Guides

13 articles on guides from the BetterFileTransfer blog: practical writing on sending large files, link expiry and end-to-end encryption.

Guides10 min read

How to send large files without email getting in the way

Email gives up at around 25 MB, and every workaround costs you something different. Here are the five real ways to get a big file to another person, what each one asks of you and of them, and how to choose.

Aug 21, 2026

Guides4 min read

How to send large files for free, and where the free tiers stop

Every service has a free tier and they are not the same shape. What free actually buys you, the things worth checking besides the size limit, and how to get a big file across today without paying.

Aug 18, 2026

Guides4 min read

How to send a whole folder, with the structure intact

Email cannot attach a folder and most upload widgets flatten one into a pile. Structure is information, so here are the two honest ways to keep it, and the details that trip people up.

Aug 11, 2026

Guides4 min read

How long should a download link last?

Expiry is the most under-used control in file sharing and the one that does the most work: it is the only protection that keeps going after you have lost track of where a link ended up.

Aug 7, 2026

Guides3 min read

Sending large files from a phone, without losing quality

Most large files start on a phone, and the convenient way to send them quietly shrinks everything. What to use on iPhone and Android, and the three settings that keep a long upload alive.

Aug 4, 2026

Guides4 min read

Email attachment size limits, and why your file is bigger than you think

The limits are lower than the numbers suggest, because attachments are encoded as text and grow by a third on the way out. What each provider allows, and why the same file reaches one person and bounces off another.

Jul 31, 2026

Guides4 min read

How long will this upload take?

It is arithmetic, and the mistake almost everyone makes is mixing up megabits and megabytes. The formula, a table to skip it, and why the bar looks frozen when nothing is wrong.

Jul 28, 2026

Guides4 min read

How to send large video files to clients without wrecking them

A minute of 4K can run to several gigabytes, and the fix is usually not compression. How to decide between a review copy and the untouched original, and how to move the original when that is what is needed.

Jul 24, 2026

Guides4 min read

Sharing files with clients: the delivery is part of the work

A client's last impression of a project is often the moment they try to open what you sent. What they should never have to do, how to structure a delivery, and the three-line message that prevents most follow-ups.

Jul 7, 2026

Guides3 min read

Moving files between your own devices

Emailing yourself has become a genuine workflow for millions of people. What to use instead, ordered by the situation you are actually in — same room, different places, or a machine you do not control.

Jun 30, 2026

Guides4 min read

How to share photos without losing quality

Photos arrive softer and greyer than they left because almost every convenient channel re-encodes them on the way through. Where the quality goes, and how to hand over the file you actually started with.

Jun 26, 2026

Guides3 min read

When zipping actually helps, and when it does nothing

Compressing is the reflex when a file is too big, and about half the time it saves nothing at all. One property of the file decides it, and you can predict the answer before you try.

Jun 23, 2026

Guides4 min read

Sending files without an account: what you get and what you give up

Handing one file to one person should not require signing up for anything. Anonymous transfers are still encrypted end to end — but there is one thing you lose that is worth understanding before you rely on it.

Jun 12, 2026