With the effects of the pandemic rippling across the globe, it’s no surprise that our work and school environments have changed dramatically. Our Zoom usage is skyrocketing, our team meetings are happening on Slack, and even our casual chats with friends have gone digital.
This, of course, can make Gmail’s standard 15MB attachment size seem pretty laughable.
Whether you’re working on a video together or you’re trying to share photos of your last in-person outing, it’s hard to know how to send big files to friends online. Fortunately, there are plenty of options to help you get around the traditional email limits. Here’s what you need to know to get those big files safely to your friend’s computer.
1. Use Your Cloud Storage
If you have access to a free cloud storage service, you may already have your files stored in the cloud. If this is the case, you can simply go into the sharing settings to give your friend access.
Of course, most cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox offer limited storage, often ranging from just 2GB to 15GB of data. This means you may not have the space you need to save or upload your files to the cloud.
If this is the case, you’d need to pay for a premium tier, which can cost you a pretty penny. That said, most services offer monthly plans in the $10-15 dollar range, which could allow you to subscribe, upload your files, and then cancel the service if the files are time-sensitive.
2. Change the File Type
One of the easiest and most obvious ways to send a big file to a friend is to make it smaller. This can be the most straightforward option if you’re sending a large volume of files that are a single file type.
For example, if you’re sending over bulky spreadsheet data, CSV files will almost always be smaller than their XLSX cousins. When you need to share images, a PNG can sometimes be larger than a PDF. PDFs, in turn, can often be larger than JPEGs, which are an ideal choice because they’re so easy to compress, as long as you don’t mind a loss in image quality!
In other words, sending large files gets much easier if you know what to expect in terms of size, on average, from the file types you’re working with. When you need an easy conversion to send big files for free, a conversion tool that works with common file types can help.
Once you’ve changed the file type, you may be able to simply send the smaller files to your friend via email.
3. Compress Your Files
If you’re sending an uncommon file type, if you don’t want to convert hundreds of files, or if your converted files are still too large to send, you may need another option. That’s where file compression comes in.
Most file compression tools allow you to shrink a file size in seconds to minutes. One popular and free option is 7-Zip, which works across multiple platforms. Though you’ll need to download it to compress your files, your friend should be able to open and access them without downloading additional software.
One perk of using a compression tool is an extra layer of safety: with many of these tools, you can require a password to open the compressed folder. This ensures that only your friend can access any sensitive content you send over.
4. Use a File Transfer Site
Third-party file transfer sites can be an efficient way of sending a larger file online, especially when the data is too large for a simple email. With this type of service, the website will store the file online on your behalf, sending a download link to your friend so they can access the files at their convenience.
Of course, this option requires payment—though the price will depend on which site you work with and the size of your files. Most will charge you a subscription fee of a few dollars per month for around 10GB of storage, though you can pay upwards of $20 for 25GB or more.
5. Send or Bring Them a Physical Drive
If you don’t mind doing a delivery yourself, or if you’re willing to pay for mailing services, you may want to consider sending a physical storage system to your friend. This can range from a small 16GB flash drive to a hefty 2 TB hard drive.
One obvious perk of this option is that you may already have these storage systems on hand, meaning you won’t have to put down any extra money to send the file. In addition, using a USB or drive to store larger files you’re working on can extend your computer’s data storage, which can help it run faster and ease its strain.
The disadvantage, of course, is that you’ll have to physically transfer the files to your friend. This can be an issue if you’re worried about the device traveling across long distances, or if you’ll need to send it back and forth multiple times.
Share Big Files With Your Friends and Beyond
Whether you’re sharing photos with a friend or sending a huge presentation to a coworker, knowing how to share big files is key. Getting around the standard email attachment size limit doesn’t have to be hard, as long as you know your way around a few common file types and transfer methods.
If you’re ready to share your precious data online, make sure you have access to an easy file converter! Offdrive is the perfect free resource for converting all of your common files, so get started today to share more of your files with friends.