photos or Files using the share button. Big files go up in small pieces, so if your signal drops on the train it carries on from where it stopped rather than starting again, and it keeps sending when you leave the app.
Decide what the link can do
This is the part email can’t offer. When you send, you choose how long the link lasts and whether it needs a password; on the Plus plan you can also cap how many times it’s downloaded and send it later at a set time. The free plan takes up to 5 GB in one send and keeps a link alive for a week. Afterwards, each send shows how big it was, how many times it’s been downloaded, and how long is left: a gallery of 214 photos, downloaded 26 times, three days to go. If you sent the wrong thing, take the link back and it stops working.
Receiving files is the same link, backwards
If you need someone to send you something, start a request and send them the link. They upload into it without an app or an account, and on Plus you can save what arrives to Google Drive or Dropbox. That is how a photographer gets the raw files from a second shooter, or a small business gets a signed form back.
Questions people ask
Why won't my iPhone send a large video?
Mail has a size limit of roughly 20 MB and offers Mail Drop above it, which only works with iCloud. Messages and WhatsApp compress video heavily and refuse anything over a couple of gigabytes. None of them is built for a 1.6 GB wedding gallery; a link is.
What's the biggest file I can send from an iPhone?
With a transfer link, far bigger than you'll need from a phone. Transferit sends files in small pieces, so a multi-gigabyte video goes up the same way a photo does and carries on from where it stopped if your signal drops.
Does the other person need the app?
No. They tap the link and download, on a phone or a computer, with no app and no account. You need an account to send; nobody needs one to receive.
Can I send photos without losing quality?
Yes, as long as you don't go through a chat app. WhatsApp and Messages re-compress pictures. A transfer link sends the original file exactly as it is on your phone, including the full-size photos from your camera roll.
Can I stop the link working later?
Yes. In Transferit you set a date the link stops working when you send, and you can take it back at any time before then. You can add a password on any plan, and a limit on how many times it's downloaded on Plus.