File transfer

ImageTome vs WeTransfer

WeTransfer is the easiest way to send a large file to somebody, and that is a real achievement. It is also a service that holds your files in a form it can read, funds itself partly through advertising and data sharing, and in 2025 briefly granted itself permission to train AI models on what you uploaded.

WeTransfer is a delivery van with a window. We are a locked box that only the recipient has a key for.

Side by side

How ImageTome compares with WeTransfer
Criterion	ImageTome	WeTransfer
Encryption model	ImageTome End-to-end. AES-256-GCM in the browser, before upload.	WeTransfer TLS in transit and AES-256 at rest. Not end-to-end. WeTransfer manages the keys.
Who holds the keys	ImageTome You. An RSA-4096 private key generated on your device and never sent to us.	WeTransfer WeTransfer.
What an account needs	ImageTome A username. No email address, no password, no phone number.	WeTransfer None required on the free tier, but an email address for you and your recipient.
If you lose access	ImageTome Nothing we can do. Your exported key backup is the only route back in.	WeTransfer Not applicable. Transfers expire, typically within days.
Filenames and titles	ImageTome Encrypted. Tome names, descriptions, filenames, titles and post bodies.	WeTransfer Filenames, sizes and both email addresses are readable.
Content scanning	ImageTome None, and none is possible. Nothing here is detected proactively, because nothing can be read.	WeTransfer Files are scanned. The privacy policy permits sharing data with service providers and advertising partners.
Video	ImageTome MP4 and WebM up to 200MB, with thumbnails generated and encrypted in the browser.	WeTransfer Large files on the free tier, with a monthly cap and short expiry.
Sharing	ImageTome Invite by username. The tome key is wrapped with their public key.	WeTransfer A download link by email or copied URL. Anyone with the link can download.
Discussion	ImageTome Encrypted comments on posts, images and videos.	WeTransfer None.
Verifying the claim	ImageTome Open your network tab during an upload and read what is actually sent.	WeTransfer You cannot. The keys are held by the service.

CHECKED 30 AUG 2026 · SOURCES LISTED BELOW

Convenience has a shape, and the shape is readable files

WeTransfer encrypts in transit with TLS and at rest with AES-256, and manages the keys itself. That means WeTransfer staff, or anyone who breaches WeTransfer, can technically read what you sent. It also means the files can be scanned, which is how content policies are enforced.

The free tier caps you at a few gigabytes a month across a limited number of transfers, and files expire after a few days. It is a courier, not a place to keep things.

The 2025 terms of service episode

In July 2025 WeTransfer updated its terms with a clause permitting it to use uploaded content to train machine learning models. The reaction was immediate and the company reversed the change within days, saying the wording had been unclear.

It is fair to say WeTransfer listened, and fair to note that it could write that clause at all. A licence to use your files is only meaningful if the files can be read. Where a service holds no key, the terms of service cannot reach the content, because there is nothing to grant a licence over. That is the difference between a policy promise and a structural one.

Sending versus keeping

These are not quite the same product, and pretending otherwise would be unfair to both. WeTransfer moves a file from you to someone else and then forgets it.

A tome keeps things. The wedding photographs stay there, the comments underneath them stay there, and the people you invited keep their access until you remove it. Everything is encrypted under one AES-256-GCM key wrapped individually for each member with RSA-4096, and no link exists that could be forwarded to somebody you did not invite.

When WeTransfer is the better choice

If your recipient will not create an account, WeTransfer works and we do not. This is the single biggest practical advantage it has.
For a one-off delivery of a very large file, its size limits are far more generous than our 200MB per video.
It requires nothing to be learned, installed or backed up. Our key backup is a real obligation that WeTransfer does not put on you.

ImageTome and WeTransfer, asked and answered

No. WeTransfer encrypts files in transit with TLS and at rest with AES-256, but manages the keys itself, so it can access file contents. Its own documentation does not claim end-to-end encryption.

In July 2025 it added a terms clause permitting the use of uploaded content for machine learning, reversed it within days after public backlash, and said the wording had been unclear. The relevant point for a comparison is that a service holding your keys is able to make such a change at all.

If the recipient can create an account, ImageTome encrypts images and video in your browser before upload and grants access by key exchange. If they cannot, an encrypted archive sent through any channel is the more practical answer.

No. A tome stays until you delete it. When you do delete it, it is gone, with no trash and no recovery window.

Sources

Claims about WeTransfer were checked against the sources above on 30 August 2026. Products change. If something here is out of date or wrong, we would rather fix it than keep it.

Other comparisons

Mainstream cloud photos

Try the version where nobody holds your key.

One username, one tome, and a look at your own network tab to check we mean it.

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