DROP FAQ: limits, links, downloads and privacy
Practical answers based on the current DROP implementation. Check the expiry on your transfer and the evidence page for the scope of each product claim.
Send a fileWhat is DROP?
DROP is a browser-based service for temporary file and folder sharing. Upload up to 3 GB in total, then send a download link. It is designed for delivery, rather than permanent storage or collaborative document editing.
Do I need to register to send or download?
No DROP account is required for the basic transfer flow or for recipients to download a valid link. Verified Google sign-in is optional for extending the retention of your own upload, when sign-in is available.
What are the file size and file count limits?
A transfer may contain 1 to 1,000 files with a combined size of at most 3,000,000,000 bytes (3 GB in decimal units, approximately 2.79 GiB). This is a transfer limit, not a promise of unlimited usage. Terms and service availability apply.
How long does a link last?
Anonymous transfers expire 24 hours after creation. Before expiry, verified Google sign-in can extend an owned upload to 72 hours from its original creation, if sign-in is configured. It does not add 72 hours to the login time. Check the expiry shown on the transfer.
Can I send a folder without making a ZIP first?
Yes. Choose a folder in a browser that supports folder selection. DROP preserves relative file paths; recipients can download individual files or all files as one ZIP. Empty folders are not represented. The 3 GB and 1,000 file limits still apply.
Can recipients preview files?
Supported formats include common images, PDF, browser-playable video and audio, and text. Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OpenDocument previews rely on an available conversion service and have a 64 MiB original-file limit. Unsupported formats or codecs can be downloaded instead.
Who can open my link? Is this end-to-end encrypted?
Anyone with a valid link can download before expiry. Share it only with intended recipients. DROP does not claim end-to-end encryption, password-protected links or regulated-data certification. HTTPS protects transport; link possession is the public access model.
Are expired files deleted immediately?
The application rejects expired links before listing, previewing or downloading files. Background cleanup removes originals, generated previews and unfinished uploads and retries after failures. Access expiry and physical storage deletion are separate events; DROP does not promise instantaneous physical erasure.
Is DROP available worldwide?
DROP is built for sharing browser links across borders using Cloudflare infrastructure. No published country-by-country DROP transfer study is available yet. Local network restrictions, outages and optional Google sign-in access can vary. A global infrastructure network is not a guarantee that every transfer works in every country or ISP.
Is DROP the fastest file transfer service?
No comparative evidence currently supports that claim. Speed depends on upload bandwidth, routing, file size, device, server conditions and cache state. Use the published benchmark method to compare measured upload-to-link and download times under the same conditions.
Why did a download fail?
Check the exact link and its displayed expiry. An expired transfer needs a new upload from the sender. If the link is still valid, retry on a stable connection, allow sufficient disk space and try an individual download if the ZIP request failed. If only preview fails, download the original.