Send Large Files Free — P2P File & Text Sharing
Send large files and share text for free, right in your browser. Create a room, pass on its name, link or QR code, and hand over text and files directly between phone and computer or to someone else. Peer-to-peer, so nothing is stored on a server.
Ways to hand over files compared
Sending peer to peer requires both sides to have the page open at the same time, but in return no copy of your data is left anywhere. Pick whichever suits the job.
| Aspect | This tool (direct P2P) | Cloud transfer services | Email attachment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | Nowhere — it flows directly between browsers | Stored on the provider's servers for a period | Kept on both the sender's and recipient's mail servers |
| Size limit | Depends on the receiving device (desktop Chrome and Edge write straight to disk) | Set by each service | Typically around 20–25 MB |
| When it can be received | Only while the sender has the page open too | Any time before it expires | Any time |
| What you tell the other person | A room name, link or QR code | A download URL | Their email address (needed beforehand) |
| Best for | Moving things between your own devices or to someone right there | Hand-offs at different times | Sending small files |
What is P2P file sending and text sharing?
This tool lets you hand over text and files on the spot using WebRTC, the browser technology that connects two browsers directly. Creating a room gives you a random 8-character room name; as soon as the other person joins with the same name, the two of you (or more) can exchange text and files. There is nothing to install and no account to create, and the same steps work across different devices — phone and computer, Windows and Mac, Android and iPhone.
Unlike cloud transfer services, the data you send is never stored on any server. A server is only involved as a broker that helps the browsers find each other and set up the connection; the actual text and files are encrypted and travel directly between participants' browsers. A room exists only while someone is in it, and when the last person leaves, the room name and everything shared disappear. The trade-off is that the receiver needs to have the page open at the same time as the sender. If you need to hand something over at a different time, a cloud storage service is the better fit.
How to send files and text peer to peer
- Create a room Leave “Create a room” selected and press “Create room with this name”. A random 8-character room name is filled in automatically, but you can type your own instead.
- Tell the other person the room Send the URL with “Share link”, or have them scan the “QR code” with their phone. You can also simply say the room name aloud and have them enter it under “Join a room”.
- Send text Paste your text into the “Text to share” box and press “Send”. The receiver can put it straight onto their clipboard with the “Copy” button on each post.
- Send and receive files Choose or drop files and a “Receive” button appears on the other person's screen. Once they press it, the transfer starts, and when it finishes they can save the file with “Save”.
- Leave when you are done Press “Leave” or close the tab to exit the room. When everyone has left, the room disappears and nothing you shared remains.
Tips for getting more out of it
- While a transfer is running, do not turn off your phone's screen or switch to another app. The browser may pause and the connection can drop.
- For very large files of several gigabytes, receive them with desktop Chrome or Edge. You choose where to save first and the data is written straight to disk, so it does not fill up the device's memory.
- To send a whole folder, bundle it into one file first with the ZIP compressor — it saves the receiver a lot of clicks.
- People who join later still see the text that was sent earlier. Files can be fetched with “Receive” at any time, as long as the sender is still in the room.
When P2P file and text sharing comes in handy
Send photos and videos from phone to computer
Move photos and videos you took on your phone to your computer without a cable or cloud sync. Create a room on the computer, scan the QR code with your phone and start sending.
Pass long text or URLs between computers
Copy meeting notes, URLs or the contents of a config file from a meeting-room PC to your own laptop. Nothing temporary is left behind in a chat app.
Swap documents with someone in front of you
At a meeting, exchange documents even with someone whose contact details you do not have. You only say the room name aloud, so there is no need to share email addresses or social media accounts.
Hand over files too big for email
Pass videos or design files that exceed attachment limits directly, without uploading them to the cloud. It also suits confidential files that you would rather not leave on an outside server.
P2P file transfer terms
- P2P (peer to peer)
- A way of communicating in which devices exchange data directly as equals instead of going through a server. In this tool, the actual text and files travel peer to peer between participants' browsers.
- WebRTC
- The standard technology that lets browsers talk to each other directly without plug-ins. It is best known for video calls, but it also has a DataChannel for sending arbitrary data, which is what this tool uses.
- Signalling
- The step before a P2P connection in which both sides exchange connection details such as supported formats and candidate addresses. Only this brokering uses a server, and it never carries the text or files you send.
- STUN
- A mechanism for finding out your IP address and port as seen from outside your router. It helps devices on different networks discover a route to reach each other directly. It does not relay any data.
- NAT
- The mechanism by which a home or office router connects several internal devices to the outside world through one public IP address. Certain combinations of NAT types prevent a direct P2P connection from forming.
- DTLS
- The protocol that encrypts WebRTC data. It is a version of TLS — the encryption behind HTTPS websites — adapted for packet-based communication. Encryption is mandatory in WebRTC and cannot be turned off.
Frequently asked questions
Side Note — How two devices on the same Wi-Fi end up talking “directly”
Connecting browsers directly sounds simple, but most devices on the internet do not have a public IP address of their own. Home and office routers use a mechanism called NAT to send many internal devices out to the internet through a single address. From the outside it is impossible to tell which device a packet is meant for, so normally you cannot just start talking to the other side.
WebRTC works around this by asking a STUN server what its own address and port look like from outside, and then swapping that information with the other side. When both sides send packets to each other's address at almost the same moment, each router treats the incoming packets as replies to traffic sent from inside and lets them through. The technique is called UDP hole punching, and it is a classic trick that online games and internet telephony have used for years. Devices on the same Wi-Fi network connect using the addresses inside the router, so the data does not even pass through the internet and arrives faster.
The trick does not always work, though. NATs that pick a new outgoing port for every connection (symmetric NAT), and the carrier-grade NAT that mobile operators use to put many customers behind one address, can defeat it. Mainstream video-call services prepare relay servers called TURN for these cases and pass the traffic along on the users' behalf. This tool deliberately does not use a relay because keeping your data off servers comes first, so in a small number of environments a direct connection will not form. Since WebRTC became an official W3C and IETF standard in January 2021, all of this machinery has been built into every modern browser.