About this service

SecureFile is a free file-transfer service run by PAPS (a certified non-profit organization). No account is required.

Why it is public

PAPS has used this system to exchange evidence images and data securely with lawyers and law-enforcement agencies. Ordinary means of contact such as email offer almost no way to protect a file in transit: attachments sit in plaintext on servers along the way, and a message sent to the wrong address cannot be recalled.

That problem is familiar to everyone. So we have opened the service to the public, for anyone who needs to send sensitive files safely.

How your files are protected

Each uploaded file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a random key (a data-encryption key) generated just for that share. Files are split into fixed-size blocks that are each encrypted and authenticated, so tampering or corruption in storage can be detected.

That data-encryption key is not stored as-is. It is wrapped (encrypted) with a key derived from the password you set (or that was generated) using Argon2id. The password itself is stored nowhere on the server.

This means even the server administrator cannot read a file's contents without the password. File names are encrypted with the same key, so the contents cannot be guessed from the name either.

The flip side of this design is that if the password is lost, there is no way to recover the file. Not even PAPS can recover it.

Transport security

All communication between the browser and the server is encrypted with TLS (HTTPS). The pages load no third-party analytics, and the server's logging is configured to avoid recording share links in access logs.

When files are deleted

Files are deleted automatically when the retention period set by the sender passes, or when the download limit is reached. Deletion is run periodically by a time-based process, so even a file that nobody ever opens is deleted on schedule.

If the sender allows it, the recipient can also delete the files themselves, right after downloading.

What we record

To handle rights infringement and requests for sender-information disclosure, we record and retain the uploader's IP address. If illegal or harmful material is posted, we may disclose this to the relevant authorities or rights holders.

About large files

Uploads are sent in small parts, so if the connection drops partway through, it resumes automatically from where it left off. Even on a mobile connection you do not have to start over. Downloads can resume from an interruption too.