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Firefox Send lets you share 1GB files with no strings attached

The service is part of Mozilla's privacy push.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Stephen Shankland
2 min read
Stephen Shankland/CNET

In 2017, Mozilla experimented with a service that let you transfer 1GB files by sharing a web address with the recipient. Firefox Send is now out of testing and boasts a magnified 2.5GB file-size limit if you log into your Firefox account.

Firefox Send is handy for those moments when you need to share video, audio or photo files that can be too big to squeeze into an email attachment.

Other services, like Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and WeTransfer, already exist. But if you don't already subscribe to them, those services can be a hassle. Firefox Send gets around that issue, at least for files 1GB of smaller. (To get the maximum 2.5GB file size, you'll have to set up a Firefox account.)

Firefox Send, which will also be available as an Android app, illustrates one of Mozilla's efforts to diversify beyond the Firefox browser. The nonprofit organization, whose mission is to empower people online and protect privacy , has also been engaged with net neutrality politics, Facebook privacy and other issues.

Though the number of users is gradually dwindling, Mozilla launched a Firefox rejuvenation project called Firefox Quantum that has sped up the browser. Firefox Send dovetails with that project, an adjacent effort to offer services to members to advance Mozilla's mission.

Mozilla touts Firefox Send as focusing on privacy and uses encryption to protect files. "Since nothing lingers in the cloud, your personal information stays private," Mozilla said in an Firefox Send explanatory video.

Firefox Send files are available for up to seven days and can be password-protected. You can also limit the number of times they're downloaded.