Tips & Guides
Guides, workarounds, and comparisons for sharing files online.
Pillars
Long-form, deeply-researched pieces on the systems behind file sharing.
How POPIA and GDPR Actually Apply to File Sharing→
What the laws actually require of a file-sharing tool, walked through article by article. GDPR Articles 5, 6, 13, 17, 28, 32, 33 against POPIA Sections 8, 14, 19, 22, 72. Plus a five-question checklist you can run on any tool's privacy policy. With diagrams and 13 primary-source citations.
What Actually Happens to Your Files After 7 Days→
Annotated lifecycle of an upload, explained against real object-storage mechanics. Automated expiry, DynamoDB TTL, what "deleted" really means, and how to read any tool's retention claim. With diagrams and 10 primary-source citations.
Guides
How to share files without the headaches.
How to Send Large Files for Free in 2026→
We tested 22 file transfer services and wrote down what worked and what didn't. From WeTransfer and SwissTransfer to encrypted and peer-to-peer options.
Send Large Files to Clients Without Looking Unprofessional→
Your client doesn't care what service you used. They care that it worked. Login walls, compression, expired links, and what to use instead.
No-Sign-Up File Sharing: What They Still Track→
You skipped the sign-up form, but that doesn't mean you're invisible. We read 10 privacy policies and found everything from zero trackers to Facebook Pixel and 36-month data retention.
Terminal & curl
Getting files off machines you only have a shell on.
How to Upload a File With curl (One Command, No API Key)→
curl -T yourfile https://ul.sto.care returns a shareable link. Every way to upload a file from the terminal, with scripting recipes, CI examples, and what replaced transfer.sh.
transfer.sh Alternative: The Same curl -T Upload, Still Working in 2026→
transfer.sh stopped answering on port 443, though its code is still maintained. The same curl -T workflow with no key or signup, and the one-line migration for scripts still pointing at it.
file.io Alternative for curl Uploads (Without the One-Download Limit)→
file.io deletes a file after its first download, and its documented curl API now redirects instead of accepting uploads. A curl upload that survives being shared.
0x0.st Alternative: curl Uploads That Don't Hang Around for a Year→
0x0.st keeps a small file for close to a year and its terms rule out CI artifacts and automated uploads. For logs and dumps you want gone in days, here is a 72-hour link.
Limits & Workarounds
The real limits on the platforms you already use.
Gmail Attachment Limit in 2026: The Real Limit After Encoding→
Gmail says 25 MB but base64 encoding means the real limit is closer to 18 MB. What changed for Enterprise Plus, why your 20 MB file fails, and what to do about it.
Outlook Attachment Limit in 2026: 20 MB, 25 MB, or 150 MB?→
Outlook's real limit depends on which Outlook you're using. Free Outlook.com is 25 MB, desktop is 20 MB, Microsoft 365 business goes up to 150 MB. And the new Outlook silently uploads large files to OneDrive.
Discord File Upload Limit in 2026: It's 20 MB Now, Not 10→
Discord raised the free upload limit to 20 MB in August 2026, but most articles still say 10 MB. The real limits per tier, what files won't fit, and how to share big files for free.
Slack File Size Limit in 2026: 1 GB Per File, But...→
Slack allows 1 GB per file and no longer publishes a storage quota for any plan. What it does document on the free plan is a clock: files older than 90 days disappear, and after a year they're deleted for good.
Slack Storage Full? How to Find and Delete the Files Eating It→
Slack stopped publishing a storage quota, so the 5 GB figure everyone quotes is gone from its docs. What it documents now, how to rank your files by size when the app has no sort button, and the retention setting that stops it recurring.
WhatsApp File Size Limit in 2026: 2 GB, But Your Photos Still Get Crushed→
WhatsApp raised its file limit to 2 GB in 2022, but if you're sending photos or videos as media, they're still compressed hard. The 2 GB cap only applies cleanly to documents. Here's the workaround.
Microsoft Teams File Size Limit in 2026: 250 GB, If You Know Where It Lives→
Teams lets you upload files up to 250 GB, but it doesn't store them. Every file lives in SharePoint or OneDrive depending on where you uploaded it. The storage model, quotas, and when it's easier to skip Teams.
Comparisons
How the alternatives stack up.