Mozilla officially launches Firefox Send

Mozilla's Firefox Send, a browser-based encrypted one-to-one file sharing platform, has officially migrated from Test Pilot beta to full product - and is available to those running any browser, not just Firefox.

First unveiled back in August 2017 as a Test Pilot programme, Firefox Send was designed to make it as simple as possible to share files with friends and colleagues. 'Sending files over the internet is something many of us do everyday. Mozilla makes it easy to keep your files safe,' claimed Mozilla's Nick Nguyen at the time. 'With Send, your files self-destruct after download, so they can’t be accessed by anyone else. Your files are encrypted during transmission. Plus, Send encrypts files on the client side, so that not even Mozilla can read them.'

Test Pilot programmes are Mozilla's way of trying out new functionality, whether standalone products or browser features, in beta form. There's never any guarantee that a Test Pilot will result in a final product launch, but Firefox Send has apparently proven popular enough to graduate to a full commercial release.

'At Mozilla, we are always committed to people’s security and privacy,' Nguyen explains of the reason behind the full launch. 'It’s part of our long-standing Mozilla Manifesto. We are continually looking for new ways to fulfil that promise, whether it’s through the browser, apps or services. So, it felt natural to graduate one of our popular Test Pilot experiments, Firefox Send. Send is a free encrypted file transfer service that allows users to safely and simply share files from any browser. Now that it’s a keeper, we’ve made it even better, offering higher upload limits and greater control over the files you share.'

The full version of Firefox Send, which does not require Firefox to use, has the same 1GB file size limit as its predecessor for unregistered users accessing the service anonymously; those willing to register for a free Firefox account, meanwhile, have this limit increased to 2.5GB. As before, the system is designed as a one-to-one or one-to-few sharing system: Any files uploaded are encrypted such that Mozilla can't view them or disclose their contents to anyone else and expire after a time limit or user-selected number of downloads - up to 100 per file - is reached. For those seeking extra privacy, shared files can also be locked with a passphrase.

Firefox Send is live now on its official subdomain, with the promise of an Android app landing in beta form some time later this week.