How to Transfer Big Files with WeTransfer

WeTransfer is a no-frills file transfer service that enables you to send big files to friends or colleagues very easily. The free WeTransfer service enables you to send files up to 2GB in size; WeTransfer Plus users can send files up to 10GB in size. To use the free service, you don’t need to set up an account.

You don’t have to send files just to someone else; you can also send them to yourself. Say you need to send home a big video file from work. Just use your work e-mail as the From address and your personal e-mail as the To address. Your file will be waiting for you to download when you get home.

Here’s how to transfer big files using the free WeTransfer service (see Figure 1 for reference):

1. Open a Web browser and go to www.wetransfer.com.

2. The first time you visit WeTransfer, you’ll likely see a promotion for WeTransfer Plus. If you’re not interested, click Skip.

3. Again, the first time you visit WeTransfer, you’ll see the Terms and Conditions dialogue box. Click I Agree to move on. You shouldn’t see this dialogue box again, unless you use a different Web browser or your clear your browser cookies.

4. In the Send Up to 2GB dialogue box, click the +Add Files button and navigate to the file you want to transfer. After you add that file, you can click the +Add More Files button to attach other files. You can also see the amount of transfer capacity you have left.

5. Click +Friend’s Email and type in the e-mail address of the person you’re sending the file to. You can include up to 20 e-mail addresses.

6. Click +Your Email and type in your e-mail address.

7. Click in the Message text box to write an optional message to your recipient.

8. Click Transfer.

   

   Figure 1: Transferring files with WeTransfer.

And that’s it! Your friend or colleague will receive an e-mail with your message and a download link. WeTransfer will then let you know when the recipient has downloaded the file.

WeTransfer is a cloud storage service, which means it stores your files on its own servers so that the person you’re sending them to can download them. As with any cloud storage service, be careful with what you share, because cloud storage services have been hacked in the past. Luckily, with the free WeTransfer service, your files stay on WeTransfer’s servers for only seven days, so the window of opportunity for someone to hack into them is small.