Transferit
What to look for in an app that sends large files
A good app for sending large files does five things: uploads in pieces so a dropped signal doesn't start you over, gives you one link that works for anyone with no app or account on their side, lets you set when the link expires, lets you add a password and a download limit, and shows you whether the file was actually downloaded. Most apps do two or three of these. Here is why each one matters.
1. Uploads that survive a dropped signal
A 1.6 GB gallery takes a while on a phone, and phones move between Wi-Fi and 4G, go through tunnels, and get put in pockets. An app that sends the file as one piece has to start again when any of that happens. One that sends it in small pieces picks up from the last piece that arrived. Transferit does the second, and keeps sending after you leave the app, so you press send and get on with your day.
2. One link, no app on the other side
The person you send to is a client, a relative, a printer, a solicitor. They should not have to install anything or make an account to receive a file from you. The test is simple: can they open it on a work laptop with nothing installed? With a Transferit link they tap, see the files, and download.
3. You decide how long it lasts
A file you sent a client in March should not still be downloadable from a forwarded email in November. Set an expiry when you send; if you need to pull it earlier, take the link back and it stops working that moment. Expired sends move out of the way into their own list, so your sent list stays readable.
4. Passwords and download limits
A link can be forwarded. A password means the link alone isn’t enough. A download limit means a link meant for one person can’t quietly become a link for forty. Transferit offers passwords on every plan; download limits and sending later at a set time come with Plus.
5. Proof it arrived
“Did you get the files?” is the message every photographer and editor is tired of sending. Each send in Transferit shows its size, how many times it’s been downloaded, and the days left. If the count says 26 downloads, the gallery got there.
Two things you might not think to ask for
Receiving. Sometimes you’re the one who needs the files. A request link lets anyone upload into it, no account, and on Plus you can save what arrives straight to Google Drive or Dropbox.
Signing. A contract is just a file with a different ending. Transferit sends a PDF out for signature the same way it sends anything else: mark where they sign, send the link, get back a signed copy with an extra page recording who signed, when and on what device. Your original isn’t changed.
How the files are kept
Files go straight from your phone to storage; the server in between only ever handles the paperwork, meaning who sent what to whom and when. Every link is a long random code nobody can guess. It works on iPhone, iPad and Android, and on a Mac.
Questions people ask
What's the best app to send large files from a phone?
The one built for phones rather than adapted from a website. That means sending straight from Photos and Files with the share button, uploads that carry on in the background and survive a dropped signal, and a link the other person can open on anything. Transferit was made for exactly that.
Does the person receiving need an account?
They shouldn't. The whole point of a link is that it works for anyone. In Transferit nobody needs an account to download or to upload into a request you started; only the person sending signs in.
How big a file can these apps send?
Apps that send in small resumable pieces have no practical limit from a phone. Limits usually come from free plans rather than the technology. Transferit's free plan takes 5 GB in one send with links that last a week; Plus, at £6.99 a month, takes 100 GB in one send with links that last a month.
Is it safe to send files by link?
If the link is a long random code nobody can guess, and you can add a password and an expiry, yes. The risk with any link is that it gets forwarded, which is what the download limit and the ability to take a link back are for.
Can I see if they downloaded it?
In Transferit, yes. Every send shows how many times the link has been downloaded and how long until it stops working, so you're never left wondering whether to send it again.