Large file cloud sharing, what would you recommend?

Posted by GloomyCamera1487@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 19 comments

I have a small, but critical need to empower few users (5-10) with the ability to upload large files somewhere and send direct links to those files to customers etc.. nothing unique right?

but I'd like it to all be isolated from each other with unique logins under 1 account, also no directory browsing so someone could just poke around, only direct links.

any tips? I realize there's dropbox/onedrive/million others.. I'm not really sure if any offer exactly what I'd like to find.

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slaaark@reddit

Fireload has what you're looking for. It also has direct links as an option for your files, which seems to be critical for you :)

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it sounds like you’re looking for something pretty specific. anon.li Drop might work for secure file sharing without directory browsing, plus it uses end-to-end AES-256-GCM encryption which is a plus if you’re handling sensitive files up to 250GB in size.

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Different-Jury-4764@reddit

For that size range (100–500MB) you’re firmly in “solved problem” territory, thankfully.

If you want isolation + individual logins + no browsing, the cleanest patterns I’ve seen are:

Object storage + scoped credentials (Backblaze B2, S3, Wasabi). Each user gets a key limited to uploads only, and you hand out pre-signed links. No directory listing, no lateral access, very predictable.
SFTP with jailed users if you want dead-simple and boring (which is often good). WingFTP / OpenSSH + chroot works fine for small teams.
Purpose-built file send tools like LiquidFiles or even Egnyte if budget allows you’re mostly paying for UX and guardrails.

If you don’t want to build or script any of this yourself, there are services that sit on top of cloud storage and just handle “upload → generate link → send” without exposing the underlying buckets. Some folks use tools like AllCloudHub for that kind of controlled sharing when they want cloud flexibility without giving users raw storage access.

Personally, I’d avoid Dropbox/Drive for this use case permissions and sharing links get messy fast once multiple users are involved. Boring + scoped access wins here.

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GloomyCamera1487@reddit (OP)

I like the SFTP option, but I worry about recipients not having a clue what an FTP is...

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HawkTradition@reddit

As an SE, bucket is a life-saver. Can't tell you how many times I have pushed from a headless server to our R&D rather than downloading, then uploading.
https://bucketlabs.org

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GloomyCamera1487@reddit (OP)

ty, I'll check it out

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Brilliant-Advisor958@reddit

Have you considered hosting your own Nextcloud instance ?

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GloomyCamera1487@reddit (OP)

yeah, I'm tempted to try this. It's not a bad idea and I have the bandwidth for it.

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chronic414de@reddit

\^ this

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Imhereforthechips@reddit

Liquidfiles.

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malikto44@reddit

I dealt with exactly this. Namely movie files and such. There was the remote studio, my group, and another.

We all used Egnyte with local caching servers. This way, local people could do video and CAD, remote people could do items, and eventually everything syncs up. Not cheap, but it checked off the boxes.

You can do similar with Azure Files and a local Windows Server for an Azure Files cache... but again... $$$.

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goingslowfast@reddit

If you’ve got the budget, Egnyte is great.

It’s user friendly, has a strong permissions set, and is reliable. It’s not cheap.

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fieroloki@reddit

How large are we talking about?

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GloomyCamera1487@reddit (OP)

nothing crazy, just not something you'd email.

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Certain_Climate_5028@reddit

Check out liquidfiles

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pypt@reddit

Please consider our https://aero.zip, it has some unique features such as end-to-end encryption for files of any size (so we can't possibly leak or sell your stuff, which is not what other file sharing providers can say), resumable transfers, and real-time downloads. 2 GB is free, but let me know if you'd like a free trial for a 100 GB plan.

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itminion24@reddit

You should see if your email security provider has an option for it. I know that Mimecast has a large file send feature that allows you to email files up to 2GB. It will send the recipient a link where they can go pick up the file. Never have to leave your email client. Proofpoint may also have something similar.

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badteeth3000@reddit

I’ve done this with google drive or onedrive before … uh, if its larger than those offer.. maybe wetransfer? That said, I work at a 40k+ employee place and for large files we usually use sftp. It has been years since I last used it but I believe it was setup with wingftp .

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ecp710@reddit

We have a Backblaze B2 instance our media team uses, connecting with Cyberduck (they're on mac). You can generate keys and scope them pretty granularly for the users you need to provide access to.