Private and open-source alternatives to WeTransfer
9 file sharing rated against the same public privacy criteria as WeTransfer, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The privacy policy says WeTransfer and its advertising partners place advertising cookies, pixels and SDKs.
- No ads or data sales: no. The service shows ads, including personalized ads when users consent, and shares data with advertising partners.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
- Transparency report: partial. Publishes guidelines for law enforcement requests, but no request counts.
- Tells users about requests: partial. The guidelines say WeTransfer may notify users when permitted or required, without a firm promise.
See the full WeTransfer rating.
The alternatives
OnionShare Grade A
Open source desktop and mobile tool that shares files, hosts websites and runs chat rooms over Tor onion services, directly from the user's device.
OnionShare scores 90 out of 100 (grade A) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
croc Grade B
Open source command-line tool for sending files and folders between two computers using a short code phrase, with end-to-end encryption and a relay server.
croc scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
LocalSend Grade B
Open source app for sending files and messages between nearby devices over the local network, without an internet connection or account.
LocalSend scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Lufi Grade B
Self-hosted web app for uploading and sharing files with end-to-end encryption in the browser, with expiring download links. Written in Perl.
Lufi scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Magic Wormhole Grade B
Open source Python library and command-line tool for sending files, folders and text between computers using short one-time codes, with end-to-end encryption.
Magic Wormhole scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
PairDrop Grade B
Open source web app for sending files and text between devices on the same network or paired devices over WebRTC, usable at pairdrop.net or self-hosted. A fork of Snapdrop.
PairDrop scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Send Grade B
Self-hosted web app for sharing files with end-to-end encryption through expiring links. A community-maintained fork of Mozilla's discontinued Firefox Send.
Send scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Wormhole Grade D
Web service for sending files with end-to-end encryption through a share link, transferred peer-to-peer or through temporary server storage. Run by WebTorrent, LLC.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Wormhole scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 4 of 8 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration and security headers.
SwissTransfer Grade D
Free file transfer service from Infomaniak for sending large files by link or email without an account, with files stored in Switzerland for a limited time.
Based in Switzerland. SwissTransfer scores 47 out of 100 (grade D) on the file sharing criteria. It meets 2 of 8 criteria: no ads or data sales and TLS configuration.