In a world where everything is tracked and where privacy has become a mere word, anonymity is the best alternative to opt for. Even a simple ‘help me write my essay‘ Google search gives out information about you to a third party. If they want to track your activity, let them. Just don’t let them know that it’s you. Well, file sharing is one of those areas where you can gain complete anonymity. There are various websites and software available online that can help you share files anonymously with others. Maybe you want the file to be available temporarily, or you’re wise man aware of the Internet is not a huge digital file dump. Anonymous file sharing is the best for security-conscious people and for those looking for a secure way to share files.
The websites mentioned below not only will let you share files anonymously but also let you encrypt it and make it accessible to others for a limited time period. Secret files, vacation photos, videos and other temporary stuff that doesn’t require to remain on the internet for a long period, all fall into this category. Let’s, have a look at some of the best websites you can use for anonymous file sharing.
1. Firefox Send
Firefox send is a web experiment by Firefox that lets you upload file anonymously without tracking who you are. You can upload a file with the max size of 1GB and it will be available for 24 hours only. The download link will be generated after the upload is complete and you can then share the link with others. The link is encrypted, but, in case if you’re wondering about the file, it doesn’t encrypt the file. You will have to encrypt the file before uploading it.
You can delete the link and the file whenever you want by clicking on Delete File. The file will be immediately inaccessible when you do so. Getting back to the home page will show you a list of all your file uploads and what time is left for them to expire. No cookies or sessions are created to store any of your data and to display such link management. All the data is stored in your local storage.
The web app is open source and is available on GitHub.
2. Tiny Upload
As the name goes Tiny Upload lets you upload small size files and share them anonymously with others. You can upload a file with the max size of 50 MB, but, there’s a catch here. The site lets you upload unlimited files and it will even host it forever on its servers. So, if you’re looking for an anonymous file-sharing site that doesn’t impose time limits than tiny upload is the site to go for.
The upload process is simple. Just choose the file you want to upload and click on upload. A new window will pop up that will show how much time is left for the file to upload. On successful upload, a message should pop up ‘File upload finished’. Don’t close the window that pops up during upload, the upload will fail.
On successful upload, two links will be generated. The first link will be the download link which you can share with others for them to download the file and the second link is to delete the file. Clicking on the delete link will open up a page where you can confirm the delete operation of the file.
There’s one limitation however that you need to learn about. If the file downloaded for more than 100 days then it will be deleted automatically from the servers. Apart from that, everything is unlimited. Their servers are highly optimized to support small files and thus you will get faster download speed in comparison to others.
3. Zippy Share
Zippy Share is another website for anonymous file sharing that doesn’t have any limits on time. The max file size that can be uploaded is 200Mb and the file will be deleted on 30 days of inactivity (ie. if not downloaded within 30 days). You get unlimited disk space, so there’s no limit on how many files you can upload. No limits on file download either. Further up, like other websites, it doesn’t require sign up for upload. However, for better file management, a user account is required on the site.
To upload the file, you can directly drag the file on the website or manually upload it via the HTML uploader. Make sure you check the checkbox ‘Set as Private upload’ to make sure no cookies or sessions are created. After doing so, click on Start Upload and the upload should start. After a successful upload, it will generate the download links.
Zippyshare provides more value to their users by automatically generating links for Forums, HTML, Alt. HTML, Link with name and even HTML embed links. If you look forward to creating an account on the site, you will get access to live stats and more configuration options for your links.
There’s a disadvantage I found for anonymous file sharing on this site is that you can’t manually delete the uploaded file from their servers. To delete the file you will have to set up an account on the site. Apart from that, it is fast, reliable and secure. There’s even a software version of the site which you can download if that interests you.
Also Read: 12 Best Free Image Hosting Websites
4. File.io
You can consider File.io as a Snapchat for file sharing, the difference being that File.io will keep you anonymous and your file secure. Just as Snapchat, your file will be deleted after it is downloaded once. This actually makes your file super secure. The file size limit is 5GB and 100 uploads per day are allowed which is great.
To upload a file, just click on the upload button, select the file and upload will start. The download link will be generated which you can share with the person you want it to download. Keep in mind, that the file will be deleted after it is downloaded once. No file logs or backups are kept of the file on the site servers.
If you are a developer, you can make use of their API to set up your own file upload and download service. If you are not a developer, you can still configure the behaviour of the download link. You can set an expiry date for the link. If the link is not downloaded within the time period then it will delete automatically.
Head over to resttest.com and set the endpoint field to https://file.io/?expires=1w. Here, 1w represents 1 week, so, you can set the expiry time accordingly: 1y = 1 year, 1h = 1 hour, 2 h = 2 hours. Set the Method to POST, Parameter name to File and under Parameter value upload the file. Click on Ajax request and JSON data should be seen on the right panel. You should find the download link under the key “link”.
For generating multiple download link, click on Add Parameter and Add File buttons. For more information, check their FAQ section.
5. Send Space
Send Space is more of a social and more feature-rich site for file sharing. However, you can still anonymously share files with others. Max upload size is 300 Mb and there are no limits on the number of uploads. You can upload files at once and the site will generate download links for the same.
It provides a good user interface where you can set a description even send the file via an Email. After successful upload, it generates links in all types including for forums and embedding HTML. It also provides a delete link, which will delete the file on the confirmation.
For file management, you can further create an account where you can manage and configure all your files. It provides some extra service for the signed-up users which include no limit on file upload size and a custom download page. However, there is a downside that I’d like to mention, that is the site does store cookies on your PC and keeps the track of the guest user (you) that visited their site.
6. Transfer.sh
If you’re a command line geek then this site is for you. Transfer.sh makes use of shell’s cURL command to upload your file to its server and generate download links. The site also provides a command to encrypt the file before upload and decrypt when downloading. You can upload up to 10GB file and it will be available for 14 days only.
To upload the file enter the following command:
$ curl --upload-file ./hello.txt https://transfer.sh/hello.txt
To encrypt and upload the file:
$ cat /tmp/hello.txt|gpg -ac -o-|curl -X PUT --upload-file "-" https://transfer.sh/test.txt
To download and decrypt:
$ curl https://transfer.sh/1lDau/test.txt|gpg -o- > /tmp/hello.txt
You can even create an alias to run the commands in .bashrc or .zshrc:
transfer() {
# write to output to tmpfile because of progress bar
tmpfile=$( mktemp -t transferXXX )
curl --progress-bar --upload-file $1 https://transfer.sh/$(basename $1) >> $tmpfile;
cat $tmpfile;
rm -f $tmpfile;
}
alias transfer=transfer
You can then use:
$ transfer test.txt
Well, the site also provides direct upload from the site itself. You can just drag and drop the files onto the site and the file upload should start. After successful upload, the download link will be generated and you can share it with others for them to download.
7. Expire Box
Expirebox is mainly focused on sharing files anonymously within a limited time period. It provides 200MB of max file size upload and the file gets auto deleted after 2 days. Click on ‘select file’ and choose the file you want to upload.
After successful upload, a download link will be generated. It also provides a delete link, if you want to delete the file from the server for any reason. The link can also be password protected by activating the Password protection. Password will be provided on the label above. The time limit can also be reduced and the number downloads can even be limited. You can set the minimum number of downloads and the file will be deleted automatically when it crosses that limit.
The site does make use of cookies and sessions for social link sharing and sending the link via email. There’s also a sister site of the same service called Filenurse that provides more upload file size and increased time limit.
8. Ge.tt
Ge.tt is one of the most user-friendly anonymous file-sharing sites amongst the list. Comparatively, it provides more details and has all the required option for an anonymous user. The max upload file size is 250MB and the same goes for server storage. The file gets deleted automatically after 30 days of upload. The user can share the link and even remove the file from the server whenever needed.
It provides a good amount of file storage details for anonymous users. The number of files uploaded, server storage left in percentage and how many times the link was downloaded and other details are available on the page. If you happen to like the service, you can even create a free account which will get you an extra 2 gb of storage and the file will stay on the server for a longer time period, unless your account becomes inactive. There are even more options available for premium users.
9. File Dropper
File Dropper is one of the most simplistic websites on the list whose main purpose is to share files anonymously for its users. Just upload the file and the link will be generated. An embedded link is also generated that allows users to embed the link to other sites for downloading. You can upload a file of max size 5GB on their server and regarding the time limit, no details have been mentioned on their site. They also provide options for login which gives the functionality of file management and other premium only features.
10. Anonymous File Upload Dropbox and Google Drive
Dropbox even provides anonymous file sharing but in a different way. It has a service called ‘File Request‘ which allows other known or unknown users (anonymous) to upload files to the directory that you have set in ‘File Request’. To create such directory on your Dropbox, click on ‘Create a File Request’ and give a name to the directory. A link will be generated which you can share with people want to upload.
Even anonymous users can upload to this directory if they have access to the URL. It can be helpful for students to upload assignments, designers to send mockups and for your friends to upload photos. A similar feature is available on Google drive. You can make use of Google forms and let other upload their files to your specified directory. For further information on anonymous file sharing using Google drive go here.
11. Uploadfiles.io
Uploadfiles.io is a popular file-sharing website that even provides anonymous sharing of files. You can upload a file of max size 5GB and the time limit for the file to auto delete can be set by you. The site automatically encrypts the file for you and generates the link. You can set the auto delete to 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week or a month. You can even share it on social media with the social links provided. If you like the service, you can even become a premium user, where there are no restrictions and you’ll get more control over file management.
12. Drop Canvas
Drop Canvas provides a new way for you to share files. It gives you a canvas where you can upload, delete and edit files as per your needs. Just drag and drop your file and link for download will be generated. You can name each and every canvas you create and even manage them based on the cookies that are stored in your local storage by the site. It also provides a lock feature where you can password protect a canvas and set an expiry date for the same. Drop Canvas can be best used for photos and videos as you can directly preview them on your canvas.
Conclusion
Anonymous file sharing sites are best used while sharing links on forums, discussion boards, social media and other such online destinations where you want to share the file and hide your identity at the same time. Apart from that, these file sharing sites also provide a way to auto delete files after a certain period of time. This not only gives you privacy but also keeps the internet clean from junk files.
Sharing temporary files using cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive doesn’t make sense. They’ll stay there forever until you manually delete them. Also, if you want to share secret files then many of the above sites provide encryption which will keep your file getting exposed into wrong hands.
So, these were some of the best anonymous file sharing sites that you can use to send file privately without revealing your identity. If you happen to know any other such sites then do mention them down in the comments.
Also Read: 10 Best Image Sharing Sites