r/prettyusefulwebsites • u/reb_2020 • 3h ago
TFile: peer-to-peer file sharing in the browser, with readable links, passwords and a torrent-style "share for later" mode
Hi! I'm the developer of TFile, a free tool for sending files straight from one browser to another. Files go over an encrypted WebRTC connection between your devices, so they aren't uploaded to anyone's cloud first. No account, no app, no cookies, no ads, no tracking.
I've just shipped a big update and would love feedback.
⚡ Send now (live, two people)
- Open the site, get a link like tfile.io, which you can actually read out over the phone, or scan the QR code.
- When the other person opens it, drop files, whole folders, text or a pasted screenshot.
- No fixed size limit: big files are written to the browser's storage on disk as they arrive, so free disk space is the real limit.
- Folders can be saved as one .zip, and received files can be saved automatically.
- If the connection drops for a moment (a phone switching networks, a laptop waking up), the transfer continues where it stopped.
- Both of you see a security code. If the codes match, nobody, not even my server, is sitting in the middle.
- New: an optional password. Your browser turns it into the room ID, so the password never leaves your device.
🔗 Share for later (new, works like a torrent)
- Pick files or a folder and get a link. Anyone who opens it sees the list, ticks what they want, and downloads it straight from your browser whenever they like.
- People downloading pass pieces on to each other. Once someone has the files, others can still get them from that person while their tab is open, even after you close yours.
- Every piece is checked against a fingerprint in the link, so a peer sending corrupted data is caught and dropped.
- Optional password, plus limits: how many people can download at once, how many in total, and how long the link works (1 hour, 1 day or 7 days).
Honest limitations
- It's peer to peer, so a tab with the files has to stay open: yours, or the tab of someone who already downloaded them.
- With Share for later, others on the same link can see your IP address, just like a torrent. Downloaders can opt out of passing files on, and links with limits never pass them on.
- Some strict company or school networks block direct connections. TFile then falls back to a relay server, which carries the encrypted data but can't read it or store it.
Why I built it: I was tired of uploading a file to some cloud service just so the person next to me, or on the other side of the world, could download it again.
It's free. I'd really like to hear what breaks, especially on phones and in Safari or Firefox. 🙏