Have you ever had to send sensitive documents to someone over WhatsApp or Email?

Well, I come across situations like that quite often where I have to share documents and pictures which contain sensitive data like Bank Account number or other financial information.

Sometimes I have to share some document for short period of time like a few minutes or an hour, but still I had to email it and the file stays forever on the other person’s inbox or chat. This is worrisome because, even the other person may not have bad intentions, if their account gets compromised, your information will also be in danger.

So, in order to solve this problem, Mozilla has launched Firefox Send, which lets you share files securely for limited amount of time with ease.

What is Firefox Send and How does it work?

Firefox Send is a secure, End-to-End encrypted file sharing service made by Mozilla.

It is extremely simple and quick to use as well. You just have to open Firefox Send in your browser or Mobile app ( to be released soon), upload your files and submit and you will get a link which you can share it with anyone.

If we keep aside security, Firefox send is extremely easy and quick to use. You don’t even need a Firefox account to share files. Though if you have an account, your upload limit will be increased from 1GB to 2.5GB.

How Firefox Send’s Encryption works?

Firefox Send uses End-to-End encryption (aka Public-key encryption), which as Mozilla claims even they can’t read your files as they don’t store Decryption key (the key which makes it readable) on their servers. This is how it works:

1. First of all, you open Firefox send and add some files to upload and submit it.
2. After you submit, Firefox Send encrypts your files locally in your browser and then uploads it to their cloud storage.
3. Then the key to decrypt (or unlock) the files is added to the download link that you can share with your friend or someone, so that only the Receiver can view the file.

Key Features of Firefox Send

1. End-to-End Encryption – As we have already discussed, Firefox uses End-to-End encryption similar to ProtonMail, WhatsApp and Messenger Secret Conversations. So only you and the person who you have shared the link with can download and view the files.
2. Password protection – If you worried that the link might get into some else hands, you can additionally set a password for the upload to make it more secure. You can then share this password with the person you want to share the files with.
3. Auto Self-destruct – This is my favorite feature. You can set an expiration time for your files like 5 mins, 1 hr, 1 day and a Week. Besides time, you also set a Download limit from 1 – 100 downloads. So after the set time or no. of downloads, which ever happens first the files will be deleted from the server permanently.

Note: Firefox is not a Permanent cloud storage solution like Google Drive or Dropbox. You can keep your files on cloud for a maximum of 7 days after which they will be deleted.

Steps to Upload and Send files to anyone with Firefox Send

As we have seen features of Firefox send, lets us see how you actually send large files to anyone. As I said earlier, it is quite simple and straight forward, easier than Drive or any other cloud storage services.

1. Open send.firefox.com in your Desktop or Mobile browser. (People have reported that Send is not compatible with all browsers, but as I tested it works with Chrome, Firefox and Edge, so prefer these). Mozilla says it will soon launch the Android app too.
2. Once you are on the website, click on “Select files to upload” button and select the files. Or simply and drag and drop the files. (You can upload up to 2.5GB if you sign up, else 1GB is the limit).
3. Now choose the Expiration time and maximum downloads (default is 1 day and 1 download).
4. If you want to set a password for the upload, tick the option “Protect with password” and enter a password.
5. Finally, click Submit. Depending on your file size and your internet speed, it will take some time to upload. Once done, you will get a link to the files you just uploaded.
   

   

Share this link with the person you want to send the files through SMS, Email or WhatsApp message. If you have set a password don’t forget to share that too.

Concluding: Isn’t it better and safe?

Absolutely, Firefox Send is very secure with all the extra security options in addition to strong encryption. It is a go-to option if you want to quickly share large files, not just document but photos, videos and everything. Especially, if you worried about confidential data in the files, Firefox send is the best option.

Even if you aren’t bothered about security, it is still a better option to casually share your Photos and Videos with friends.

Even though with GMail Confidential mode you can set expiration time for files, it has many cons. For an instance, you can only view files online but can’t download or print them. And most importantly it is not End to End encrypted.

So that’s all. I hope this article is helpful. If it is, please show us some love by following us on Instagram and Twitter.