Every time you upload a file to a sharing service, you’re making a choice about who can see it. Not just who you share the link with - but whether the service itself, its employees, government agencies, hackers, and AI training models can access your data.
Most people assume their files are private. They’re not.
The uncomfortable truth is that most popular file sharing services can read everything you upload. And they do.
The Illusion of Privacy
When you drag a file into Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer, or most other services, you’re not just sharing it with your intended recipient. You’re also sharing it with:
The service provider - who can access your files anytime to scan for copyright violations, train AI models, or sell insights to advertisers.
Their employees - including engineers, customer support, and potentially others with database access.
Their business partners - third-party services they integrate with, analytics companies, advertising networks.
Government agencies - via warrants, national security letters, or mass surveillance programs.
Hackers - if (when) the service gets breached, your unencrypted files are exposed.
Future owners - if the company gets acquired, their new owners inherit access to all your data.
This isn’t hypothetical. It happens every day.
What Services Actually See
Let’s be specific about what most file sharing services can access:
File contents: They can open and read your documents, view your photos, watch your videos.
Metadata: File names, sizes, types, when uploaded, when accessed, who downloaded them.
Access patterns: Who you share with, how often, what types of files, geographic locations.
Link to your identity: Usually tied to your email, phone number, IP address, and payment information.
They don’t just have the technical ability to see this. Their business models often require it.
The Business Model Problem
If a service is free and shows ads, they’re monetizing your data. That means:
- Scanning your files to show “relevant” advertisements
- Building user profiles based on your content
- Potentially selling insights to data brokers
- Training AI models on your uploads
Even paid services may scan your files for “security purposes” or to “improve their service” - vague language that means they’re looking at your data.
The fundamental problem: their business interests conflict with your privacy.
Real-World Privacy Failures
These aren’t theoretical concerns. Here are actual examples:
Google Photos - Uses uploaded photos to train AI models, scans for faces and objects, and has been caught flagging private family photos as inappropriate.
Dropbox - In 2016, forced all users to share data with Facebook advertising. Even after backlash, they still scan files.
Microsoft OneDrive - Actively scans uploaded files for content that violates their terms, including private photos.
WeTransfer - Free tier supported by ads, meaning uploaded files are scanned to build advertising profiles.
Ring doorbells - Employees caught watching customer camera feeds, including private moments in bedrooms and bathrooms.
The pattern is clear: when services can access your data, some will abuse that access.
The Government Surveillance Factor
Beyond corporate data collection, there’s government surveillance to consider.
Under laws like the USA PATRIOT Act, FISA, and similar legislation worldwide, governments can compel services to hand over user data. Often with gag orders preventing them from even telling you.
If a service can decrypt your files, they can be forced to hand them over.
If they can’t decrypt your files (true end-to-end encryption), they can only hand over encrypted gibberish.
This is why end-to-end encryption matters for journalists protecting sources, activists avoiding authoritarian regimes, lawyers maintaining client privilege, and anyone who believes privacy is a right.
”I Have Nothing to Hide”
This is the most common response to privacy concerns. It misses the point entirely.
Privacy isn’t about hiding bad things. It’s about controlling who has access to your information.
You close the bathroom door - not because what you’re doing is illegal, but because some things are private.
You don’t publish your salary - not because earning money is shameful, but because it’s personal.
You don’t share medical records publicly - not because being sick is wrong, but because it’s nobody else’s business.
File sharing is the same. Your private photos, financial documents, business plans, and personal messages deserve protection not because they’re scandalous, but because they’re yours.
Privacy Is About Power
When you share files without privacy, you’re giving up control. Others decide:
- Who can access your files (employees, partners, governments)
- How long they’re retained (forever, usually)
- What they’re used for (ads, AI training, surveillance)
- Who they’re shared with (subpoenas, acquisitions, breaches)
Privacy gives you back that control. You decide who sees your files and for how long. Not a corporation, not a government, not hackers.
This is especially critical for:
Journalists protecting source confidentiality Lawyers maintaining attorney-client privilege Healthcare providers complying with HIPAA Businesses protecting trade secrets Activists organizing safely Everyone controlling their personal information
The Technical Solution: End-to-End Encryption
There’s a technology that solves this problem: end-to-end encryption.
With E2E encryption:
- Your file is encrypted on your device before upload
- The service stores only encrypted data
- Only you and your recipient have the decryption key
- The service can’t read your files even if they wanted to
This shifts the power dynamic. The service becomes a “dumb pipe” moving encrypted data around without ever seeing what’s inside.
They can’t scan for ads - file contents are encrypted They can’t train AI - they see only scrambled data They can’t hand over readable files - even to government warrants Breaches expose nothing - hackers get encrypted gibberish Employees can’t snoop - no internal access to decrypted files
True end-to-end encryption makes privacy a mathematical guarantee, not a policy promise.
How to Verify Real Privacy
Not every service claiming “privacy” or “encryption” actually delivers it. Here’s how to verify:
Check Who Holds the Keys
Service-managed encryption: They encrypt files but keep the keys. They can decrypt anytime. This is not private.
End-to-end encryption: You control the keys. They never have them. This is private.
Ask: “Can the service access my files?” If the answer is anything other than a clear “no,” it’s not truly private.
Read the Privacy Policy
Look for red flags:
- “We may access your content to improve our services”
- “We scan uploaded files for security purposes”
- “We share data with trusted partners”
- Vague language about data usage
- Rights to use your content for AI training
If they claim they don’t access files, it should say so explicitly.
Check for Third-Party Access
Some services integrate with dozens of third parties for analytics, advertising, support systems, and more. Each integration is a potential privacy leak.
Look for services with minimal third-party integrations and clear documentation about any that exist.
Verify the Technology
For end-to-end encryption, check:
- What algorithm (AES-256 is standard)
- Where encryption happens (in your browser = good; on their servers = bad)
- How keys are managed (stored in URL fragment or user-controlled = good; stored in their database = bad)
Real privacy-focused services are transparent about their technical implementation.
The No-Ads Indicator
Here’s a simple rule: if the service shows ads, they’re scanning your files.
Targeted advertising requires understanding user behavior and content. That means reading your files to build a profile of you.
Privacy-respecting services have different business models:
- Paid subscriptions
- Freemium (limited free tier, paid upgrades)
- Open source with donations
- One-time purchases
They make money from users, not from data.
Privacy-First File Sharing Practices
Beyond choosing the right service, you can protect privacy through good practices:
Minimize what you share: Don’t upload more than necessary. Can you share summaries instead of full documents?
Use expiration dates: Files shouldn’t live on servers forever. Set short expiration dates when possible.
Delete after use: Once the recipient has downloaded files, delete the share. Reduce exposure window.
Separate sensitive data: Use different services for different sensitivity levels. Maximum privacy for sensitive files, convenience for non-confidential ones.
Verify recipients: Make sure you’re sharing with the right person. Privacy fails if you send to the wrong email address.
Share links securely: Use encrypted messaging apps (Signal, WhatsApp) to share links, not unencrypted email.
The Future of Privacy
For years, privacy and convenience were seen as opposites. You could have one or the other, but not both.
That’s changing.
Modern end-to-end encryption can be just as convenient as unencrypted services. You don’t need technical skills or complex software.
As awareness grows, privacy is shifting from a niche concern to an expectation. Services that scan your files will increasingly be seen as unacceptable for anything sensitive.
The question isn’t “why do you need privacy?” anymore. It’s “why would you accept anything less?”
Taking Back Control
Every file you share is a choice:
Option A: Upload to a service that can read everything, tied to an ad-supported business model that profits from surveillance.
Option B: Use end-to-end encryption where the service is mathematically prevented from accessing your data.
Option A is what we’ve normalized. Option B is what we deserve.
Privacy matters because your data is yours. Your files, your medical records, your business plans, your personal photos - they belong to you, not to a corporation’s data mining operation.
You have the right to share files without surveillance. The technology exists. The question is whether you’ll use it.
Try Privacy-First File Sharing
FileGrab was built on a simple principle: your files are your business, not ours.
End-to-end encryption with AES-256-GCM means we can’t access your files. No scanning for ads (we don’t show ads). No AI training on your content. No selling data to third parties.
Just file sharing with real privacy.
Visit filegrab.link to see what file sharing looks like when privacy comes first.
Because you shouldn’t need to choose between convenience and control. You should have both.