Looking for an effective way to share private documents with your partner securely, quickly and with as little friction as possible? Thankfully, there are plenty of applications and services to help you out. Whether it’s about storing, organizing, or sharing your data, technological advancement has helped us do all of them securely without the stress of data theft or loss.
However, there are several factors to keep in mind while sharing your files with others. All the file-sharing services encrypt your shared files in transit and while storing. This method helps you to prevent third parties and hackers from accessing them. Services have the right to access your files when compelled by law enforcement authorities. So, while sharing links, ensure that they are closely guarded as they act as they are decryption keys that give access to your data. Remember, sharing your private documents with your partner should not be onerous, but requires caution at the same time as they must not reach the hands of any third party.
Before we start sharing private files with our partner, we must first determine the method and protocol to be used in the process. The selection of the platform should be based on the types of files you are sharing and the person who will be receiving them.
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
File Transfer Protocol or FTP is one of the oldest file transferring methods that allows you to share data and information across networks. Known for its reliability and efficiency, FTP actions are processed through a command prompt window. Here, to share or transfer data, you must specify the source file, along with the destination where you want it to send. FTP is a great way to transfer large and unusual file types. FileZilla, Telnet and WinSCP are some of the examples of FTP programs.
- Peer to Peer (P2P)
Want to omit the need for a central server for hosting your data? Consider using Peer to Peer (P2P) file transfer system to share data with your partner. In this method, individuals connect to a shared network of peers and transfer files over their network. The P2P file transferring method is one of the most secure data sharing methods through an online connection. Peer to Peer file transfer works great for sharing files with a small group of people. Some of the popular P2P programs for file sharing are Limewire, Gnutella and BearShare.
- Cloud Services
The advancement of technology has come up with several file storing and transferring options for users, and cloud services are one of them. Here, users can upload their data to a central archive and then can give access to other users to download, upload or manage files on that repository. Here, all the data is hosted by a third-party provider, while users can determine the types of permission to put on the folders and files. Cloud sharing services are known for their fast sharing options and help users to create backups of data. Some most effective and secured cloud sharing services are as follows.
- Google Drive– Google Drive is a cloud storage and sharing service by Google that allows you to store, organise and transfer data with utmost speed, efficiency and security. On opening an account with Google, you get free storage space worth 15GB. You can even split this storage across its different services like Google Drive, Gmail, Google Photos and so on. However, to expand the storage further, you can pick paid plans that start at $2 a month for 100GB. This cloud service enables you to generate links easily and share them with your preferred individuals. Apart from choosing the recipients, this cloud storage system gives you full control to decide whether the files can be just viewed or edited. Google Drive enables you to work on documents, presentations and spreadsheets with other individuals over the web.
- OneDrive– OneDrive is one of Microsoft’s many cloud business products that allows users to back up their data and create shareable folders. Available on the web, Windows, macOS and mobile devices, OneDrive gives its users 5GB of cloud space for free. Moreover, you can upgrade the storage by paying $2 a month for 100GB. Further, you can expand it to 1TB for $7 a month. This cloud storage service lets you sync files or folders in your device to your OneDrive account and share them with the people you want. With this service, you can even set expiry dates for links shared and add passwords for further protection of data. It is a good choice for users who spend a good amount of time in Windows or Office.
- Dropbox– Dropbox is yet another cloud storage and files transferring service that provides you with 2GB of cloud storage. This cloud storage and sharing service enables you to share files across the web. Dropbox comes with a variety of paid plans to extend the storage that starts at $12 a month for 2TB of storage. Apart from the file-sharing feature, Dropbox helps you to sync your files and folders between your primary storage and the cloud. To avail this service, either open this app on the web or download a simplified tool called Dropbox Transfer on your phone or computer to make the sharing process easy and convenient. Dropbox comes with another feature that makes it a superior cloud service is its collaboration feature. While transferring files to your partner using Dropbox, you can provide read-only, editing and other privileges to the person with whom you are sharing the files. Also, the person with whom you are sharing the files need not have a Dropbox account.
- iCloud Drive– iCloud Drive is a cloud storage service by Apple. It is a very effective and secure platform to store and share data with your partner. However, to enjoy its benefits, you must have an Apple device (MAC computer or iOS device). All MAC and iOS devices come along with iCloud Drive that allows its users to sync their files and folders with the drive. It also has family sharing options that enable you to share images, videos and other important documents with your partner and other family members. The only limitation to this cloud storage service is that it allows you to share files with only Apple users.
- WeTransfer– Want to send your partner some valuable or important data without signing up for a service? Then, WeTransfer is the best cloud sharing service to opt for. With WeTransfer, one can share multiple files through a customised link that stays active for seven days by default. This cloud transferring service costs $12 a month and comes with some truly useful features. It allows you to set expiry dates, protects shared passwords and transfers files up to 20 GB at once. If you have a pro account with this service, you can even enjoy permanent storage of 1 TB in the cloud. WeTransfer also provides monitoring tools to its Pro users to check the download history of the files.
Apart from the above-mentioned cloud transferring services, there are many others like SendAnywhere, SugarSync, SecureDocs and so on that allow you to share, store and manage your digital data securely.
- Email Service Providers
Did you know that you can share your personal files with your partner securely through email accounts? Yes, that’s right. When it comes to transferring small files or data that needs explanation, emails are the best media to share data. Apart from sending documents to your partner’s email id, you can create a group email account to share personal and important data with trusted individuals. However, to enjoy the benefits of a group account, you need to share the credentials with your partner, and then you both can send and manage files through this account. Some great examples of email providers include Email, Outlook and Yahoo! Mail.
With the advancement of technology, sharing data with your partner has become easy, fast and convenient. All the above-mentioned methods are effective and secure. So, whether it is your financial and legal document or information about your online accounts, make use of the latest data transferring procedures to make data sharing a breeze!
***
Sources:
https://www.varonis.com/blog/secure-file-sharing/
https://www.wired.com/story/securely-share-files-online/
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/how-do-i-securely-share-files-with-business-partners-341198